This was written by Fr. Vincent Serpa as part of his answer to one of the questions posted by a member in Catholic Answers (http://www.catholic.com). Here is the original link to the answer: http://forums.catholic.com/showthread.php?t=424877

The agony in the garden was really the agony in His mind. He suffered the passion in His mind before He suffered it in His body—to the point of actually affecting the latter by sweating blood. But from then on, it was His bodily suffering that affected His mental suffering.

At the base of all His suffering was the one thing that human beings dread the most: rejection. He was betrayed by Judas, denied by Peter and abandoned by all the rest of His Apostles; those He had hand picked as His closest intimates. He was most rejected by those who put Him to death. They not only wanted Him dead, they wanted Him to suffer. They not only considered Him to be worth nothing, they considered Him to be worth minus nothing! This significance was not lost on Him. He felt fully the rejection as each physical agony reminded Him.

So we thank Him for joining us on our human journey and actually choosing to experience what we fear the most.

We thank Him for enduring the arrest and the cruelty of the guards and the Sanhedrin. We thank Him for enduring the cruelty of Pilate who allowed Him to be executed rather than risk his own political ruin—and for the cruelty of Herod who wanted to be entertained by having Him work a miracle. We thank Him for all the time He spent satisfying their preoccupation with themselves, just delaying His ultimate death. We thank Him for the anxiety of that night in a cell.

The next morning He was brutally scourged with such intensity and violence that He became as an aged man in a matter of minutes. His multiple wounds bloodied His entire body. The loss of so much blood not only severely weakened Him; it also caused a severe, throbbing headache that remained with Him for the duration.

We thank Him for this and for the mockery He received when they put a purple cloth on His shoulders and pushed a crown of thorns down into His head which intensified His headache. They blindfolded Him and slapped Him, insisting that He ‘prophesy’ who had hit Him. They spat on Him and beat Him. But it was they who were blind. He knew who they were. This is what we do when we sin. We blot him out of our consciousness as if He can’t see us. But it is we who choose to not see.

He stood at the praetorium in utter disgrace according to the attitude of the crowd—while in reality, He stood in utter glory: almighty God, being present to every person who has ever suffered rejection, joining them in their moment of pain. It was there that He was sentenced to death by crucifixion. As a further humiliation, He was forced to carry His instrument of execution. He revealed to St. Bernard that carrying the cross was His most painful agony. He was so weak, He could hardly walk. So the weight of the cross on His shoulder was unbearable. It most likely dislocated His shoulder. It is not surprising that He fell down on the stone streets that were filthy with animal dung—with the cross on top of Him. And He got up each time.

It was only with the help of Simon of Cyrene that He made it to the top of Calvary. There they drove the nails into the carpal tunnels of His hands, causing pain throughout His upper body. The nail in His feet registered great pain through all the sensitive nerves there. When the cross was righted, His up-stretched arms squeezed His lungs and He began to pant for lack of oxygen. So He had to push down on His crucified feet to push His body up in order to fill His lungs with air. This took great effort because He was so weak. Yet He managed to maintain such effort for three hours of agony which increased gradually as He became weaker moment by moment.

By the end of the third hour, His agony was at its peak and His self-gift was exquisite. He had come to the point where His strength simply gave out and He suffocated. In this eternal moment as He died, He gave us His life. Transcending time, this moment of divine love is present to us in the tabernacles of the world.

Thank you, Lord. We adore you O Christ and we praise you. By your holy cross, you have redeemed the world!

There are many things in our life that sometimes, leave us bewildered and lost, leaving us clueless as to why it happened to us. It is not in our control on when and how these answers will be revealed to us. We can only remain faithful that everyday is a new day and it will always get better.

To whoever crafted and whispered this wonderful tale, I thank you....

(This story is also known as "The Two Angels," "Things Aren't Always What They Seem," and "Two Angels Story.")
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Two traveling angels stopped to spend the night in the home of a wealthy family. The family was rude and refused to let the angels stay in the mansion's guest room. Instead the angels were given a small space in the cold basement.

As they made their bed on the hard floor, the older angel saw a hole in the wall and repaired it. When the younger angel asked why, the older angel replied, "Things aren't always what they seem."

The next night the pair came to rest at the house of a very poor, but very hospitable farmer and his wife. After sharing what little food they had, the couple let the angels sleep in their bed where they could have a good night's rest.

When the sun came up the next morning the angels found the farmer and his wife in tears. Their only cow, whose milk had been their sole income, lay dead in the field. The younger angel was infuriated and asked the older angel how could you have let this happen?

"The first man had everything, yet you helped him," she accused. "The second family had little but was willing to share everything, and yet you let the cow die."

"Things aren't always what they seem," the older angel replied.

"When we stayed in the basement of the mansion, I noticed there was gold stored in that hole in the wall. Since the owner was so obsessed with greed and unwilling to share his good fortune, I sealed the wall so he wouldn't find it."

"Then last night as we slept in the farmers bed, the angel of death came for his wife. I gave him the cow instead. Things aren't always what they seem."

Sometimes that is exactly what happens when things don't turn out the way they should. If you have faith, you just need to trust that every out come is always to your advantage. You just might not know it until some time later...

