Caput LVII. De Christi agonia in monte Oliveti.
The Call to Follow Christ to Olivet
The recluse is invited to follow Christ to the Mount of Olives, where he withdraws with his closest disciples to bear our weakness.
It is good for you to be here. But now we must go out: he himself goes ahead to the Mount of Olives — you follow. And although he withdrew to a private place with Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, or watch from a distance how he has taken our weakness upon himself.
Christ's Agony and the Sweat of Blood
Christ's soul is sorrowful unto death; he falls prostrate in prayer, and his sweat becomes like drops of blood falling to the ground.
See how he who holds all things begins to fear and to be overwhelmed — 'My soul is sorrowful,' he says, 'even to death.'✦ Matt. 26:38. How can this be, my God? You suffer with me by showing me your humanity, so that you somehow seem not to know that you are God: you fall face down in prayer, and your sweat becomes like drops of blood flowing to the ground.✦ Luke 22:44.
The Invitation to Share His Suffering
The recluse is urged not to sleep like Peter but to run to Christ, lick the drops of his blood, and keep watch with him for one hour.
What are you waiting here for? Run up and lick those sweetest drops, and lick the dust of his feet. Do not sleep alongside Peter, lest you deserve to hear that you could not keep watch with me for a single hour.✦ (Matt. 26:40.)✦
Read the original Latin
Bonum est tibi hic esse. Sed exeundum est, praecedit ipse ad montem Oliveti, tu sequere. Et licet assumpto Petro et duobus filiis Zebedaei ad secreta secesserit; vel a longe intuere, quomodo in se nostram transtulit necessitatem. Vide quomodo ille, cujus sunt omnia, pavere incipit et taedere, Tristis est anima mea, inquiens, usque ad mortem (Matth. XXVI, 38). Unde hoc, Deus meus? Compateris mihi exhibens hominem, ut quodammodo videaris nescire quod Deus es: prostratus in faciem oras, et factus est sudor tuus, sicut guttae sanguinis decurrentis in terram (Luc. XXII, 44).
Quid stas? accurre, et suavissimas illas guttas lambe, et pulverem pedum illius linge. Noli dormire cum Petro, ne merearis audire, Sic non potuisti una hora vigilare mecum (Matth. XXVI, 40)?
Scripture echoes
- ↩Matt.26.38 — Then he said to them, "My soul is deeply grieved, even to death. Stay here and keep watch with me."
- ↩Luke.22.44 — And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat became like drops of blood falling to the ground.
- ↩Matt.26.40 — And he comes to the disciples and finds them sleeping, and he says to Peter, 'So! You were not able to keep watch with me one hour?'
- ↩Matt.26.40 — And he comes to the disciples and finds them sleeping, and he says to Peter, 'So! You were not able to keep watch with me one hour?'
De institutione inclusarum (A Rule of Life for a Recluse) companion
A rule only lives if you keep it daily
Chosen Portion gives your new rule its anchor: one free devotional portion every day.
Aelred built his sister's day around fixed times of prayer and meditation; Chosen Portion supplies the fixed daily portion that makes a modern rule of life keepable.
- Anchor your rule with a fixed 10-minute daily portion
- Practice Aelred's threefold meditation with guided daily prompts
- Review and adjust your one-page rule after 30 days of tracked practice