After Jesus had finished the Last Supper it was time.
He left and went to the Mount of Olives where He would be tempted to walk away from what was to come. He overcame this temptation but He was obviously scared.
His disciples came with Him but it was Peter, James and John who went on a little further with Him and whom he told that He was deeply grieved. In Matthew 26:38 He said to them, “Stay awake with me.” He wanted support in this hour of trouble.
As we know they kept falling asleep.
Last Tuesday, as I have spoken about before, I came home from a seven day Parish Mission/Event. It was exactly 1.30am when I crawled into bed after a very long day.
One hour later Rosemary woke me to say we needed to go to the Emergency Department at the Hospital. Rosemary had hurt her back a couple of weeks earlier and she was still in agony.
We went straight to the hospital and waited until 8.00am for a doctor to see her.
The problem I had was I that I was very tired at 4.00 in morning after only one hour of sleep and I knew that on the next night another Parish/Mission event was going to begin and I needed to be ready.
I sat down in the waiting room and before I knew it I had placed my cheek in my hand and I fell fast asleep.
Rosemary got so frustrated by this because she wanted me to wait with her. I really tried but it was the case that my spirit was willing but my flesh proved to be so weak.
Human beings need the power of God to live as the Gospel demands because it is more than we can do ourselves. This power of God comes through the Holy Spirit who grants us ability beyond our own.
ACTION: Ask God to grant you the strength in areas of your weakness so that you can live as you believe that God is calling you to live.
GOSPEL READING: Luke 4: 16-21
Don’t forget to comment below.
Bruce, Thank you for the reminder of the wonderful love that Jesus pours out for us! the preciousness of this love! the focus of it! Maureen
Your thoughts spur me on. I’m now realising tht I’m getting older and finding it hard to cope with some aspects of life. But you bring me back to earth with your straight talking. How hard was it for Our Lord to do what He did for us . This week takes us to that place and makes us realise just how weak we are without Him. Thank you Bruce for your words.
T hank you for how you share your life experiences, almost mirroring with Rosemary’s night at the hospital,your extreme tiredness, Rosemary’s need to have you with her, it puts the flesh on what Jesus goes through, it brings it alive! I was fortunate through a very difficult time in my life..many years ago, when on seeming impulse I bought a painting of Jesus and the two disciples on the road to Emmaus,after many years the painting seemed to speak for itself, I began to understand they were depressed, their hopes all seemed gone and they were going home with deep sadness in their hearts, afraid for what could now happen to them. He walked beside them, and yet they did not recognize Him…..until they invited Him in……and recognized Jesus in THE BREAKING OF THE BREAD. It was then my eyes were opened, and I realized it was this breaking in my life that brought me closer to our God in daily prayer. An incredible blessing was given to me.
Dear Bruce , It has been a real JOY to follow you over Lent with your lovely insight in to the ordinary things in life and how the Lord is part of our everyday journey. God bless and love to you and your family over Easter , may it be a time of love, laughter, friends and family. regards Judy.
As I sit here, listening yo your message, Bruce, I have a vision of Jesus, sitting with the disciples, on that last night, knowing what was to come.
How truly great was his love for us, in giving his life for us.
During Lent, we can choose to ‘give up’ something, for forty days,
a sacrifice, for a time. We have the option, to ‘opt out’ ( many of us do), that we ‘did part of it’ ……
‘better than nothing’…….. Yet Jesus
followed through, he completed the journey, as it was meant for him…. ‘
‘Thy will be done ‘ …and so it was.
My understanding of Lent, during this Lenten journey, has deepened. It has opened not only my eyes, also my heart, that the sacrifices, I have made in my own journey of life, for myself, for others, is only a small price, compared to that, God gave us. –
His only son, for our sins.
I hope we see and feel this reflection, deep, in our heart, when we offer ‘to go without ,
or offer our sacrifice to God.
Bruce I wish you, your family and your team, (also all who are joining in, and following you, on this Lenten journey ), God’s blessing, and enlightenment.
The message in the video of how deeply God loves me did penetrate not just my mind but I could feel it in my heart too. Thank you Bruce for the message hitting home tonight.
God Bless
Valerie
Yes, we cannot cheat nature. There is no way the body can be tied and u force it push on. Jesus was a real man with human physic and that is why he was weak on his way to calvary and failed 3 times. He became a little scared in the garden and needed his 3 disciples to stay awake and support him.
The spirit is willing but the flesh is always week and fails us on many occasions when we want to prove our willingness to do something, and to be there when needed. Rest is something we need if we want to score high and it is during this rest period in between our services that we can ask God for more strength to continue.
I don’t always do it to be frank, but it is the right thing do. Jesus failed on his way 3 times because he was tired. There is no way u could work long hours like u did and will be able to stay awake and support ur wife without falling asleep. Ur wife could have said the same thing to u as Jesus said to his disciples, ” can u not wait one hour with me. ” Human weakness is one of the greatest obstacles in life and all we can do is to pray constantly that God should give us the strength to overcome this obstacles that are keeping us from reaching him.
Beautiful! Thank you Bruce.
I have loved every single one of these videos! Yet my heart is sad because all of them have to do with prayer, which is something I’ve been having trouble doing…
Yes, I pray. Almost every morning I pray the rosary, yet I am not really all there because my mind wonders of A LOT… so I feel that my prayers are meaningless to God…
I keep asking our Lord to give me a clear view of what he wants me to do. Yet I still don’t know… what is it I’m doing wrong?
Brothers and sisters please pray for my family and I that our Love for Our Lord may keep going within our hearts.
Thank you so much for sharing your insight with us! This has meant so much to me and explained things so much better for me through lent. I will get to receive the body & blood truly for the first time this Saturday and I cannot wait to feel God’s power and presence in my life at a whole new level! I hope to be able to look back at each one of your videos to truly absorb it all more thoroughly. God Bless! Sandra
Dear Bruce I am s honored that I have been able to share and follow you on this Lenten journey. God’s love for us is so precious. I am praying for you and your whole family, especially your Mother and Rosemary. I think that people have to be understanding when others are doing their best. It is so amazing to me that when I am exhausted like you were how God keeps me going and gets me through the very tough times. I am currently going through a very stressful time and I call on Jesus and he keeps me going. May God bless you and your family. Thanks so much Erica
Thanks Bruce for explaining the mystery of the Eucharist to us in plain terms.
It is something that we will never really understand fully in this life, but you found a lovely simple way to explain that the Mass is God loving us to the ultimate, making present in the here and now, His sacrifice on the cross.
Thank you so much for this preaching. I don’t wish to be negative, but the reality is that we are not getting much teaching about the magnificence of the Eucharist in our Sunday sermons, when so much of scripture points to the Eucharist.