First Sorrowful Mystery ~ Agony in the Garden
And he was
withdrawn away from them a stone' s cast; and kneeling down, he prayed, Saying:
Father, if thou wilt, remove this chalice from me: but yet not my will, but
thine be done. And there appeared to him an angel from heaven, strengthening
him. And being in an agony, he prayed the longer. (Luke 22:41-43)
Our greatest
fault is that we wish to serve God in our way, not in His way -- according to
our will, not according to His will. When He wishes us to be sick, we wish to
be well; when He desires us to serve Him by sufferings, we desire to serve Him
by works; when He wishes us to exercise charity, we wish to exercise humility;
when He seeks from us resignation, we wish for devotion, a spirit of prayer or
some other virtue. And this is not because the things we desire may be more pleasing
to Him, but because they are more to our taste. This is certainly the greatest
obstacle we can raise to our own perfection, for it is beyond doubt that if we
were to wish to be saints according to our own will, we shall never be so at
all. To be truly a saint, it is necessary to be one, according to the will of
God. ~ Saint Francis de Sales
But the
chief point lies in our embracing the will of God in all things which befall
us,
not only when they are favorable, but when they are contrary to our desires. When things go on well, even sinners find no difficulty in being in a state of conformity to the divine will; but the saints are in conformity also under circumstances which run counter and are mortifying to self-love. It is herein that the perfection of our love for God is shown. The Venerable Father John Avila used to say, "A single Blessed be God, when things go contrary, is of more value than thousands of thanksgivings when they are to our liking." ~ St. Alphonsus de Liguori
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