Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart;
and you will find rest for yourselves.
For my yoke is easy, and my burden light.
This is Jesus' invitation to discipleship in Matthew 11:28-30.
Father Patrick M. Crino, Pastor
During Lent, you will surely be saying the Sorrowful Mysteries of the Rosary many times. On one occasion, I urge you not to pass by the first mystery, the Agony in the Garden, quickly, routinely.
Have you ever meditated deeply about this mystery?
If you have not, is it because in your mind’s eye it lacks the intense, vivid action of the other Sorrowful Mysteries—the Scourging, the Crowning with Thorns, Carrying the Cross, and the Crucifixion?
There were other sorrowful events connected with the Passion, such as the betrayal by Judas, the flight of the disciples, Peter’s denial of Jesus, the clamoring of the crowd for Jesus to be crucified, and the condemnation of Jesus by Pilate (the first Station of the Cross). Why do you think the Agony in the Garden was chosen instead of one of these for a place of honor in the Rosary?
I suggest that the hour spent on the Mount of Olives was chosen for the Rosary because it was “packed” with happenings, for the Disciples, who were pondering the tumultuous events of that week and the first Eucharistic banquet celebrated by Jesus, and especially for Jesus, who was undergoing a final “sifting” by Satan. May my attempt to recreate the events of that poignant hour deepen your appreciation of its Mystery.
Hurd Baruch
*Banner image credit: Eugene Delacroix/The Agony in the Garden/Metropolitan Museum of Art