Prayer, vigilance & faith in God

Mark 14:1 - 15:47

In the Garden of Gethsemani, Jesus counseled Peter, James and John to pray & keep watch. This Passion Sunday, if we place ourselves in the scene of the gospel, we can feel that He gives this counsel also to us. For what happened to the three apostles can happen also to us: we may fail to be watchful and fall asleep. 

The gospel tells us what happened to Peter, James and John. When Jesus prayed in Gethsemani on the eve of His arrest, the three apostles did not listen to Jesus' counsel to stay awake. Instead, they followed their natural inclination - they slept. Jesus came from where He prayed, and came back to them finding them asleep. This happened three times. The three apostles did not know the importance of vigilance and watchfulness: virtues that can prevent faith in God from faltering. And so, since they were unprepared, when Jesus was arrested, they deserted Him and fled.

Jesus prayed intensely and deeply before entering into His Passion. He asks us to do the same this Holy Week:

to pray, 

to remain with Him, 

and to keep our souls awake. 

Traditional practices of the Lenten discipline are a great help. Ordinary acts of mortification and small sacrifices in the very contexts in which we live and work is what is called of us. We try to be more patient at work, kinder with others at home, or be more respectful to the people we meet on the street. It is not that difficult because Holy Week is just one week. It may be just the spiritual discipline and strength we need to get by for the rest of the year. So, whenever small things don't go right along the way, or something amiss happens, we do not fly off the handle easily and lose our patience. 

We need not depend only on our own strengths and intelligence in the practice and discipline of Holy Week. According to the wisdom of the Scriptures and "The Imitation of Christ" by Thomas a Kempis, if we trust in ourselves more than we trust God, then when a time of testing comes, we may have not enough reserves of inner strength that only faith in God can give. So we add prayer, vigilance and faith in Jesus. These are what can make us strong - not only for ourselves, but for others too. Like Jesus, we will be "on solid ground", and not "shifting sand". Temptations may come - worries, anxieties, fear, uncertainties - but if we ground ourselves in the love of Jesus, we may overcome all these and continue to do what is good and right. Prayer and watchfulness (awareness) can deepen our faith and anchor us well in every storm of life.  

To imitate Christ in His obedience

John 12:20-33

"Let him follow me where I am."


It was by the obedience of Jesus that saved us from a direction of sin and death. Though Adam had sinned, the new Adam - Christ - recovered our life of grace by His obedience.

Many verses in today's gospel lend rich imagery to this virtue of Christian obedience: 

"Unless the grain of wheat falls to the earth and dies" 

"Let him follow me where I am" 

"It was for this that I came to this hour"

"Once I am lifted up from earth". 

All these verses can remind us of who Christ is to us by His obedience to the Father's will: 

Jesus is our Bread of Life 

His mission is to be an itinerant preacher calling us to be His disciples

His agony in the Garden of Gethsemani teaches us obedience that is a dying to self-will

His death on the Cross equates His obedience to the Father in their love for all of us.


Sin has entered our humanity ever since Eve obeyed the suggestion of the Evil One and Adam obeyed the suggestion of Eve. We know that this inherited sin lives in us when we are aware of the darkness of our rebelliousness to law or disrespect for authority - in whatever form they may require of our respective states of life. It can start with a small undisciplined desire, which if left unchecked, can lead us to all sorts of bad habits and vices. However, what Jesus has taught us is the solution to all these bad habits: to be vigilant over our senses and to desire to obey God's will to do what is good and upright. 

Healing from sin and evil is a lifelong process. But it is possible, with God's grace. All the Saints were aware of their sinfulness. The 43-year old French missionary, St. Louis-Marie de Montfort (1673-1716 A.D.), was aware of this even in his deathbed. But God gave Him the grace to be grateful when he exclaimed: "I shall sin no more". 

The Lenten season can be a time to practice obedience again. To pray, fast and give alms. Like St. Louis-Marie de Montfort, our fidelity to this practice can grant us the healing we need for both body and soul. We practice good habits one day at a time. And we imitate the obedience of Christ one day at a time. 

1st Sunday of Lent (B)

Inspire in Us the Practice of Good:

Reflections for Spiritual Growth and Self-Renewal, 1st Sunday of Lent (B), February 26, 2012

Liturgical readings

Genesis 9:8-15 Psalm 25 1 Peter 3:18-22 Mark 1:12-15

"Reform your lives and believe in the good news."

The gospel passage for this 1st Sunday of Lent (B) is comprised of only 4 verses; yet, in many Catholic bible translations, this passage is divided into two paragraphs: The Temptation of Jesus (verses 12-13) and The Beginning of Jesus' Galilean Ministry (verses 14-15). Mark's description of the temptation of Jesus is not as detailed as that of Matthew's version (Mt 4:1-11), nor of Luke's version (Lk 4:1-13). In Mark's version, there are no descriptive details of the Jesus' encounter with Satan. And the victory of Jesus over Satan's temptation is implied in the gospel of Mark.

Jesus was like us in every way except for sin. God was made flesh in Him to give us strength against sin and the practice of virtue. Because of the sin we inherited from Adam and Eve, we easily succumb to sin, either venial or mortal. Only Jesus in His purity can give us strength to obey God and His commands, follow His counsels and inspirations. Since we have been gifted with faith at our baptism, we have the responsibility to nurture this faith in Jesus. The quality of this faith is what can help us overcome temptations, such as the craving of the flesh, the concupiscence of the eyes, and the strong pull of worldly ambition - three temptations that can ruin and destroy our souls (as it almost did St. Augustine, before his conversion).

In one of his sermons, St. Augustine says that the battle against evil is "harsher for those who are young". He is speaking from experience and reflecting in his wisdom years. It is true. In old age, the seniors (seasoned Catholics) know well about this fight and have passed through it many times. Quoting St. Augustine, he says: "you have grown old in this combat...age has worn you of the fight". And the wise saint continues also to say that even old age can "wear out the foes". But St. Augustine knows the importance of vigilance, because he knows the ancient enemy still "does not cease to disturb the peace even of old age".

Points for reflection: What passages in the Bible or traditional Catholic prayers can help us overcome the temptations we encounter in daily life and work or leisure? What means can we take to avoid situations that can lead us to sin?