MARY, OUR MOTHER

SCRIPTURE COMMENTARY #513

And going out, Jesus went, according to his custom, to the Mount of Olives. And his disciples also followed him. And when he was come to the place, he said to them: "Pray, lest ye enter into temptation." And he was withdrawn away from them a stone's cast. And kneeling down, he prayed. Saying: "Father, if thou wilt, remove this chalice from me: but yet not my will, but thine be done." And there appeared to him an angel from heaven, strengthening him. And being in an agony, he prayed the longer. And his sweat became as drops of blood, trickling down upon the ground. And when he rose up from prayer and was come to the disciples, he found them sleeping for sorrow. And he said to them: "Why sleep you? Arise: pray: lest you enter into temptation." (Luke 22:39-46)

THE QUALITIES OF PRAYER: Our Blessed Lord's example teaches us also how we ought to pray. In the Garden of Gethsemani He prayed with devotion, -- humility, -- confidence, -- submission to God's will, -- and perseverance: 1. with devotion; for He prayed from the very bottom of His Heart, and retired a little way from His apostles so that He might pray undisturbed; 2. with exterior and interior humility; for He fell on His Face, humbling Himself in the dust before the majesty of His Eternal Father; 3. with confidence; for He began His prayer with the loving words: "My Father"; 4. with submission to th ewill of God; for He left the granting of His petition entirely in the Hands of His heavenly Father: "Not as I will," said He, "but as Thou wilt"; 5. with perseverance; for He said the same prayer over and over again. Even though He received no visible answer to His petition, He did not leave off praying, but rather "prayed the longer."

[From 'A Practical Commentary on Holy Scripture' by Bishop Knecht, D.D.]
(1899 Douay-Rheims Bible)