April 13, 2025.
“And He was withdrawn from them about a stone’s throw, and He knelt down and prayed,saying, «Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done.» (Luke 22, 41-42)
Begin Holy week with a complete reading of the Passion of the Lord as told by Luke, the evangelist. There is much to meditate on, there is much to learn, and there is an endless flow of spirituality in those few days that decided the luck of Humanity, when the Redeemer won salvation for us paying for it on the Cross. However, of all these things, perhaps there is one that is always close to us: the attitude of Christ in the presence of the drama approaching him. Conscious as he was of what awaited him: torture and death, along with the abandoning of his disciples and even the “kenosis”, the sensation of withdrawal of God himself, the Lord was afraid and anguished. The sweat of blood on his forehead was a somatic manifestation of the terror that tortured his spirit. And at that moment he is capable of delivering that phrase accepting the divine will.
The Christ who fled when they wanted to make him king let himself be crowned with thorns; he who escaped from the crowd who acclaimed him did not turn his backed when they looked for him to Hill him. This is the example that he has left us: accept the will of God whatever it is, the in the good as in the bad, in the easy as in the difficult. And, as well, what is even more difficult, accept that this will of God is love for us, although it doesn’t appear to be, although we don’t understand why things happen or why our requests aren’t listened to so that the chalice God asks us to drink from passes us by. Of course to do this it is essential the strength of God, without which accepting the cross with joy is impossible.
Intention: Say yes to the Lord in what He asks of us. Attend prayer and the sacraments so that they give us the necessary strength to do his will.