As I sat in the silence of the chapel, I imagined Jesus hanging on the Cross, suffering for my salvation. He was alone, cold, bloody, bruised, and in more agony than I could ever comprehend. I placed myself in the scene, and I wanted nothing more than to console the Heart of Jesus. In my holy imagination, I found myself, not at the Foot of the Cross, but face to face with Christ Crucified. I reached out and gently touched His bruised face. I didn’t want to hurt Him even more by my touch, but I wanted to let Him know how much I loved Him. I kissed the top of His bloodied, “sacred head surrounded by crown of piercing thorn” (source).
This prayer experience only lasted a few moments, but the desire to console the Heart of Jesus has remained with me. Over the years, I have returned to this scene in my mind’s eye, and I continue to offer Jesus the little consolation I can. It brings to mind Psalm 116:12: “How can I repay the Lord for all the great good done for me?” Yes, consoling the Heart of Jesus is the very least I can do for Him in return for all He has done for me.
Consoling the Heart of Jesus
While it makes sense that I have a desire to console Jesus in His hour of need, is it really necessary? Why would I need to console the heart of Jesus when He is now glorified in Heaven?
According to Pope Pius XI in his encyclical Miserentissimus Redemptor, our sins, although in the future, were foreseen by Christ and thus made Him, as Scripture also tells us, “sorrowful unto death.” He suffered and died for our sins, even though we had yet to commit them. Likewise, Jesus “derived somewhat of solace from our reparation, which was likewise foreseen.” So even now, continues the pope, “we can and ought to console that Most Sacred Heart, which is continually wounded by the sins of thankless men” (source).
Because Jesus took on the form of humanity, he experienced human need. He needed food, water, clothing, and shelter. He also needed love, and “He […] loved us all with a human heart” (Catechism of the Catholic Church § 478). Likewise, just as we have a need for comfort when we are suffering, Jesus had that same human need. He looked for consolation but was met with abandonment: “Insult has broken my heart, and I despair; I looked for compassion, but there was none, for comforters, but found none. Instead they gave me poison for my food; and for my thirst they gave me vinegar” (Psalm 69:21-22; see also Mark 15:34-36).
Lent: A Time of Intentional Consolation
During the season of Lent, when the Church meditates on the Passion and Death of our Lord for forty days and nights, a beautiful opportunity opens up for us to console the Heart of Jesus in a very intentional way.
From the very beginning of His Passion in the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus was alone. After celebrating the Last Supper, which was the first Mass and the Institution of both the Eucharist and the Priesthood, Jesus underwent such overwhelming sorrow that He even asked His Father if the cup that He was about to drink could pass from Him (see Matthew 26:39). Because His soul was “sorrowful even to death” (Matthew 26:38), Jesus invited His friends to stay with Him and pray. But they did not realize all that was about to take place, and they fell asleep as His Agony in the Garden began. However, He was not left alone as an angel appeared to Jesus to strengthen Him (see Luke 22:43).
But what if, instead of an angel, one of His friends—Peter, James, or John—took the time to console our Lord? If I was there, could it have been me?
Likewise, when the soldiers came to arrest Jesus, His disciples scattered, completely abandoning Him to endure the worst possible torments any human has ever experienced.
But what if one of them would have stayed? In reflection, would I have stayed?
Let us imagine what it would have meant to Jesus if one of His closest friends would have stayed to offer Him love and support. While they could not have taken away the pain, they could have walked alongside Him and prayed with Him. They could have consoled the Heart of Jesus, just as He consoled their hearts so many times before.
Meeting Jesus Under the Olive Tree
This Lent, as Jesus enters into His Passion, Blessed Is She invites you to meet Him in the Garden of Gethsemane, where it all began. It is there in the olive grove that we invite you into the beautiful work of consoling the Heart of Jesus. We want to journey with you through our new Lent devotional, Under the Olive Tree, which is now available.
Written by Olivia Spears, Under the Olive Tree was crafted from a place of deep prayer. And throughout the book, Olivia invites us to pause and pay attention in the Garden of Gethsemane, as a lot more happens there than we may have realized.
Each week of Lent, we will sit with a different vignette of Jesus’ Agony in the Garden:
- The sleeping Apostles
- Jesus’ surrender to the Father
- Jesus’ Agony
- Judas’ betrayal with a kiss
- The healing of the servant’s ear
- Jesus’ arrest
We will pray the Psalms that Jesus prayed and dive more deeply into the mystery of His surrendered and sacrificial love. We also will be invited to contemplate His love in Eucharistic Adoration just as Jesus asked His disciples to remain with Him for one hour and pray. Throughout the devotional, there is space for meditation, for journaling, and for praying with Scripture and sacred art.
Prayer for the Whole Family
In addition to the Lent devotional book, Blessed Is She is also offering a children’s companion with the same title, also written by Olivia. This kids’ devotional accompanies the women’s devotional; however, it also can be used independently. The children’s devotional follows a similar pattern to the women’s devotional, and each week of Lent, children will reflect on different scenes from Jesus’ Agony in the Garden and what they mean in their lives.
In addition to the two Lent books, Blessed Is She has curated a prayerful bundle, which includes a beautiful rosary based on the Sorrowful Mysteries and a Stations of the Cross prayer card set. These sacramentals are the perfect aids in deepening our prayer this Lent, drawing our hearts and minds to Christ’s Passion and uniting our suffering with His.
This Lent, as Jesus enters His Agony in the Garden of Gethsemane, He welcomes you to take your place Under the Olive Tree. There, He invites you to remain with Him in prayer, consoling and comforting Him with your presence, as He pours out His love for you.
Sarah Damm is a regular contributor to the BIS blog. She is a Catholic wife and mother of six children, living in Minnesota. She spends her days running errands, helping with homework, and keeping up with laundry and the family schedule. Sarah loves her faith, coffee, and good books. You can find out more about her here. Read all of Sarah's posts here.
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