Lord, to whom shall we go?
Lord, to whom shall we turn?
In a world of blinding lights,
Lord, to whom shall we go?

II
Lord, in whom are we saved?
Lord, in whom are we healed?
When our sorrow blinds our sight,
Lord, in whom are we healed?

You are bread for the world.
You are strength for the weak.
You give us eternal life.
You are bread for the world.
You are light of the world.
You are hope for the lost.
You, the Way, the Truth, the Life,
You are light for the world.

III
Lord, in whom is our peace?
Lord, in whom is our joy?
In these restless hears of ours,
Lord, in whom is our peace?

 

From the Gospel of St. Luke (Lk 22: 39-52)

Then going out he went, as was his custom, to the Mount of Olives, and the disciples followed him. When he arrived at the place he said to them, “Pray that you may not undergo the test.” After withdrawing about a stone’s throw from them and kneeling, he prayed, saying, “Father, if you are willing, take this cup away from me; still, not my will but yours be done.” And to strengthen him an angel from heaven appeared to him. He was in such agony and he prayed so fervently that his sweat became like drops of blood falling on the ground. When he rose from prayer and returned to his disciples, he found them sleeping from grief. He said to them, “Why are you sleeping? Get up and pray that you may not undergo the test.”

While he was still speaking, a crowd approached and in front was one of the Twelve, a man named Judas. He went up to Jesus to kiss him. Jesus said to him, “Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?” His disciples realized what was about to happen, and they asked, “Lord, shall we strike with a sword?” And one of them struck the high priest’s servant and cut off his right ear. But Jesus said in reply, “Stop, no more of this!” Then he touched the servant’s ear and healed him.

(accompany the reflexión with some instrumental music)

Jesus went as usual to Gethsemane, that place where he had so many times met the Father in prayer. How important it is to have a place to return to again and again, that space, that relationship where we feel “that we are not alone”, that there is someone “who listens to us, who embraces us and who comforts us”. That inhabited place, which, although it is night and there is fear, continues to be inhabited, close, profound.

Close your eyes, and return to that: your inhabited place, where “you feel accompanied, loved, cared for”, and look for a place where you can accommodate yourself on this night to accompany Jesus and so many wounded people on the side of the road. Go to the depths, to the sincerity, to the most authentic of yourself and to the depths of God’s heart, because, as St. John of the Cross says, “outside of God all is narrow” (CTA 13). It is in that place, as a theological space where “in the midst of these dark and loving pains, the soul feels a certain companionship and strength within, which accompanies it and makes it strive so much” (2N 11:7)

 (instrumental music)

Jesus says to his disciples: “Stay here and watch, pray that you may not fall into temptation”. He asks us to wake up, to stay awake with him, with those who are suffering, with patience, with determination, with fidelity. Awake, present, sensitive, human. He does not ask us for great things but to watch, to remain, to love, that certain determination in the style of Teresa of Jesus.

(instrumental music)

This permanent message for all times, because the sleepiness of the disciples was not only the problem of that moment, but it is the problem of all times, perhaps of our communities, of families, of humanity. This sleepiness, says Pope Francis, “is a certain insensitivity of the soul to the power of evil, an insensitivity to all the evil in the world, an insensitivity to pain, to the agony of the brother, to death.”

Sometimes we escape from pain and death because we are afraid of it, because it frightens us, because it hurts us, because it overflows us. And what happens to us disciples is that “we become anaesthetised or hardened so as not to feel”. We believe this way will be better and more bearable, but in reality it dehumanizes us, and like the disciples, it distances us from Jesus, from so many Christ who suffer, who agonize, who need company and comfort. The insensitivity towards the present God that puts us to sleep, that prevents us from “taking seriously” what is happening, that distances us from his pain. We suffer because of our hardness and we harm the one in front of whom we are hardened.

What makes me sleepy? What am I running away from? What are the carapaces I wear made of? What do they protect me from? Who do they keep me away from?

OFFER IT TO THE LORD, WHO TONIGHT ASKS FOR COMPANY.

