Watch and pray: A Holy Thursday reflection

"Gethsemane" by Carl Bloch

The vigil after the Mass of the Lord's Supper is a solemn one. Most people in the church have dispersed, gone home for the night, and only two dozen or so of the "holy ones" remain in the darkened church, kneeling in front of the alternate tabernacle where the Blessed Sacrament has been reposed.

Two little boys, aged about seven and nine, file into the first row. They sit on the pew with a little space between them, gazing straight ahead at the tabernacle surrounded by white cloths, flowers, and flickering candles. The scene is not exactly picturesque; the boys chatter quietly with each other from time to time, and one of them is munching on some chips that he has brought with him, but it inspires me nonetheless. As I have often witnessed on mission in the Philippines, young children here display a devotion to Our Lord that I have never seen before, unparalleled by most children in faithful Catholic American homes.

I hear the boys mentioning the name of Jesus -- "Wala si Jesus....Jesus is gone" -- perhaps recalling a Gospel story or else repeating words spoken to them to explain this night when we commemorate the arrest of Jesus and subsequent abandonment by His apostles. Again my faith is strengthened by the simple yet profound faith of these boys who have come to spend a few minutes with their Lord, that He may not be left alone.

"My soul is very sorrowful, even to death; remain here, and watch with me." Matthew 26:38

Let us listen to the pleadings of Our Lord Jesus, Who bears the weight of our sins as He prays in the garden of Gethsemane. Can you not watch and pray one hour with Him today?