Thirteenth Day.
After the ceremony of the washing of the feet, Our Lord concludes His discourse by telling His apostles that now He will not say much more to them, for the prince of this world, Satan, is about to [pg 147] approach to claim a share in His sacred humanity: but in that He has no part. This He tells them, that the world may acknowledge that the Son loves His Father, and that He does all that is required of Him.—John xiv. 30. There are many who love to sit at the table of the Lord, to be filled with consolation, and to enjoy the spiritual luxury of His company. But few there are who would follow Christ to the cross. We must not only love the table of the Lord, but we must also be with Him in His Passion. We should suffer the trials sent to us, as good followers of the Lord Jesus. Remain then with the Lord under all circumstances, whether it be for consolation or bitterness of suffering. Some of the saints understood this so well that they prayed for afflictions.
Prayer.
Look down upon me, good and gentle Jesus, etc., etc.
Fourteenth Day.
And now, after the Last Supper, the Lord goes forth with His disciples to the Garden of Gethsemani, where He is so overcome with fear and sorrow, that He seems to cling to the society of the apostles for consolation. Falling down on His face, He prays that the chalice might pass, yet not as He would, but as the Father willed it. The disciples slept as if they had lost all sympathy for the Lord. But why is Our Saviour so distressed? Why is He so downcast? The sins and the consequences of sin appear before Him so vividly, and He is so overwhelmed with them, that He feels His soul oppressed [pg 148] unto death. He sees all the misery of humanity, all the cruelty practised by man, all the ignorance and degradation of the world; and for this He must suffer, to bring God's mercy again to man. He is to take upon Himself all the sins of mankind. He is to be degraded to the level of a slave, to die the same death, and all for us.
Prayer.
Look down upon me, good and gentle Jesus, etc., etc.