“In the head of the book it is written of Me
that I should do Thy Will, O God.”
~Epistle of St. Paul to the Hebrews, 10:7
This command reveals three of Jesus’ many virtues: His loving
and willing Obedience; His wise Prudence; and His utter Poverty.
Our Lord’s obedience to all that was required
of the Jewish Pasch is the perfect example of the obedience we now owe to His
Church and Her laws.
Our Lord’s prudence made itself manifest
because He did not want to give Judas, who probably would have performed such
duties as a rule, any immediate opportunity to betray Him. Jesus willed that
enough time was allowed to institute the Sacred Mystery of the Holy Eucharist,
as well as all else that transpired in the Cenacle.
Our Lord’s poverty is once more revealed,
because He had no place of His own with which to celebrate the Pasch. He gave
all that He had to save souls, by preaching the “Good News,” telling the people
that “the kingdom of God is at hand,” and working miracles, not for sensational
reasons, but for the Glory of God.
And so - the Lamb of God ordered the preparations that
marked the beginning of His own Sacrifice. On this final night of His earthly
life, Our Lord was still attempting to save a soul. He did not show anger with
Judas or expose him, but instead He attempted every means to save him. Imagine
being in the daily Presence of Jesus and yet look for a way to betray Him!
To be a loyal disciple and Apostle of Christ was the only means
that would have saved Judas from his evil inclinations – if only he had not
trifled with the grace of his vocation.
What a terrible tragedy to lose a vocation – to let the spirit
of the world have entrance to a heart that has given itself to Our Lord. It is
Our Lord’s will and desire in calling persons to any special vocation that they
live the supernatural interior life – not the natural, material, carnal life of
worldly people.
St. Ignatius tells us to imitate the Angels so that we can be
like God's angels on earth. By daily uniting ourselves to the suffering and Sacred
Heart of Jesus, we will better keep our wills in conformity with God's,
seeking His Glory, and not ours.
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