Agony in the Garden: Accepting Spiritual Purification
Prayerfully read Matthew 26: 36–56…
Imagine yourself with Jesus on the night of Holy Thursday. Imagine leaving the upper room where the Last Supper took place and walking through the valley toward the Garden of Gethsemane. Further imagine being one of the Apostles whom Jesus brought with Him into the Garden to pray. Like those Apostles, humbly see yourself as weak and incapable of imitating our Lord’s profoundly intense prayer that night, choosing instead to fall asleep…
To understand what Jesus modeled for us in the Garden, we begin with what He knew. His human mind, fully united with His divine mind, perceived the fullness of sin, rejection, and every evil. The intensity of this knowledge pierced His human soul with holy sorrow. He felt the weight of every sin, the burden our sins impose, and the purification we need to be freed from sin. Jesus’ incomprehensible humility should lead us to feel the sorrow for sin that He felt…
As He gazed upon the sins of the world, perceiving their utter horror and consequences, Jesus’ Sacred Heart confronted all sin with divine love. Sin lost all power in this definitive act of confrontation and love; human nature was elevated to a level of holiness previously unknown. Now, all that awaits us is the reception of that grace by entering into Jesus’ perfect prayer, which He modeled three times in a row. Spend time praying this prayer over and over again with our Lord, “Father, not my will but Yours be done…” Do so by spiritually, or literally, falling on your face in prayer. Meditatively enter the Garden with our Lord and allow His prayer to become yours…
Scourging at the Pillar: Enduring Bodily Suffering
Prayerfully read Mark 15:1–15…
Jesus had just fully consented to His suffering and death in the Garden after His Last Supper with His disciples. He fully aligned His human will with the divine will. After being arrested, imprisoned for the night, and placed on trial, He was condemned to death after the cries, “Crucify Him, crucify Him!” Pilate reluctantly submitted to the request, washed his hands clean of the act, and ordered Jesus’ torture at the pillar in preparation for His crucifixion. Imagine the scene and prayerfully place yourself there…
Our Lord’s scourging at the pillar was gruesome and is exceptionally painful to consider. His own mother looked on, feeling every scourge within her own Immaculate Heart. Reflect upon the words recorded by Saint Bridget of Sweden in her vision during which the Mother of God spoke of that moment, “Then all my Son’s friends fled from Him, and His enemies came together from all directions and stood there, scourging His body, which was pure from every stain and sin. I was standing nearby, and at the very first lashing, I fell down as if I were dead…”
Call to mind Jesus’ almighty power by which He Himself could end everything and bring down the wrath of His furious judgment. Call to mind also His authority over the angelic choir of the Powers, who are warrior angels, whom He could have called upon for His defense. As you do, look into Jesus’ Sacred Heart and ponder His willing acceptance of His scourging, despite His power to stop it…
Pure hatred caused Jesus’ bodily sufferings. He confronted that hatred and the resulting physical pain with divine love. Sometimes another person will cause our physical suffering, but often it is the result of our own frailty, illness, or age. Call to mind any physical sufferings you endure and prayerfully consider them in the light of Jesus’ scourging. Strive to embrace those sufferings with the same willing acceptance our Lord embraced His, uniting them to His beaten and bruised body. Doing so transforms your ailments into a prayer by making them a sacred offering…
As you consider the incredible patience and mercy in the Heart of our Lord, look into your own heart and reflect upon the ways that you have failed to imitate His infinite love when faced with hatred. Consider how you can meet hatred with divine love and allow divine love to conquer all…
Crowning with Thorns: Enduring Spiritual Suffering
Prayerfully read the following Scripture passage and try to imagine the scene. Hear and see the soldiers’ mockery. Gaze at our Lord’s humiliation. Feel the horror of that moment – the pain, the hate, the violence:
“Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the praetorium, and they gathered the whole battalion before him. And they stripped him and put a scarlet robe upon him, and plaiting a crown of thorns they put it on his head, and put a reed in his right hand. And kneeling before him they mocked him, saying, ‘Hail, King of the Jews!’ And they spat upon him, and took the reed and struck him on the head. And when they had mocked him, they stripped him of the robe, and put his own clothes on him, and led him away to crucify him” (Matthew 27:27–31, RSV-CE).
