Alone under the moonlight, in Your agony in the garden, and Your lifeless Body left in the tomb.

You were abandoned by so many but deeply loved by your dearest ones.

Our Blessed Mother, I can imagine, spent her entire night praying for you in Your agony and on Holy Thursday eve.  All day and night, absorbed in your suffering and praying that You would be given all the strength you needed.  Her heart breaking from all the swords her heart bore.

And Your dear ones, St. John, St. Mary Magdalene, and other few who stayed by Your side at Your crucifixion.  Deep was their love for You.  They risked their lives to be there for You.  Love doesn’t count the cost.  Their hearts bled for You and with You.

And all across time, all the souls who unite their suffering with Yours in Your agony and passion, meditating on all Your pains, are transported by Your side as though present in Your mind’s eye.  May my presence be Your consolation and strength.  May it remind You how much Your gift of redemption means to souls.  How much I love You, I want You, I need You.  Strip me of all that made You suffer in Your passion.  I want to comfort and please You more than give You reasons to cry.  I want to be close to You, so close that You’re living in and through me more than I am.  

O, how it moves my heart to see the King of Kings and God of the Universe lying here in the garden of Gethsemane.  All alone, sweating blood, agonizing in Your humanity, begging Your Father that this chalice be taken away, and ultimately suffering and receiving strength from an Angel sent.  Your cross was that unbearable.  Help me unite my every cross to You, carrying some of the weight of Your suffering—for my sins and my salvation.  I want to ease Your suffering and to love You for all the times You have not been loved and for all the souls who turn away Your gift of salvation.  I am here, Lord.  Teach me to be Your suffering adorer, sweet Lord.

I can bring my heart to You whenever I am suffering, especially when I feel alone, misunderstood, or abandoned.  You are outside of time; thus, I can bring myself to You in Your agony and passion and be with You.  We can comfort and strengthen each other.  Bring me into a deeper, more vivid meditation on Your suffering so I may see myself with You and unite more fully.  So many long years, I have not done so or seldom, and I want to use the rest of my life learning to be there as our Blessed Mother was always by Your side spiritually and, at times, physically.

Those nail marks in Your hands, feet, and pierced side will always be Your glory throughout eternity.  The marks of Your love for souls.  Some victim souls will even share the crucifixion marks in eternity because they resemble You, loving Lord.  To be like You, precious Lord is the joy of my heart.  Help my life be one of sorrows and joys—all united to You throughout it—to resemble Your holy face of love, O crucified Savior.

You are so beautiful — I am so grateful to have my God as Jesus, true man, and true God, to comfort and adore Your body laid in the tomb.  Thank You for Your incarnation that revealed Your humanity and Sacred Heart to us all.  We hear Your sweet words of love and heart beating with love for us through Your humanity.  We see Your years of sacrifice and selflessness.  We see suffering raised to the heights of glory and love, pouring out grace upon all the world.  Beautiful are You, Savior.  Your hands, feet, arms, and face are precious gifts from Abba Father and the womb of our Blessed Mother.  I love You, and I desire to be Yours always.  Deepen my love and affection for You, my Lord.

So many saints, like St. Elizabeth of the Trinity and St. Therese of Lisieux, knew Your love so profoundly, and they wrote beautifully of their affection for You.  Transform all hearts to have a relationship of love and prayer as they do.  You call each of us to this most profound intimacy with Your Sacred Heart.  Pour out the treasures of Your grace, O holy Redeemer.

You’ve been calling me closer through these permitted sufferings all this time.  So often, I fail to hear Your whisper inviting me to unite with You, to enter the prayer experience of Your suffering.  This holy ground deeply purifies me and expands my heart to love.  This brings us into the sweetest union—more than all sacrifices, fasting, good works, and pilgrimages.  Time with You in Your suffering is most powerful and transformative.

Open my eyes, Lord, to see suffering in a whole new way and myself as Your comforter.  At Your feet Lord, I stay; I choose to suffer and to love.  Amen.

CREDITS: https://adorehim.com/sharing/