Page:Meditations For Every Day In The Year.djvu/181

 drawn away  from  them  a  stone's  cast,  and  kneeling  down, He prayed,  Father,  if  thou  wilt,  remove  this  chalice  from me! but yet  not  My  will,  but  Thine  be  done."  (Luke xxii.  40.)  Ponder  His  profound  reverence  to  His  eternal Father,  and  His  confidential  love  expressed  in  the  word Father. Contemplate  His  perfect  resignation,  in  the words,  "not  My  will,  but  Thine  be  done,"  and  His  perseverance in  prayer  for  a  whole  hour.  "  Could  ye  not watch one  hour  with  Me?"  (Matt.  xxvi.  40.)  Learn hence  how  to  pray,  and  resign  yourself  to  the  divine  will.

III. Christ, like  a  good  shepherd  anxious  for  His  flock, even in  the  midst  of  His  own  distress  and  the  ardor  of His  prayer,  visits  His  three  Apostles. He found  them asleep the  first,  second,  and  third  times. Immediately after communion,  they  were  so  full  of  fervor  as  to  offer themselves to  die  for  their  Master;  but  they  cannot  now even hold  up  their  heads  in  prayer. Examine if  this  be not  the  character  of  yourself. The Apostles  formerly watched all  night  for  their  own  interest,  when  they  were fishermen; but  now,  when  the  interest  of  their  souls  is concerned,  and  when  they  are  commanded  to  watch,  they cannot refrain  from  sleep. Beware of  sloth,  tediousness, and forgetfulness  in  spiritual  things;  for,  as  St. Augustine observes, "the  sleep  of  the  soul  is  to  forget  God."

I. After  Christ  had  found  His  disciples  asleep,  and  had left them  in  order  to  continue  His  prayer,  "  there  appeared to  Him  an  angel  from  heaven  strengthening  Him." (Luke xxii. 43.)  Good  God! is it  possible  that  the  eternal  Son of God  should  borrow  comfort  from  His  creatures? Observe how the  Father  of  lights  at  last  sends  comfort  to