As you prayerfully consider the scene, try to grow in an awareness of the reality of mortal sin. We are all capable of such cruelty. Call to mind any mortal sins from your own life and allow yourself to feel the effects of such sins…
As you look at our scourged and mocked Jesus, try not to be scandalized or feel pity for Him. Instead, admire and adore Him. Gaze upon the virtue that He manifested as He permitted His creatures, those whom He had come to save, to treat Him in such a way. Pay attention to the incredible depth of love that was present in His Heart, enabling Him to destroy every sin by divine love…
Consider also your own wounded soul. How do you permit pride to well up within you? How do you allow the evil one to agitate you, lead you into self-pity, anger, resentment, and every other sin that flows from pride? Looking at the sin of pride is painful. It’s like looking at a serious infection within the body, full of pus. While not pleasant, the infection must be looked at and treated so that it will not grow but be healed. Pray for divine wisdom so that you can see your soul as it is, allowing the healing salve of grace to treat you, and humble your soul so that it can radiate exceptional beauty…
Carrying of the Cross: Compelled by Sacrificial Love
Imagine the angelic choir of the Powers. They are warrior angels sent on a mission of spiritual combat. We need their ministry as we join our Lord in the Carrying of the Cross. We will be tempted to despair, doubt, and reject sacrifice as we move beyond natural reason into the supernatural. Infused grace is needed to comprehend the glory and beauty of sacrificial love. Only infused grace, attained by contemplative prayer, is able to convince us of the wisdom of such a sacrifice. As you struggle with temptations to abandon every form of sacrifice you are invited to offer, call upon the Powers of Heaven to assist you, to fight off every temptation, and to carry your crosses with our Lord…
As you look at your life, what burdens or injustices do you need to accept and fully embrace? Until we do that, we cannot go deeper. Once you have fully accepted every suffering with love, turn your eyes beyond mere acceptance. Beg for the grace to will every sacrifice. Look at those around you and pray for opportunities to lay your life down for them sacrificially. This is love in its purest form. It is divine love that our Lord longs to infuse into your soul, enabling you to carry His Cross with Simon. Say “Yes” to every sacrifice first and then prayerfully ponder and be open to the sacrifices our Lord is calling you to make…
When we sacrifice with love, without any hesitancy, we find that it is not a heavy burden after all. These pure sacrifices compel us forward with divine strength and hope in the fruitfulness they will produce. Prayerfully ponder the sacrifices you are called to offer with divine hope. Allow that hope to strengthen and compel you to pick up that cross with our Lord…
As you give of yourself sacrificially, reflect upon Jesus’ mother and Veronica meeting Him along the way. The spiritual consolations offered to those who live this high calling of sacrificial love go beyond mere spiritual sweetness or inspiring feelings. These consolations are deep, spiritual in nature, and produce hope in the midst of selfless sacrifice. Though Jesus did not need consolation, He modeled our need for it and promised to assist us on our sacrificial journey by receiving the Immaculate love in the heart of His mother and Saint Veronica’s tender compassion. If you struggle with embracing selfless and sacrificial living, turn to these holy women and ask for their prayers and God’s spiritual consolation so that you can persevere…
Crucifixion: Completing the Dark Night of the Senses
When God invites us to begin this final purification of all sensory delights, we will need to make a decision. Will I love God in the darkness and dryness? Or will I abandon Him in His hidden presence and seek out the spiritual feelings and sensory delights I previously enjoyed? As our flesh can become indulgent, so also can our spirit. Prayerfully ponder any attachments you have to good spiritual feelings. Do you love those feelings more than the God Who produced them in you as you began your conversion? Are you willing to love God and serve His will even if you don’t feel like doing so?…
Each one of the spiritual sins must be overcome by a purifying infused contemplative grace. This grace is painful as it purifies, but it’s a holy pain that helps us turn from good spiritual feelings to Him Who alone is Good. Ponder the seven capital sins in their spiritual forms and allow grace to assist you in their purification…
Spiritual Anger—do I become agitated or impatient with God when I don’t sense His consoling presence? Am I willing to love Him in this silence and serve Him despite His perceived absence in dryness and difficulty? Am I willing to forgive, to show mercy, and manifest the depths of charity even in the face of struggle, injustice, loss, and feelings of abandonment? Allow Jesus’ infinite mercy, when He cried out in the midst of His suffering, “Father, forgive them…” to become your cry in the midst of every struggle you endure…
Spiritual Envy—When others progress in the spiritual life and grace is at work in their lives, do I rejoice? Do I become jealous? Am I saddened at their spiritual gifts? Strive to rejoice in God’s goodness in others, never turning in on yourself when others are praised but joining in the affirmation of God’s grace at work in their lives. Allow Jesus’ love for the good thief to become your disposition toward everyone who turns to God, no matter how unworthy the person appears to be…
Spiritual Greed—If you have felt God’s loving presence in your life and taken great delight in apostolic works, have you allowed yourself to become more attached to those good feelings than to God Himself? If so, be at peace with the loss of such spiritual feelings and strive to serve God for His sake alone, generously offering all that you are and all that you have to His service and His glory, even if doing so fails to produce spiritual sweetness. Allow the infinite generosity of our Lord, in which He gave His last and greatest possession—His own dear mother—to us all in the midst of His poverty and pain, to inspire you to give all to God and others in the midst of every cross you endure. That generosity will cure any spiritual greed with which you struggle…
Spiritual Sloth—As you journey with our Lord, more fully root out sin, and strive to fulfill God’s will, interior crosses are inevitable. At first we might think those crosses and interior trials should be avoided. When they remain, this can tempt us to discouragement and a lack of zeal. Ponder any ways that interior trials tempt you to give up or become discouraged. Meet those feelings head-on with spiritual zeal, choosing to love and serve God even in the midst of the fire of every interior trial. Allow Christ’s spiritual thirst to permeate your soul so that no matter what you feel, you will be driven to serve God’s will and assist in the salvation of souls…
Spiritual Gluttony—Those who have tasted God’s sweetness and enjoyed spiritual delights in prayer and good works are always tempted to indulge in those good feelings. Though we must accept all God gives us with gratitude, we must avoid indulgence in spiritual matters that leads to spiritual gluttony. Have you sought the consolations of God more than God Himself? Do you love God, or do you love the way God has made you feel? With our Lord, embrace the interior dryness He permitted Himself to experience on the Cross when He cried out, “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?” Follow that prayerful expression by placing your hope in God alone, despite any way you feel…
Spiritual Lust—As lust is a disorder of the sexual appetites, so spiritual lust is a disorder of the spiritual appetites. Like the other spiritual sins, we are tempted, even in a sensual way, to crave intimacy with God but on a disordered level. With our Lord, strive to order every spiritual longing within your spirit by giving yourself away. Pray with Jesus, “Father, into Your hands I commend my spirit.” We are made to be a selfless gift to God; give of yourself to Him rather than taking…
Spiritual Pride—Are you willing to walk in the depths of humility? Can you dispel all fear, all selfish desires, all self-accolades, and see yourself as a sinner in need of salvation? As you allow God’s purifying grace to cleanse you, long for the moment when, with our Lord, you can say, “It is finished.” See every final purification and freedom from sin so that God and God alone is the object of your love…
Next: Meditations for the Glorious Mysteries
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