Calendar

Leader's School
Thur June 6, 7:00pm
St. Benedict's, BA
RE classroom #8

Ultreya-Tulsa
Fri June 7, 7:00pm
St. Mary's, Tulsa

Ultreya-BA
Fri June 21, 7:00pm
St. Benedict's, BA

Leader's School
Thur July 11, 7:00pm
St. Benedict's, BA
RE classroom #8

Ultreya-Tulsa
Fri July 5, 7:00pm
St. Mary's, Tulsa

Ultreya-BA
Fri July 19, 7:00pm
St. Benedict's, BA

Men's Weekend #31
Sept 26-29, 2002
St. John's, McAlester

Women's Weekend #31
Oct 10-13, 2002
St. John's, McAlester

SPIRITUALITY 101
SPIRITUAL REFLECTION- 121
Deacon Jim Breazile o.c.d.s.

A businessman met with several very serious reverses. He complained most bitterly to everyone about and his whole life became distasteful to him. His wife, however, was courageous. Being endowed with a strong faith and pure heart, she tried to console her husband, but to no avail. One day she appeared extremely saddened, and refused to eat anything. Her husband anxious about her health asked about her sadness. After some coaxing his wife consented to tell him. "Last night," she said, "I dreamed that our good Lord had died, and all the angels were there and wept most bitterly. This dream nearly broke my heart; and I am still very sad over it." "Nonsense," said her husband. "Can God die?" Then smiling cheerfully and looking kindly into his eyes, she said, "Therefore, the good God still lives?" "Yes, of course God still lives; how can you be so childish?" Then the woman became very serious and said, "But if the good God still lives, why have you no longer any confidence in Him?". Her point was well made. The husband said, "Yes, dear wife, you are right. You are more sensible than I. From now on I too will trust in God."

Despair is the sin of Judas. It is an insidious sin that causes much suffering. Jesus redeemed all suffering in the Garden of Gethsemane, and as an angel strengthened him in His suffering, we are strengthened by our faith.

DEVOTION - Growth in love- 3rd stage
DEVOTIONALS- MEDITATION-SACRAMENTALS-THE ROSARY-48
The Mysteries of the Rosary-6
THE SORROWFUL MYSTERIES: The First Joyful Mystery
Jesus Suffers in the Garden of Gethsemane: Luke 22:39-46

"Then going out he went, as was his custom, to the Mount of Olives, and the disciples followed him. When he arrived at the place (called Gethsemane in Mk 14:32 and a garden in John 18:1) he said to them (Peter, James and John in Mk 14:33 and Matt 26:35), 'Pray that you may not undergo the test.' After withdrawing about a stone's throw from them, and keeling, he prayed, saying, 'Father if you are willing, take this cup away from me; still, not my will but yours be done.' And to strengthen him an angel from heaven appeared to him. He was in such agony and he prayed so fervently that his sweat became like drops of blood falling on the ground. When he rose from prayer and returned to his disciples, he found them sleeping from grief. He said to them, 'why are you sleeping? Get up and pray that you may not undergo the test.'"

It is difficult for us to understand all that happened in the garden of Gethsemane. We read of the agony, the heart wrenching suffering, in which the stress was so great that blood exuded through his sweat glands. We can imagine that red rosary of blood drops falling on the ground which had been cursed by Adam's sin and which bore the roots of the ancient olive tree near which Jesus prayed. His blood renews those roots, and begins to restore the promised perfection of spiritual life for man.
(Gen. 2:9) "Out of the ground the Lord God made various trees grow that were delightful to look at and good for food, with the tree of life in the middle of the garden..." (Gen. 3:22) "Then the Lord God said: 'See! The man has become like one of us, knowing what is good and what is bad! Therefore, he must not be allowed to put out his hand to take fruit from the tree of life also, and thus eat of it and live forever." (Gen. 3:24) "He stationed the cherubim and the fiery revolving sword, to guard the way to the tree of life." (Rev. 2:7 "To the victor I will give the right to eat from the tree of life that is in the garden of God." (Rev. 22:1-2) "Then the angel showed me the river of life-giving water, sparkling like crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of its street. On either side of the river grew the tree of life that produces fruit twelve times a year, once each month; the leaves of the trees serve as medicine for the nations."

