I. Consider, my soul, how the divine Saviour, after washing his disciple's feet, instituting in their presence the Sacrament of his Body and Blood, and after delivering them the most tender and sublime speech, entered with them as usual, the Garden of Olives, that his enemies might more easily find him. And he said to them: 'Sit you here, till I go yonder and pray... watch and pray that you enter not into temptation.' (Mt 26:36, 41)

    Spontaneously He offered himself to his Eternal Father's commands, because it himself desired it; and therefore He fulfilled it in such a way, that his Passion might at the same time satisfy divine justice and inspire us to love him. Here is the end of his sorrows: love.

     'And Jesus began to grow sorrowful and to be sad' (Mt 26:37). This loving Son wished to sacrifice not only his whole body, but his soul also with all her powers; nay from this nobler part of his Humanity, He wished to begin the sacrifice of Redemption. Therefore,  before his enemies appeared, He deprived his holy Humanity of the support it received from his Divinity; and discovering it at the same time all that it was about to suffer, He reduced it to suffer the agony of a mortal man. The sufferings that He was going to bear in his body lively appear them to his soul: the scourges, thorns, nails, cross, gall, and vinegar; the sufferings of his soul, Juda's treachery, the Disciple's shameful flight, Peter's apostacy, the priests' calumnies, the judges' injustice, the soldiers' cruelty, the ignominies of his person, the contempt of his teachings and miracles, the triumph of his enemies, the blasphemies of the rogues, the abandonment of his Father on the Cross, and the sorrowful sight of his mournful Mother! Immediately then fear and tiresomeness, disgust and bitterness, dejection and sadness took possession of his soul, to such a degree as to threaten his life. Then he said to them: 'My soul is sorrowful even unto death.' (Mt. 26:38)

     O, grieved Heart of my beloved Redeemer, why art Thou plunged into such desolation? Who pushed thee to experience before the time the horrors and fears of death? This torment, which was the first of thy Passion, was undoubtedly also the most violent, because it wrung from thee the prayer to thy Father to remove that chalice from thee. 'He fell upon his face, praying and saying: "My Father, if it be possible, let this chalice pass from me." But Thou soon addedst: "Nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt." (Mt. 26:39)

     Observe, my soul: your turn to his disciples for comfort and finds them dejected because of his distress. 'And when he was come to his disciples, he found them sleeping for sorrow, and he said to Peter: "Simon, sleepest thou? couldst thou not watch an hour? Watch and pray, that you enter not into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak." And going away again, he prayed saying the same words: "My Father, if this chalice may not pass away, but I must drink it, thy will be done."(Mt. 26:40-42) And so he did for the third time. And his sadness increased so much, that it is more like the agony of dying man. 'And being in an agony, he prayed the longer.' (Lk. 22:44)

     The contrast which hen happened between the lower part of his soul, full of repugnance, and the upper part full of submission, caused him to sweat blood so abundantly that after wetting his clothes, wet the ground also where he was praying.

     In this way He forsook himself who defends all: in this way He was distressed who comforts all. And so the words of the Prophet were accomplished: 'I looked for one that would grieve together with me, but there was none: and for one that would comfort me, and I found none.' (Ps 68:20)

     O my most afflicted Savior, shall you thus gain my love? By assuming the very weakness and misery of men? to make thyself the true Comforter and faithful Companion of the afflicted? Oh, how many wonderful instructions Thou givest me in this Mystery!

 

     II. My soul, four were the causes of this mortal sadness of Thy Jesus, as He revealed to the Blessed Battista Varani:

     1st. The damnation of innumerable souls, notwithstanding his most bitter death. "Consider, my daughter", said Jesus to the blessed woman, "what was my martyrdom and sorrow, when I saw that so many members of my mystic body would have been separated from me, viz. many souls would have damned themselves! And a soul separates from me each time she sins mortally".

