In the dusk of the evening before the first Good Friday, I see a group of nervous men making their way toward a garden. See them, follow them, this timid little flock of disciples, clinging fearfully to the Good Shepherd. I see Him pause with His hand on the garden gate. I hear Him whisper to His anxious followers:
"Sit down here, while I go over yonder and pray." (St. Matthew, 26:36)Tears fill their eyes, and sobs choke their throats, as the Master, His face an ashy grey, and His lips trembling, leaves them and goes a stone's throw farther into the garden of Gethsemani.
Reverently and devoutly we will follow our Savior. For a moment He seems to be looking at a picture. Suddenly He begins to reel. He totters. He falls flat upon the ground. That beautiful face is buried in the grass of Gethsemani.
Pains of Body
Was it a picture He saw? If so, what was in that picture? In vision Jesus saw His entire passion and death. Nay, beforehand, as it were, He felt the sufferings awaiting Him. In those brief moments He felt the blistering kiss of Judas; He felt the servant's cowardly blow on the cheek; He felt the whips of chain digging into His back; He felt the crown of thorns boring into His brow; He felt the spit of the soldiers dripping down His face, the ache of the heavy cross on His shoulder, and the sharp stones on the way to Calvary; He felt the jagged nails, like hot irons, searing into His hands and feet; He tasted the gall in the vinegar; He felt His muscles drawn and His bones pulled from their sockets, as He was rudely raised
up on Calvary.
Pains of Soul
Yet, these pains of His body were as nothing compared to the pains of His soul. Looking ahead, Jesus saw the mob, His own countrymen, screeching out: "Crucify Him - Kill Him." He saw former friends lying and blaspheming against Him in four different trials. He saw people He had cured, with their fists raised up against Him. He heard Pilate declare Him innocent, and with the next breath send Him to His death. He saw the miserable heart of Judas, the cowardly heart of Peter, the fearful hearts of all His apostles, except St. John, leaving Him to suffer alone. Treason, denial, desertion - He saw it all.
Our Sins
Jesus also saw all the sins of all the world of all time. Jesus saw you committing sin. In that far-off day He saw every sin you have committed, every sin you plan to commit.
What a picture! As Christ looks it in the face, the sight unnerves Him, frightens Him, sends a quiver of agonizing fear through His whole frame, forces blood from the pores of His perspiring body, and wrings from His bleeding heart the pleading cry:
God's Will - Man's Will
"Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass away from me; yet not as I will, but as thou wills." St. Matthew, 26:39.
Would that we could see into the soul of Christ as He spoke that sentence. Would that we could have heard those words, words which have echoed down the centuries, words which echo in our hearts, especially during this season of Lent. Christ, remember, had two wills. He is God and He became man. He had the will of God and the will of man. As man Christ shrinks from the terrible pains of the scourging, the crowning with thorns, the nailing to the cross. The very thought of it makes Him sweat blood. Yet, as God, Jesus wants satisfaction to be made for the insults done to God by men. The God-Man had to choose - the will of God or the will of man. He chose God's will. "Not as I will," He cried, that is, not what I as man will, "but as thou wills," that is, the will of God be done.
Thy Will Be Done
What an example! Now I see, O Lord, why You gave us Your prayer, the Our Father, and in that prayer taught us to pray, "Thy will be done." Now I realize that always and everywhere the will of God must come before man's will, my will. To the words, "Thy will be done," You taught us to add, "on earth as it is in heaven." Not that we expect God's will to be done as perfectly on earth as it is in heaven. But we do ask for the strength to do God's will on earth as perfectly as possible, with at least some of the promptness and exactness with which it is done in heaven.
Will of God
What do we mean by the will of God? God's will means whatever God wants, whatever pleases Him, whatever He wishes and desires, whatever He has determined. When we pray, "Thy will be done," we ask God first to make His will known to us, and then to give us the grace and strength to do that will.
Why God's Will?
But why must we do God's will? Did He not give us a will of our own? Yes, but He gave us that will for a purpose - to serve Him. To use a familiar word, God is smarter than any man who ever lived, smarter than all men put together. He is all-wise, all knowing. He knows what is best for you. Besides, God is all-loving. He loves you more than you love yourself. As St. Alphonsus clearly put it:
"When we will what God wills, it is our greatest good that we will; for God desires what is for our greatest advantage. Let your constant practice be to offer yourself to God that He may do with you what He pleases."Original Sin
Nevertheless, though we realize that God knows best and that His love wills what is best for us, we still find it hard to do His will at times. Tbe reason: When Adam, our father, went against the will of God, he started something. In addition to his bad example, Adam left us bodies, minds and wills that are more ready to do the bad than to do the good. Furthermore, we need God's help to do God's will, but often we do not ask for that aid. Again, we forget that God is supreme, and that He has a right, a supreme right, as our Maker, to order us to do anything.