The Lord testifies that the tree of life in the Garden of Eden represents the source of eternal life. If the sinful Adam had eaten from the tree evil would have been eternalized. Thus after man was cast out of the presence of God, paradise and eternal life was closed to him and guarded by the flaming sword. In the book of revelation God makes it clear that the tree of life was to be once again available. The shedding of blood made Holy by the divinity of Christ in the garden of Gethsemane represents the first step in the fulfillment of Christ's mission of restoring man to paradise. This restoration required that Christ merit forgiveness from the Father. Without the shedding of blood there could be no forgiveness (Hebrews 9:22).

Why, before any observable physical injury had been done to Jesus, was there so much suffering in the garden? We might assume that Christ, knowing what would be required of Him on the Cross, suffered in anticipation. The agony however, is excessive for the mere anticipation of suffering. It was real suffering, not just its anticipation, that Christ experienced. By the time Jesus came to the garden, He understood that through His solidarity with all mankind, He would have to incorporate by transference into His body the pains and suffering induced by the sin of man throughout all of time. Most of us have experienced the pain of individual sins, the disappointments of failed promises, and unrequited love. We cannot comprehend the intensity of suffering induced by sin for all of humanity since that of Adam and Eve, to the last human who will live on earth. It was this suffering that He was to absorbed into His body. Taking it into His body, He could then bear that suffering to the Cross, where through His death, He could bring redemption for all sin. His suffering of transference by Jesus was far beyond anything we could imagine. Even if we were to suffer the most intense possible human pain, for the longest possible life, we would suffer only an exceedingly small shadow of the suffering of Christ in the garden.

As the human body was not created for death, there is an inherent rebellion against it. With this rebellion, there was also a rebellion of the will against the suffering required for the shedding of redemptive blood. In His suffering, He brought His body into accord with His will, and restored integrity to us all. It was through this suffering that Jesus learned obedience to the Father ("not my will but yours be done") and conformed His human will in perfect union to that of the Father. (Hebrews 5:8) "For our sake He made Him to be sin who did not know sin."(2 Cor 5:21) "Yet it was our infirmities that He bore, our sufferings that He endured. But He was pierced for our offenses, crushed for our sins. Upon Him was the chastisement that makes us whole, by his stripes we were healed." (Isaiah 53:4-5)

NEW CATHOLIC CATECHISM
ARTICLE NO. 1115
Jesus' words and actions during his hidden life and public ministry were already salvific, for they anticipated the power of His Paschal mystery. They announced and prepared what he was going to give the Church when all was accomplished. The mysteries of Christ's life are the foundations of what he would he would henceforth dispense in the sacraments, through the ministers of his Church, for "what was visible in our Savior has passed over into his mysteries." (Sermon of St. Leo the Great, 74, 2:Pl54, 398)

ARTICLE NO. 1116
Sacraments are" powers that come forth" from the Body of Christ (Cf. Lk. 5:17; 6:19; 8:46) which is ever-living and life-giving. They are actions of the Holy Spirit at work in his body, the Church. They are "the masterworks of God" in the new and everlasting convenant.

SACRAMENT
Deacon Jim Breazile o.c.d.s.

The Son of God became a man
In obedience to His Fathers plan
To give to God a human voice
And to give to man salvific choice

His every action and every deed
Expressed so that man be freed
By the power of His Paschal mystery
As eternal gift in temporal history

To the Church He gives His life
Sacramental base to subdue strife
What was visible in our Savior
Becomes sacramental behavior

His Body emits His holy power
Provides the Church its divine dower
A new and everlasting investiture
Gives to the Church His divine nature

Ó2002 DR. JAMES E. BREAZILE, deacon 
JOHN PAUL EVANGELIST OCDS