Sixteenth Day
The Lord bade His disciples watch and pray, but hardly has He left them to themselves than they fall asleep. Judas is not asleep; he is actively engaged in getting his company together, giving them instructions how to proceed, so that they might elude the power of the Lord. But the disciples sleep, and are careless of the Lord’s interests. No wonder that the indifference of the disciples gave Him an additional pang. We, too, are the disciples of the Lord. Why do we sleep while the enemy is sowing the seed of error and irreligion? What effect has the instructions, the counsels of the divine Master, had upon us? They are all forgotten, and we look to our own comfort and to our pleasures; we go after the world, money and honors, but think little of God. Let us then watch and pray; the spirit is indeed willing, but the flesh is weak. The soul would act otherwise, if the body had not been allowed an almost limitless freedom while the soul is dying of spiritual starvation. Give your soul an opportunity to rise above the low necessities of the body, and the spirit will then be strong to compel the body to obey.
Prayer.
Look down upon me, good and gentle Jesus, etc., etc.