Tuesday, April 05, 2011

With Jesus in the Garden of Olives

Check out this website I found at h2onews.org
At the foot of the Mount of Olives is the garden of Gethsemane, or the Garden of Olives, a place visited by Jesus with his disciples, even before the Passion. Saint John tells us that the garden at Kedron was the favorite place of retreat for the Lord. And there are centuries old olives still to be admired today in this garden next to the Franciscan Basilica also known as the Basilica of the Agony, which surrounds the rock of the agony, on which – according to tradition – Jesus passed perhaps the most painful hour of the entire passion: here he experienced that sadness of the soul “unto death”, and that intense prayer even unto the “sweating” of blood. The present church dates from 1919-1924 and is the work of the Italian architect Antonio Barluzzi. It is also known as the Church of the Nations, since as many as 16 countries contributed to its construction. In the ground beneath the church, fragments of mosaic from the first byzantine basilica were found, the design from which were faithfully reproduced in the present pavement. Here, at Gethsemane, there is another station of the Lenten pilgrimages of the Franciscans: a Holy Mass, participated in by local Christians and pilgrims, in which the gospel text of the agony of Jesus is relived. Father Vittorio Bosello, presiding at the celebration and saying the homily, recalls how current the words of Jesus are: “Wake up and pray, that you do not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.””Our life – he emphasized – is full of so many things, but so much the more necessary is silence for hearing the Lord and seeking a place to be with Him.” Father VITTORIO BOSELLO, OFM, Custody of the Holy Land: “First of all it is necessary to say that Jesus came here all the times he came out of the Temple, to pray and also to rest with his disciples. It was a familiar place. Here they all abandon him and he feels himself alone and turns to the Father asking him to avert this tragedy, but says: not mine, but your will.” It seems to emanate a special grace, this rock, and remind whoever kneels next to it of those heartfelt words of Jesus “Stay here and watch with me.” The next event here at Gethsemane will be the evening of Holy Thursday, the 21st of April, when the Custodian of the Holy Land, Father Pierbattista Pizzaballa, will preside at the solemn commemoration of the agony of the Lord. A holy hour which will be experienced with pilgrims and local Christians – and by very many of the faithful spread throughout the world, thanks to the live broadcasts of many television stations.

Video: http://www.h2onews.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=224448716...

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