If I told you I’m not doing spiritually well, what would you advise me to do? What’s the correct answer? In time of spiritual desolation, don’t pray less, but pray more and do more penance, that is, find suitable ways (fasting, service, spiritual reading) to move towards God, not away from Him.
In the Passion Narrative, “Jesus went with them [the disciples] to a place called Gethsemane… Then he said to them, ‘I am deeply grieved, even to death…’ And going a little farther, he threw himself on the ground and prayed” (Mt 26:36,38-39). When Jesus is overwhelmed and suffering, He turns to God the Father and prays for one hour.
When He’s on the Cross, St. Matthew records that He only said one thing: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (27:46). This is the beginning of Psalm 22. What is Jesus doing here? He’s going back to a prayer He learned as a child, a prayer that expresses intense suffering and trust in the Father. You know how we often complicate things? We feel far from God, things are bothering us, and then we look for solutions but they’re too complicated—don’t do this. Go back to the basics, the fundamental spiritual realities.
Here’s the proposal today: Now that we’ve begun Holy Week, and next is Easter Week, these are the two most important weeks in the liturgical calendar, and we have an incredible opportunity to move towards God. St. Josemaria Escrivá said about Holy Week, “Only if we try to understand the mystery of God’s love — a love which went as far as death — will we be able to give ourselves totally to others and not let ourselves be overcome by difficulties”.
In these two weeks, we learn to understand God’s timing. We often want things according to our timing: We want health now, solutions now, we want things fixed now. When St. Peter tries to defend Jesus, Jesus says, “‘Do you think that I cannot appeal to my Father, and he will at once send me more than twelve legions of angels? But how then would the scriptures be fulfilled, which say it must happen in this way?” [We’re focused on that word ‘fulfilled’—Jesus is aware of the Father’s timing. If God wants to rescue us, He can; if not, it’s part of His plan] At that hour Jesus said to the crowds… ‘Day after day I sat in the temple teaching, and you did not arrest me. But all this [suffering] has taken place [now, at this time], so that the scriptures… may be fulfilled’” (26: 53-56).
Tonight, we have our penitential service with seven priests—this is because the Church wants us go to Confession before Easter. Mass of the Lord’s Supper is this Thursday at 7 p.m. followed by Nocturnal adoration through the night until 12 noon the next day.
Here are two reasons to try it: Coming during the night is a sign of sincerity. We ask Jesus for things, but sometimes we’re not really invested in our prayers: We want Him to grant a quick fix, but don’t offer anything on our part. I told you before how I gave up a kind of food I like for life, praying that God would help my grandmother come to Him before she died—what I was doing was saying, ‘I want this as much as You do, and I’m invested.’ When Jesus needed help, He prayed for an hour, lying flat on the ground, sweating blood, and asking, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me; yet not what I want but what you want” (26:39). So, come Thursday night, offer an hour of prayer, and offer your suffering for someone who needs God’s help. The second reason to come is because Jesus is making a personal invitation to us: “Could you not stay awake with me one hour?’” (26:40).
By January 1, 2027 if 500 of us make a commitment to adoration once a week, it would be a huge sign of love for Jesus. It doesn’t have to be one hour every week, but at least 15 minutes; and it doesn’t have to be perfect; just keep your promise and try your best! Here is Ven. Archbishop Sheen telling the funny story of one of his holy hours:
Friday at noon, we have Stations of the Cross, the Celebration of the Lord’s Passion at 3 p.m., which is the one time a year we get to kiss the crucifix of our church. Saturday, we have the Easter Vigil, where we start outside in darkness, light our candles, then participate in eight Baptisms. From April 6 to 10, 2026 every Mass is considered to be Easter day—what we’re doing is letting the liturgy carry us; instead of our coming up with complicated solutions, we show up and enter into Jesus’ prayer.
In 1944, there was a famous military operation when the Allies had to cross a river in Holland under heavy fire. They were sitting ducks. But Major Julian Cook, a devout Catholic and leader of the battalion, prayed out loud, ‘Hail Mary, full of grace… Hail Mary, full of grace…’ He kept things simple and went back to a prayer he learned in childhood.
When spiritually attacked, go back to central mysteries of our faith, which occurred during Holy Week and Easter Week. Jesus says, “The Son of Man goes as it is written of him” (26:24), indicating God’s timing, not His. Now’s the time to go to Jesus and ask that the Father’s plan unfold in our lives.