Jesus prays in agony before his arrest

Saint for Today: St. Catherine of Siena

Jesus prays in agony before his arrest

Jesus and his apostles traveled to Jerusalem to celebrate Passover. As Jesus entered the city riding on a colt, people spread their cloaks on the road before him.

“Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord. Peace in heaven and glory in the highest,” they shouted.

Jesus and his friends ate the Passover meal in a large upper room of a house in the city. During the meal — which Christians call the Last Supper — Jesus instituted the Eucharist and explained that one of his friends would betray him.

“For the Son of Man indeed goes as it has been determined; but woe to that man by whom he is betrayed,” Jesus said.

Afterward, the apostles went with Jesus to the Mount of Olives. When they arrived, Jesus turned to his friends.

“Pray that you may not undergo the test,” he said.

Jesus moved a little bit away from his friends and knelt to pray.

“Father, if you are willing, take this cup away from me; still, not my will but yours be done,” Jesus prayed.

An angel appeared from heaven to give Jesus strength, because he was in great agony.

Jesus then returned to the apostles, who were sleeping from grief.

“Why are you sleeping?” Jesus asked. “Get up and pray that you may not undergo the test.”

As he was speaking, a crowd of people came up to them. Judas, one of the apostles, was in the lead.

Judas walked up to Jesus and kissed him.

“Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?” Jesus asked.

Just then, the rest of the apostles remembered Jesus’ warning that one of the Twelve would betray him.

“Lord, shall we strike with a sword?” the apostles asked, seeking to protect Jesus.

But Jesus did not want the apostles to hurt anyone. Instead, he willingly went with the chief priests, temple guards and elders who had come for him.

“This is your hour, the time for the power of darkness,” Jesus said as he was arrested and taken to the house of the high priest to be questioned.

Bible Accent

The apostles may have fallen asleep when they were with Jesus at the Mount of Olives, but sometimes when they were with him, they couldn’t help but stay awake.

For example, in Luke 8:22-25, Jesus and the apostles were in a boat in the middle of a lake when it began to storm. The apostles stayed awake out of fear, but Jesus had no problem sleeping through the squall.

And in Luke 9:28-36, we read that Jesus, not long after he predicted his death and resurrection, asked Peter, John and James to go up the mountain to pray with him.

The drowsy apostles, who could barely keep their eyes open, suddenly saw Jesus’ face change in appearance, and his clothing become dazzling white. Moses and Elijah also had appeared in glory and were speaking with him.

Just then, a cloud came and cast a shadow over them, and the apostles were very afraid. A voice from the cloud said, “This is my chosen Son; listen to him.”

Afterward, the apostles — who were now fully awake — saw that Jesus was alone. The disciples did not say anything about what they had witnessed.

Saint for Today: St. Catherine of Siena

St. Catherine was born in Siena, Italy, in 1374. At the age of 6, she began having mystical experiences and raptures. When she was older, she also received the pain of the stigmata, which correspond to the wounds of the crucified Jesus.

St. Catherine refused to marry. Around the year 1367, she joined a religious order of laypeople, the Third Order of St. Dominic. She prayed and worked with a group of people who helped the poor and sick. Near the end of her life, she also worked to reunify the church at a time when several men claimed to be the true pope.

St. Catherine died in 1380 and was named a doctor of the church in 1970. We remember her on April 29.

Puzzle

Unscramble the words and put them in the correct order to form a quotation from the children’s story.

ym node utb listl ton eb lilw rusyo

Answers: s…πno é ◊ü◊üƒ± ç «ùq áou ◊ü◊üƒ± ás ánq «ùuop é…Ø

“Àô«ùuop «ùq s…πno é ánq ◊ü◊üƒ± ç é…Ø áou ‘◊ü◊üƒ± ás