A word in the silence

I felt tonight that I wanted to stay with Jesus in the garden - I did not want to leave Him in that terrible loneliness. How alone He must have felt as those closest to him slept peacefully nearby while He confronted all the sins of humanity. Yet I know when it came to it, whatever I feel, He was alone and there is nothing I can do to change it- this was part of the price he had to pay- isolation from comfort. I couldn't help thinking back to Auschwitz and the crushing weight of woe and desolation that I felt there. If that was just the tiniest fraction of what He suffered that night  then it is no wonder He sweated blood.

As I knelt before the blessed sacrament after mass I considered what a dark place the world would be without it. It would be unbearable.  What light that terrible suffering has brought - it has transformed the world. Just think about tonight - it is twenty to one in the morning  here, we stayed with the blessed sacrament till twelve but as we sleep tonight that beauty and light will be celebrated in churches in the USA and has already been celebrated much earlier than us in Australia. All those prayers ascending and unceasing - perhaps we could not offer our comfort to him in the garden but on the other hand the prayers that were to come may have strengthened Him and helped Him bear the pain.

I thought of the unborn tonight and their suffering, I prayed that the efforts in America to prevent doctors from opting out of abortive procedures will fail- just another evil Jesus must have encountered. The loss of so many lives - perhaps these little souls were his company that night. 

Either way I go to bed now with hope in my heart and prayer on my lips as many of you go off to your own masses and adoration. Peace be with you! May we wait and watch with Him.