Sin
Right here we see the hatefulness of sin. God, the Maker, tells man, the thing made, to do a certain thing. But the miserable, insignificant worm of a human being, who is not a billionth as wise, not a billionth as knowing, not a billionth as good as God, turns around and refuses to do what his Maker tells him. That is sin. Take any of the commandments, the fourth, the sixth, the first. It tells us the will of God. Refuse to do it, and you commit a sin. If it is a serious matter, with sufficient knowledge and full consent, you have committed a mortal sin, you have broken off completely from the friendship of God.
World's Idea
Oh, cries the world, why worry about sin? There is no sin. What you call sin is only "an amiable weakness," "a sign of growth," "a human development," "an indisgression." Why sin is nothing more than the remains of the brute breaking out in us. It is the cave-man in us breaking out again.
Let the world shout its denial of sin. We know better. We who stand here in this worrld, leaning over the fence of Gethsemani's garden, watching a Man, the Man, suffering for sin - we see sin as it is. When we see the God-man fighting sin in His agony, crushed to the ground by sin, sweating blood for the guilt of sin, crying out to heaven for the very pain of it, how can we - how can any thinking man - deny the malice, the wrong, the wickedness of sin, of not doing what God wants?
Legend of the Harp
There is the story of the untuned harp. In an ancient palace a king ordered built and installed a wonderful harp. The most famous musician in the realm built the harp and played upon it for the family's entertainment. In time the children married and the king and queen passed away. The palace and its belongings became the property of the eldest prince. He sought a musician who could play the marvelous harp.
But the best musicians failed to bring any worthwhile music from the old instrument. Another and another tried, but only harsh, shrill notes came from the aged strings. With a sad heart the prince ordered the harp covered with a great curtain.
One stormy night an old man sought shelter in the palace. The prince invited the aged traveler to have dinner. During the meal the old man's eyes kept wandering to that end of the room where the harp stood. At last he asked: "Why is the harp covered?"
Sadly the prince told how the instrument was out of tune and no one was able to put it in tune. "May I try?" asked the stranger. The curtain was drawn and the old man started to work. Fondly he handled the strings. Tenderly he adjusted the instrument. At last he began to play, such music they had never dreamed could be played. Eagerly the prince asked: "Sir, how is it that when all other musicians have failed in tuning the harp, you have succeeded so wonderfully?"
"It is all very simple," replied the old man, "I made the harp."
Man's Will a Harp
The will of man is a harp on which God wants to play. In the beginning God's law was made known in the heart of man. Gradually this natural law became darkened, until God saw it was necessary to make His law definitely known. He gave the chosen people of God His ten commandments. But even these were repeatedly broken. Then came the Son of God to show us again how we can harmonize the harp of man's will with the music of God's will. Jesus taught us that lesson in the garden of Gethsemani when he prayed:
"Not as I will, but as thou wills."Here was perfect harmony between Christ's human will and the divine will.
God's Will
God makes His will known to us in two ways: He has given us a moral rule for our actions in the commandments and the counsels. Secondly, His governing wisdom makes known His will in the events that take place around us. The first we call the signified will of God. The second we call the good pleasure of God.
What God Wants
God has made His express will known in four ways:
1. By the commandments of God and of His Church.The Commandments
2. By the counsels.
3. By inspirations of grace.
4. By the obligations of our state of life.
Since God is our sovereign Lord, He has the right to command us, and we have the duty to obey. Since God is all good He commands only what is good for us. Accordingly we must submit our wills to His laws, namely, the natural law, the ten commandments, the laws of the Church, and also the just laws of the state. The more exactly we obey the known laws of God, the more Christlike we become, the more we become like Christ in the garden.
The Counsels
Although the counsels of poverty, chastity, and obedience are not strictly necessary for salvation, still we are bound at times to perform certain good works over and above the demands of the law. This we do during Lent. Many of our mortifications are not required by law, but they are advised. If we want to put our wills in harmony with the will of Christ, we must at times do things over and above what is strictly required.
