The Agony in the Garden - Sorrow for Our Sins

 

The Sorrowful Mysteries

The Agony in the Garden

Fruit of the Mystery: Sorrow for Our Sins

After the Last Supper, Jesus went to the Mount of Olives to pray. He knew his passion and death were drawing near, and, in his humanity, he was full of fear. “He was in such agony and he prayed so fervently that his sweat became like drops of blood falling on the ground” (Luke 22:44). He begged His Father, “Father, if you are willing, take this cup away from me; still, not my will but yours be done” (Luke 22:42). Jesus was without sin. He did not need to die, but “he himself bore our sins in his body upon the cross, so that, free from sin, we might live for righteousness”
(1 Peter 2:24).

The Sorrowful Mysteries invite us to meditate on the sufferings of Jesus as he died for our salvation. Jesus knew what he was about to go through, and he willingly accepted the pain, but he was terrified. Fear is a fundamental human experience. We can imagine Jesus’s pounding heart, the sweat pouring from every part of him. He had the power to run, to escape from the torture that awaited Him, but he didn’t.

Jesus suffered and died for each one of us. Our sins made him suffer. He took on all the ways that we have broken our relationship with God. He took on the punishment that we all deserved that we might have the opportunity to share in eternal life.

We all sin every day. It is part of our fallen human condition. We fail in loving both God and neighbor. God in His mercy is willing and waiting to forgive us, but we need to repent. We need to be aware of our sins, be sorry for them, and beg for that forgiveness. We need to go to the Sacrament of Reconciliation on a regular basis. We can also pray an Act of Contrition whenever we realize we have sinned.

In meditating on this mystery of The Agony of the Garden, let us pray for an increase in our sorrow for our sins.

 

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