I am skipping ahead a little here. I have been drawn to this part over and over, no matter how hard I tried to work on the story in order. Perhaps that is because this has been my Lenten preoccupation this year (actually, for at least three years, now). Since it is Holy Thursday, it seems particularly appropriate. After all these years, maybe I am beginning to have some idea about what it meant:A Message
The Sorrowful Mysteries follow. At this time, we can join with Jesus in His suffering. We can unite our sufferings with His.
The Agony in the Garden allows us to meditate on Jesus’ decision to undertake all that He would suffer for the redemption of the world. This mystery always drew me in. I find a particular fascination with it. You might say it is my favorite mystery.
After eating the Passover Supper with His disciples, Jesus brought them to a nearby vineyard called Gethsemani. The group was accustomed to His habit of going off by Himself for prayer as He did on this particular night. Since Jesus is God, He knew full well what lay ahead for Him on the next day: one of His closest companions would betray Him with a false show of affection; He would be arrested, against all the rubrics of Hebrew law; they would subject Him to an illicit and sham trial; they would taunt and mock Him; His own people would hand Him over to foreigners for disposal; the ‘legitimate authority’ would abdicate to the pressures of the crowd; the soldiers would to further humiliate and cruelly torture Him; He would have to carry the heavy beam of the cross through dirty, dusty streets while the crowds continued to jeer Him, although a few women lamented at His treatment; His wounds from the earlier beatings would be renewed as He was stripped naked; He would die in the most cruel way that mankind ever devised ; that many would reject His efforts also became crystal clear. As a human, He felt the same dread we would at the prospect.
So three times He asked His Father to spare Him from the pain and suffering. He also knew the end result of all His efforts. He knew that it was necessary for Him to take on all our sinfulness in order that Heaven be opened for us. He knew that God ultimately wants each of us to spend all of eternity with Him in Heaven. So our Lord agonized over choosing the difficult Way for our salvation. It was such intense agony, that capillaries burst, allowing blood to seep out with His sweat. In the end, however, He accepted the mission and offered no further resistance throughout the entire process.
Meanwhile, His disciples slept, oblivious to all that He experienced in His prayer time.
As we rode along, we began to think about what we might find once we finally arrived at the hospital. None of us saw Arif after the accident, so we had no idea. He was already gone when Joe got there. There was on information about his condition. We were directed to St. John’s to find out any information at all. You already know more than we did at this point.
Auto accidents happen every day. Some people walk away, seemingly unscarred by the event. We could hope for this outcome, but we already knew that was not Arif’s situation, because he went to St. John’s. Some end up with aches and pains, like whiplash or various bumps and bruises. We hoped this was the worst we could expect in Arif’s case, but a mother’s mind continues to review the full range of possibilities. I knew people who needed stitches or surgery after an accident. Others spent time in the hospital with more serious injuries: broken bones, damaged organs, or coma. Some came out with some sort of brain injury. The emergency medical care can be life saving, thank God, but sometimes the continuing intervention can interfere with the overall health of an individual. We may need a good bit of discernment to make appropriate choices on his care. Of course, the seemingly worst case scenario would be death.
Since I have a Master’s Degree in special education, I have seen the full range of human functioning. Many people I have worked with were severely limited either physically or cognitively. I knew that these outcomes would be extremely difficult for my family, especially Joe. The impact on my other four children could also be devastating. I prayed for all of them and Joe to be able to cope with whatever the outcome might be.
I had no idea what to pray. I know that God has wisdom and insight that are way beyond mine. He would know what was best for us all. I prayed and hoped against hope that he would not be allowed to live with such serious injuries that he would not be able to fulfill his hopes and dreams. But in the end, my prayer resolved: “Lord, You alone have the wisdom. Your will be done.” It was the only prayer I could bring myself to pray for days. I didn’t even know if I would be able to handle any number of the possible outcomes.
At this point, I was given a message: “You have everything you need to deal with this situation.” It was not a voice, it was just a sense of resolve. Although I had no idea what it meant, I knew it was sent as a comfort.
I did not have much time to ponder. Jo’s cell phone rang. How does this contraption work?
It was Mary Estep, the founding mother of our home school group. She wanted to make sure we knew that her family was praying for Arif. If there was anything we needed, be sure to let them know.
By the time I finished talking with Mary, we arrived at the hospital. We would finish the Rosary later. When we had some idea of what we were praying for, there would be ample opportunity to follow Christ through His Passion and Death, and hopefully be able to rejoice in His Resurrection.
Comments (2)
^^
Hey, it looks like you're about halfway through, Mom!
I don't know if they've left any comments, but you've got a decent sized loyal following out here. JSYK :D