SIXTH SUNDAY OF EASTER

Inside a dark church, where the stain glass windows are almost completely opaque and little light comes through, there is a giant slab of rock exposed in the Garden of Gethsemane. It is there, on that rock that Jesus spend his last hours before his arrest praying to the Father. He said, “Abba, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me. Yet not what I want but what you want…”
 
One of the beautiful things that comes out of making a trip to the Holy Land, is how much I get to pray with my body. To kneel down and to touch those places that Jesus touched. These places become a meeting place of God and man. And we are able to bring our sufferings, our agonies, our prayers and unite it with those of Christ.
 
If I am honest and open in this moment, I realize that all of us, run from this rock. This rock is not easy. The prayer said here was not said lightly but with sweat drops of blood. In Catholic theology, Jesus has two wills, human and divine. And in this moment, in his prayer, he reveals the suffering and agony required of uniting both wills together.
 
This is the reality of love. For me, when I am suffering, when I don’t want to love as I should because of the suffering required, it is easy to run away from this rock. And a meditation for me, is to come back time and time again to this rock, to kneel down and to reach out my hand towards it. And say, “For love of you and for love of them… I accept this suffering.”
 
As we enter the Church this week, as you kneel down to pray, don’t just say a prayer with your voice or with your thoughts… try to say a prayer with your whole body… with your whole being.
 
This week, the priests are gathering in Galveston for Convocation and Fellowship. Please pray for all the priests of our Archdiocese and that our hearts may continually be more conformed to the Sacred Heart of Jesus Christ.
 

 
Pax Christi,
Fr. Khoi