St. Alphonsus Liguori - Discourses

Jesus Christ, knowing that the hour of his passion is now come, after having washed his disciples' feet, and instituted the most holy sacrament of the altar, in which he left us his whole self, retires into the garden of Gethsemane, where he is aware that his enemies will come to take him. Here he begins to pray; and behold he is oppressed with great fear, sadness and sorrow: He began to fear, to grow sorrowful and to be sad. The fear of the bitter death he is about to suffer on Calvary, and of all the agony and desolation which are to accompany it, overwhelms him. In the course of his passion, the scourges, the thorns, the cords and other torments will afflict him one by one; but in the garden they come altogether upon him by anticipation and grievously torment him. He embraces them all for the love of us, but in embracing them he trembles and is agonized: Being in agony he prayed the longer. Again, he is oppressed with so great a sadness at the sight of what he is to suffer, that he implores his Father to deliver him from it: My Father, if it be possible, let this chalice pass from me. He prays thus to teach us that, in tribulations, we may indeed call upon God to deliver us from them; but that, at the same time, we must resign ourselves to his blessed will, and say as Jesus said: "Nevertheless, not as I will, but as thou wilt."