One night early last year she was lying in bed trying to sleep but was unable to because of great difficulty breathing. At the time, she was more than halfway through a case of viral bronchitis that ended up lasting eight weeks. No doctor or emergency room visit brought any relief.It would be another year before the cause of her multiple health problems would finally be correctly diagnosed by a competent doctor, when she would hear the kind man say with a smile, "I can help you," and "You have been hurting for a long time."
Her physical suffering had been brutal, for years. As she sat up in bed in so much misery, our sweet and gentle Jesus came to her, and took her mystically into the Garden of Gethsemane.
Suffering brings us so close to our Savior.
There in the Garden, she was given a glimpse of the suffering that He endured for each one of us that Holy Thursday night.
It was just a glimpse, a miniscule fraction of His agony in the Garden, not all that He suffered for us there, not what He suffered during His entire life, not what He suffered during the scourging, or when crowned with thorns, or while carrying the Cross, not what He suffered from being mocked, rejected, scorned, spit upon, not what He suffered because of His Mother's suffering and the suffering of His friends, not what He suffered knowing that so many would reject His offer of salvation and sanctification, and not what He suffered for three hours on the Cross.
It was just a glimpse of His suffering for us in the Garden of Gethsemane.
To contemplate what Jesus endured for our salvation is to realize that we are loved and valued by God beyond measure.
What a moment! The pain she experienced, and shared, with Christ in that one moment during that glimpse of His Agony in the Garden exceeded beyond measure all the cumulative physical, mental, and spiritual suffering she had experienced during her entire life.
It was a very powerful moment. She began to cry, tears of gratitude to our Savior for what He endured for us, tears of humility, tears of sorrow for all her sins, tears because of all the precious souls who reject His love and mercy, and thankful tears for being granted that very profound and loving experience while she was suffering.
The tears led to more congestion, and made it even more difficult for her to breathe.
"Jesus," she said aloud with a smile, while very grateful to God for granting such a profound moment of mystical union and trying not to complain, especially under those circumstances, "My crying is making it even harder for me to breathe."
And just like that, with great mercy Jesus removed her from the Garden, and left her to marvel at the wonders of God and to continue suffering in imitation of Christ.
"Every pain patiently borne, every blow to self, shapes the real eternal self. It was the Crucifixion of our Lord that prepared the way for His Resurrection and Glory." ~Fulton J. Sheen, Our Grounds For Hope
© Joseph Karl Publishing
