Sunday
Luke 22: 36 Then He said to them, “But now, he who has a money bag, let him take it, and likewise a knapsack; and he who has no sword, let him sell his garment and buy one. 37 For I say to you that this which is written must still be [e]accomplished in Me: ‘And He was numbered with the transgressors.’ For the things concerning Me have an end.”

38 So they said, “Lord, look, here are two swords.”

And He said to them, “It is enough.”

Navarre Commentary:  Jesus announces his Passion by applying to himself the Isaiah prophecy about the Servant of Yahweh (Is 53:12) — “he was numbered with the transgressors” — and by pointing out that all the other prophecies about the sufferings the Redeemer would undergo will find fulfilment in him. The testing-time is imminent and our Lord is speaking symbolically when he talks about making provision and buying weapons to put up a fight. The Apostles take him literally, and this leads him to express a certain indulgent understanding. “It is enough”. “Just in the same way as we”, Theophylact says, “when we are speaking to someone and see that he does not understand, say: ‘Very well, leave it’”

Prayer:  O Gentle Light of the holy glory of the immortal, heavenly, holy, blessed Father, O Jesus Christ: Having come to the setting of the sun, having beheld the evening light, we praise the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit: God. Meet it is for Thee at all times to be hymned with reverent voices, O Son of God, Giver of life. Wherefore, the world doth glorify Thee.
*Eastern Vesper Hymn

Monday
General Overview of the Passion of Christ:

Our Lord’s Passion is the outstanding proof of God’s love for men: “God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (Jn 3:16); it also proves beyond doubt that Christ, true God and true man, loves us: as he said himself: “Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends” (in 15:13).

“Do you want to accompany Jesus closely, very closely?… Open the Holy Gospel and read the Passion of our Lord. But don’t just read it: live it. There is a big difference. To read is to recall something that happened in the past; to live is to find oneself present at an event that is happening here and now, to be someone taking part in those scenes.

“Then, allow your heart to open wide; let it place itself next to our Lord. And when you notice it trying to slip away — when you see that you are a coward, like the others — ask forgiveness for your cowardice and mine” (J. Escrivá, The Way of the Gross, IX, 3).

Prayer:  Saint Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle, be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil. May God rebuke him, we humbly pray; and do thou, O Prince of the heavenly host, by the power of God thrust into hell Satan and all the evil spirits who prowl about the world seeking the ruin of souls. Amen.

Tuesday
Luke 22: 39 Coming out, He went to the Mount of Olives, as He was accustomed, and His disciples also followed Him. 40 When He came to the place, He said to them, “Pray that you may not enter into temptation.”

41 And He was withdrawn from them about a stone’s throw, and He knelt down and prayed, 42 saying, “Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done.” 43 [f]Then an angel appeared to Him from heaven, strengthening Him. 44 And being in agony, He prayed more earnestly. Then His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.

45 When He rose up from prayer, and had come to His disciples, He found them sleeping from sorrow. 46 Then He said to them, “Why do you sleep? Rise and pray, lest you enter into temptation.”

Prayer:  Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world: have mercy upon us. Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world: have mercy upon us. Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world, grant us peace.
*Agnus Dei

Wednesday
Navarre Commentary on the Garden:

It was Jesus’ custom to retire to the garden of Gethsemane, on the Mount of Olives, in order to pray: this seems to be implied by both St John (Jn 18:1) and St Luke (21:37). This explains how Judas knew the place (in 18:1-2).

As soon as he reaches the garden our Lord prepares to face into his agony. Before going aside to pray, he asks his disciples to pray as well because very soon they will be tempted to lose faith when they see him being arrested (cf. Mt 26:31). At the Last Supper Jesus had told them this would happen; now he warns them that if they are not watchful and prayerful they will not be able to resist the temptation. He also wants his Apostles to keep him company when he suffers — which is why, when he comes back and finds them sleeping, he sorrowfully complains: “Could you not watch with me one hour?” (Mt 27:40).

We should stay close to our Lord and keep him company, even at times of difficulty and tribulation; the command Jesus gives here shows us how to go about this — by prayer and vigilance.

Prayer:  O Lord, save Thy people and bless Thine inheritance. Grant victory over their enemies to Orthodox Christians, and protect Thy people with Thy Cross.