"Write to your aunt in the US. She sent you your favorite Barbie." (During my time *cough*, Barbie dolls are hard to come by.)

"Thank your, Grandpa. He cooked your favorite pancit." (He was a great cook! May he rest in peace.)

"Did you thank your, Ninang (godmother/parent)? She gave you a hundred pesos this Christmas." (Now I feel guilty. I still give the same amount to my many inaanak (goddaughter/son)!)

(Hey, hey! I am joking! I give a higher percentage of that! I consider the inflation!)

Anyway, it is polite and customary to say thanks to people or to circumstances whenever blessings or gifts come to our way. May I say, it is easier to say "thank you" when good things happen to our life.

But when bad things happen, how often do we forget to say these eight-character, two-word expression of appreciation?

Now, you might ask me, "You expect me to say thank you after/when I have/when __________?" Kindly insert on the blank whatever bad experience which crossed your mind.

Well, no matter how bad it may be, yes. Yes, I expect you to say thank you to Him. Why? Because that is how we say our thanks. For better or for worse, we should be thankful.

Some may call me crazy (thank you, and I'll take that as a compliment) but this is how I lived and choose to live the rest of my life. Believe me, I can place a number of unpleasant experiences on that blank line and I will still stay "thank you" to Him.

When a family member did something really awful to me and the rest of the family and their relatives supported him/her, it broke any trust I have for them. It changed the way I feel for them and worse, it crushed my heart. However, if it had not happened, I would never be as independent as I have become today. So I say "thank you" to that.

My husband has neurofibromatosis** (NF) since birth. Because of this, he had his left leg amputated when he was 14 years old. If he had not decided the operation at a young age, he would have a hard time walking normally today. Despite that he lost his leg, he and I are thankful that he lives a normal life. I am thankful I met him for who he is--a man with a good heart and a beautiful perspective about life. He may have incomplete set of legs but he says that with Him, I complete his life and he completes mine.

Everything happens for a reason. It is a cliche but it's true. Hardships bring out the best in us! May I say it again? Hardships bring out the BEST in us!

Bad experiences hurt us, breaks trust, friendship, bond, and even the love shared with other people. You may not be ready to say "thank you" now, but please keep it in your heart to say it one day.

Gratitude takes practice, both for the good and especially for the bad things. If you find it hard to say it, it is okay. I won't condemn you for that. We are humans. As my good friend Maricris Mercado always say, "Let feelings do what they do best." Feel what you truly feel.

In time, you will learn to let go and finally say it. For every circumstance, there is and will always be a lesson learned. This is how we grow. Anytime you feel like saying it, then say it. That is why it takes practice.

Do I still feel angry or bitter that it happened even if I say "thank you?" Of course, I sometimes do! I am, after all, a mere human like you. I say my thanks even if I still feel the bitterness in my heart, but it helps me grow, it helps me smile, it helps me tell myself that things are going for the better. This is what I call thanking-with-bitterness and having faith.

Again, it is okay. It is normal to feel and be like this.

The deeper sense of gratitude is to fully express our thanks without the bitterness. That is what I call thanking-with-acceptance.

If you happen to notice and if you try to practice it one day at a time:
... from your hurts or trials
... to crying or defeats
... then thanking-with-bitterness
... having faith
... then thanking-with-acceptance,
you will see that little-by-little, you are helping yourself to let go of anything that burdens your heart. Letting go and forgiveness, I believe, takes a phase.

In time, you will learn to forgive those who have hurt you and who have done wrong to you. It takes time to heal, it takes courage to heal. Yes, a courage to heal... and remember too, to finally forgive yourself.

Be free.

This question struck me deeply and opened my mind to a lot of blessings I have. Today, I washed some of my and my hubby's garments. It made me think how blessed I am for doing such chore. In fact, I do not consider it as a chore. I find it relaxing when cleaning our clothes and I always catch myself smiling at the thought that my husband would be so happy to know that our clothes will be clean again. When I was younger, my mom would tell me to do the laundry, I hesitantly follow her orders, but now... my views have changed. Months ago, I remember praying to God to help me serve my husband well. He gave me the opportunities--He gave me the time to be able to prepare my husband's snacks for the day, He gave me the messy room so that I would be able to clean it before he gets home.

When we pray to God for peace of mind, I do believe He gives us a lot of opportunities to have such peace. It is up to us whether we are eager and open-minded enough to be able to see and accept them.

God's blessings come in many forms through opportunities and life's lessons. They will unfold right before our very eyes at the right moment, right place, right time. We just have to be faithful and patient. Again, THIS is another opportunity. When we pray for patience, do you think He gives us patience or the opportunity to be patient?

Most of us do pray for riches, normally material riches. We may have the same or differing reasons for praying for it to come to our hands. I believe that like all the His blessings, He gives us the opportunity to be abundant here on earth. It has its time.

Things happen to us for certain reasons at certain times in certain places in certain moments of our lives. Opportunity comes to all of us. It is up to us to see the beauty of all of them and use them to improve ourselves and everyone around us.

What have you prayed today? What opportunities have God given you?

GOD BLESS!

- Joanna -