Inspirations
We can say the same of inspirations of grace, as they are called. Every one of us is inspired at times to do something special for God. Be sure to ask your priest about it first. As a rule, if the thing inspired is customary and usual, you are safe in undertaking it. If it is something extraordinary, first consult your spiritual director.
State of Life
Every walk in life has its particular obligations. A conscientious Christian, an honest follower of Christ, will find out those duties by thought, reading, and consultation with some spiritual guide. Fulfill those obligations to the letter, and you will be putting your will in tune with the will of God.
God's Good Pleasure
Next we have obedience to God's will of good pleasure, or submitting to God's will in all events willed or allowed by God for our own greater good and for our sanctification.
It rests on this foundation, that everything happens by God's order or permission, and that the all-good God cannot will or permit anything but the good of our souls, even though this is hard for us to see at times.
Father Damien
All of you have heard of the famous leper priest, Father Damien. After twelve years of laborious and disgusting service day and night for the souls and bodies of these outcasts of mankind, dressing their sores, building their homes, burying their dead, and above all taking care of their souls, Father Damien himself caught the dread disease. After three years of misery and pain, living a rotting death, Father Damien was told that his end was near. Through swollen, raw lips this martyr to charity repeated the same words that his Lord and Master prayed in the garden of Gethsemani. One word in particular he kept repeating, "Fiat. Fiat." That one Latin word means, "May it be done." Yes, may God's will be done. God's faithful servant submitted gladly to the plan of God.
To be such a true follower of Christ we also must submit to God's will in all the happenings of life, lucky or unlucky, happy or unhappy, in public calamities and in private reverses, in plenty and in want, in sorrows and in joys, in failure and success, in desolation and consolation, in sickness and in health, in life and in death. As the holy Job has said:
"If we have received good things at the hand of God, why should we not receive evil?" Job, 2:10.Why should we not accept these evils when we know that they enable us to give genuine proof of our love and submission to the Almighty? To love God when He showers us with blessings and favors is easy. But to accept the evils He permits is to show perfect love for our heavenly father.
Submitting to God is the highest wisdom and the surest source of peace. It is all to our own interest. With regard to sufferings here is negative advice: Don't gather together in your mind all the evils that befall you - past, present and to come. Such a load becomes unsupportable. Take the evils as they come for Scripture tells us wisely:
"Sufficient for the day is the evil thereof." St. Matthew, 6:34Positive Reasons
Remember the great advantages of sufferings. Pain is a powerful and enlightening teacher, reminding us that we are exiles on the way to our heavenly home. Accepting pain gives us power by reinforcing our energies and developing in us Christian virtues.
Suffering is also a rich source of merit, for ourselves and for others, according to St. Paul:
"For I reckon that the sufferings of the present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory to come that will be revealed in us." Romans, 8:18.St. Thomas More
"For our present light affliction, which is for the moment, prepares for us an eternal weight of glory that is beyond all measure." 2 Cor., 4:17.
The saints always looked upon suffering as a fruitful source of strength and grace, and a cause of greater merit in eternity. We recall an incident in the life of St. Thomas More, chancellor to King Henry VIII. One day he received a message from home telling him that all his barns had burned down at a considerable loss. Did this saintly gentleman wail and weep and complain against God? Not a bit of it. He wrote to his wife:
"1 pray you be of good cheer, and take all the household with you to church, and there thank God, both for that He hath given us, and for that He hath taken from us, and for that He hath left us, which, if it please Him, He can increase when He will. And if it please Him to leave us yet less, at His pleasure, be it."Three Steps
How did the saints, how did St. Thomas More, come to such harmony with the will of God? At first, they endured crosses with patience and resignation; then they accepted them cheerfully; and lastly they embraced the cross to the point of welcoming affliction.
This striving to do the will of God can make you a saint, can make you sure of eternal happiness. It does three things in particular:
1. It purifies us from sin.We want to be able and ready and willing always to repeat with Christ: "Not as I will, but as thou wills." Amen.
2. It reforms us:A. By detaching us from creatures and attaching us to God.3. By conforming our will to the will of God, we make our wills one with that of Christ, which is the whole point of our thoughts tonight. Willing what Christ wills makes us one with Christ. And submitting the will implies that we submit all other faculties also to the designs of God.
B. By making us rely on the grace of God and not our own strength.
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Adapted from With Christ Through Lent
by Fr. Arthur Tonne, OFM (©1951)
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