Thursday

Navarre Commentary on the Garden:  #2

Jesus prays kneeling down. Many Gospel passages refer to our Lord’s prayer but this is the only time his posture is described. It may well be that he knelt at other times also. Kneeling is an external expression of a humble attitude towards God.

42 Jesus Christ is perfect God and perfect man: as God he is equal to the Father, as man less than the Father. And therefore as man he could pray, he had to pray —  as he did throughout his life. Now, when his spiritual suffering is so intense that he is in agony, our Lord addresses his Father with a prayer which shows both his trust and his anguish: he calls him, with immense affection, “Abba”, Father, and asks him to remove this cup of bitterness. What causes our Lord his intense pain? Foreknowledge of all the sufferings involved in his Passion, which he freely undergoes; and the weight of all the sins of mankind, the unfaithfulness of the chosen people and abandonment by his disciples. Christ’s sensitive soul felt the full impact of all this. So intense is our Redeemer’s anguish that he actually sweats blood, an indication of the extent of his human capacity to suffer.

Prayer:  O my God relying on Thy infinite goodness and promises, I hope to obtain pardon of my sins, the help of Thy grace, and life everlasting, through the merits of Jesus Christ, my Lord and Redeemer.
*Act of Hope

Friday

Navarre Commentary on the Garden:  #3

Jesus perseveres in his prayer: “Not my will, but thine, be done” — which shows that he had a human will and that it was in total harmony with the divine will. This prayer of our Lord is also a perfect lesson in abandonment to and union with the Will of God — features which should be found in our own prayer, particularly in moments of difficulty. “Are things going against you? Are you going through a rough time? Say very slowly, as if relishing it, this powerful and manly prayer:

“May the most just and most lovable will of God be done, be fulfilled, be praised and eternally exalted above all things. Amen, Amen.’

“I assure you that you will find peace” (J. Escrivá, The Way, 691).

43 In the Gospel we often see angels play a part in our Lord’s life. An angel announces the mystery of the Incarnation to the Blessed Virgin (Lk 1:26); choirs of angels sing God’s praises when Jesus is born in Bethlehem (Lk 2:13); angels minister to him after he is tempted in the wilderness (Mt 4:11); and now the Father sends an angel to comfort him in his agony.

Our Lord, who is God, accepts this consolation. The Creator of all, who is never in need of the help of his creatures, is ready to accept, as man, consolation and help from those who can give it.

Prayer:  O my God I am heartily sorry for having offended Thee, and I detest all my sins, because I dread the loss of heaven and the pains of hell, but most of all because they offend Thee, my God, who art all-good and worthy of all my love. I firmly resolve, with the help of Thy grace, to confess my sins, to do penance, and to amend my life.
*Act of Contrition

Saturday
Luke 22:47 And while He was still speaking, behold, a multitude; and he who was called Judas, one of the twelve, went before them and drew near to Jesus to kiss Him. 48 But Jesus said to him, “Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?”

Navarre Commentary:  “Even to Judas,” St Thomas More comments, “God gave many opportunities of coming to his senses. He did not deny him his companionship. He did not take away from him the dignity of his apostleship. He did not even take the purse-strings from him, even though he was a thief. He admitted the traitor to the fellowship of his beloved disciples at the last supper. He deigned to stoop down at the feet of the betrayer and to wash with his most innocent and sacred hands Judas’ dirty feet, a fit symbol of his filthy mind…. Finally when Judas, coming with his crew to seize him, offered him a kiss, a kiss that was in fact the terrible token of his treachery, Christ received him calmly and gently…. Therefore, since God showed his great mercy, in so many ways even toward Judas, an apostle turned traitor, since he invited him to forgiveness so often and did not allow him to perish except through despair alone, certainly there is no reason why, in this life, anyone should despair of any imitator of Judas. Rather, according to that holy advice of the apostle, ‘Pray for one another, that you may be healed’, if we see anyone wandering wildly from the right road, let us hope that he will one day return to the path, and meanwhile let us pray humbly and incessantly that God will hold out to him chances to come to his senses, and likewise that with God’s help he will eagerly seize them, and having seized them will hold fast and not throw them away out of malideigned them sl healed’; from him through wretched sloth”

Prayer:  O my God I love Thee above all things, with my whole heart and soul, because Thou art all-good and worthy of all love. I love my neighbor as myself for the love of Thee. I forgive all who have injured me, and ask pardon of all whom I have injured. (Act of Charity)