EMBRACE HIS SOLITUDE BY OFFERING HIM WHAT BURDENS YOU

SO THAT YOU CAN ACCOMPANY HIM, WITHOUT RUNNING AWAY,

EMBRACING HIM WITH ALL YOUR BEING,

WITH ALL YOUR THOUGHTS, WITH ALL YOUR LOVE.

(instrumental music)

 

It is Gethsemane, that theological place that harbors the pain of Jesus. There the pain and the agony become abandonment in the hands of the Father. To fulfill the mission, to be faithful to the Will of the Father, to love without measure hurts, with sweat of blood that falls to the ground. Jesus’ entire being is involved in the giving of self, not just a part of it. The struggle for truth and justice, the care of the most vulnerable members, the reconciled brotherhood, all this hurts, because it implies the giving up of one’s life. The greatest detachment in the name of Love. Jesus DECIDED to accept the project of love, he decided to Love and these decisions had consequences. Like all of them.

Fr. Palau knew this well; in his experience with the Church he learned to love and to give his life for her:

“You know that I love you. And now that you are asking me this question, my Daughter, receive again an act of love. Yes, I love you, and I love you because you have stolen my heart. Let the chalice come, whether it be sweet or bitter; let it come; I am going to drink it. The heavenly Father gave her to me as a Daughter, and so I must fulfil my duties as a father to her. If I have to be judged by my love for you, by what I suffer for you, I must love you very much, because I suffer much for you. –If you love me, take care of me; my concerns should be your concerns, my glory your glory.” (MR IV 2).

(instrumental)

There are decisions that cost sweat and blood, blood that falls down to the floor. They are made on the night of Gethsemane, with no chance of sleep. In the passion of Jesus, the disciples fall asleep between fear and flight; and when facing the mob that comes to take Jesus, they react according to old patterns that have nothing to do with Jesus’ style: they resort to the sword and flee clumsily. They will not stop running until Easter morning, when Jesus finds them. But Jesus, who has suffered the agony of a lucid and painful decision, faces his enemies and confronts the whole course of the Passion as a witness to the Love of the Father who wants the life of the Kingdom for all.

To decide is a vital moment of sweat and blood, and every decision marks the course of history: one’s own, the community’s, the family’s, the congregation’s, the Church’s and all of Humanity’s. Even indifference or the “let someone else do it” is already a decision and it also leaves traces in history.

(instrumental music)

Jesus decided to accept the Father’s project, he decided to risk it for Love and that cost him sweat and his own blood. It did not free him from agony and anguish, nor did it save him from suffering and slander or from the abandonment of his own, but his surrender gave life and life in abundance.

Likewise, Judas’ decision also costs blood, the blood of the Innocent, of the brother and friend. And what about Peter’s decision? Fear was stronger than love and also contributed to the death of the Innocent.

(instrumental music)

 

Sign: let us accompany Jesus in this agony and so many who are in this night of the sense, of the doubt, of the uncertainty, of the surrender, of the love.

Intercede, offer your prayer to God and in community, for the needs of the Church, for the blood shed by the Innocents of history, for those who suffer from illness and pain, for all the victims of this pandemic, and even more, for the victims of indifference, distance, insensitivity.

Be that “angel who comforted him” tonight.

Intercede also, for those angels who comfort your path, who care for you and help you to fulfill your mission.

Don’t stop. Don’t be afraid. Loving hurts but gives life and life in abundance.

 

You thought of me in Gethsemane
As you ran to the Father’s embrace
You gave Him your suffering, your cup of fear
You can feel the pain in my heart

All my tears have drowned my faith
So I’m letting go the cup of my fear
I will not forget your miracles Lord
You can feel the pain in my heart

Jesus I’m running into your arms
I’ll keep my eyes fixed on You,
I surrender In the valley of darkness,
I’m not alone
You’re the way to the Father

All of my trust Is built upon you
You are the rock that is holding me still
Your perfect love, casts out all fear
When you are holding me you calm my soul

Surrounded by your presence
God I know I come alive
As I run into your arms, your arms are open wide
When you are holding me…
you calm my soul
Your voice gives me life!