Dear friends of Gethsemane, may the Lord grant you his peace!
The news conveyed by the mass media is not very comforting And in most cases it’s black chronicle... The messages about solidarity and good that many people silently do are very rare. There is some confusion and general discomfort at the appearance of events as open and declared wars between different nations, diseases, hunger, floods and earthquakes and fires. Even more curious is the swarm of apocalyptic messages that instill fear and bewilderment.On the contrary, the Lord, in the Gospel, in the face of much more serious events, invites us to an immense hope... that can only be understood if we maintain a strong relationship with Him: "When these things begin to happen, stand up and raise your heads, because your liberation approaches" (Lk 21:28), "Watch and pray at all times..." (Lk 21:36). The Evangelist offers us an important note to understand the place where Jesus pronounces such words... and it is precisely HERE, in Gethsemane, between Jerusalem and the Mount of Olives, between his teaching in the temple and his overnight stop: "During the day he taught in the temple, at night he went out and spent the night outdoors on the mountain called Mount of Olives" (Lk 21:37). All this seems to me of great importance: It’s good news for each of us! This is the invitation and prayer that we want to share with you all, dear friends: in the events we are living in, in the places where we are, in our meetings, whether poor or rich, dramatic or magnificent, bright or dark, let us carry his Word, his Promise, which will never be broken. It is the Master who HERE, from this Garden, advises us: to struggle, to darkness, we should not go alone... We can only do this by being at his side, with vigilance and prayer. “Stay here and keep watch with me… Watch and pray, lest you fall into temptation. Spirit is ready, but flesh is weak" (Mt 26:38. 41).