     The large quantity and almost infinite multitude of the sins of the world were then all distinctly present to his spirit with a clear sight of divine Majesty offended by so many crimes, made heavier by the contempt of his love. Besides, very few men were going to profit by that remedy, that his love had prepared for all men. Alas! He found no other consolation in that, but in the perfect uniformity with the unchangeable decrees of his Father, who wished him to suffer for  every man, that would not profit in the least by his sufferings.

     2nd. The sins and pains of all the Elect. "All the limbs of the Elect that were going to sin mortally", said the most meek Jesus, "afflicted and tortured me on their separation and disjunction from me. Moreover, I felt and tasted all their bitterness, martyrdom, penance, temptation, infamy of their life, and even the pains of their Purgatory, like so many limbs of my body".

     3rd. The Blessed Virgin his Mother, whom He infinitely loved; his dear and beloved disciples and Apostles, whom He loved more as a Father loves his children; and the penitent disciple Magdalen who, though she knew less than John about Jesus, however was the most sorry of all for his Passion and Death.

     4th. The ingratitude both of the Jewish people, so much blessed by God and cherished with a thousand wonders, and of his beloved disciple, Judas the traitor. Jesus, kneeling before this traitor, had washed and kissed his feet with the greatest tenderness, and addressed him with an unspeakable affection. At last, the unthankfulness of all creatures who, worse than Judas, would have betrayed him for vile pleasures, for viler interests. 

     O Lord, how great a part I have taken among the unthankful to cause thee this mortal sadness! How many sorrows didst Thou feel in thy most pure and innocent Heart for my sins, transgressions, relapses, infidelity, and cowardice were to pierce your purest and innocent heart! Unhappy man that I am! Shall I then never be to thee a cause of joy and consolation? How different the motives are which cause my sorrows in the world from the ones which cause thy mortal sadness!

     O grieving Heart of my good Lord. Thou wishedst by this exceedingly sadness and bloody sweat to atone for the foolish security of the wicked, or free thinkers, and the insensate tranquility of so many sinners who sleep in their sin, without fearing to be surprised by temporal and eternal death. Thou wouldst expiate those joys, those tastes, those pleasures those desires of life, those hopes to which I abandon my heart, even when they are contrary to thy Law. Thou wouldst atone for the false contrition of my heart and for my conversion without an inward sorrow. Thou wouldst sanctify in me and in everyone these very passions of sadness, fear, tiresomeness, disgust and melancholy which I experience in the way of spiritual life, and comfort me when I suffer them, and merit me the grace of bearing them with patience, with resignation, with joy. Thou wouldst fortify me, as Thou fortifiedst so many Martyrs to affront death joyfully, and animate me to penance, as Thou inspiredst so many other faithful souls to exercise themselves in hard penances. O most sweet Heart of Jesus, how much I thank thee for having suffered so much for me!...

 

 

    III. My soul, thy Saviour would feel this extreme sorrow, that thou shouldst not think all lost, when the lower part flees what is contrary to her, especially the penance of senses, the humiliations, and contradictions of self-love. Moreover, in order to teach thee that nobody shall ever be judged by the weakness of his flesh formed with slime, but according to the obedience of his will, pleasing God so much. He indeed suffered a mortal sadness, but it was proportioned to his virtue, to convince thee that God, who distributes the miseries of this life as He pleases, will never permit them to be beyond thy strength. He would let thee know two opposite wills in himself: one of human weakness, which flees suffering and looks for pleasure, the other of compliance with God's will; in order that a Christian may not think himself God's enemy, because his flesh rebels the spirit and desires pleasures; but he may endeavour to subdue it, and be persuaded that the sensual man does not at all injure the inward man, as long as he is devout to God's law with full will.

     An Angel came down from Heaven to comfort Jesus Christ, not because courage failed him to fight human weakness; but to teach all those who suffer, that their whole comfort and strength must come from Heaven, and God forgets no one in his sufferings, indeed, where tribulations are, there is God.

​

     At last the Son prayer to his father, though He knew that He was not to be exempted from suffering, in order to teach us, my soul, this so necessary a truth; that divine help does not consist in delivering thee from tribulations with which He visits thee, but in making thee suffer them with humble submission and full conformity to his designs, remaining forever united to him by love.