One Hour

“You could not keep watch with me for one hour?” – Matthew 26:40

Tweet: The biggest disease in North America is busyness.” - Thomas Merton.

The famous Trappist monk, Thomas Merton said: “The biggest disease in North America is busyness.” How very true it is. Our lives are a constant barrage of busy and noisy. TV, video games, iPods, IPads and cell phones mean that our lives are filled with a constant noise. All of this while we juggle the constant stream of places and activities that keep us "busy" and dominate our lives. Crammed into just one hour we can be taking one child/grandchild to this sports practice and one to this dance recital. Getting the family pet to the vet and our aging parents to their latest medical test. All this while our minds are remembering and planning dinner preparation needs before we make that final pit-stop at the grocery store.

It is all a never-ending cycle of busyness that becomes the motivating condition of our lives - if we let it.

But Jesus himself has asked us to do this one thing for him this most Holy Week of the year. To stay for a while in the garden and just keep watch with him. He has taken on the pain and sorrow that fills our lives and even taken the burden of our busyness. He just asks us to slow-it-down for one hour. Just give him one hour. 

One hour at Holy Thursday Mass to pray with him in the garden and to dine with him at the table of His last supper. 

One hour to experience the final steps of his agony and passion and to humble ourselves and venerate the Cross on Good Friday

One joyful and glorious hour to rejoice and celebrate on Easter that he has concurred death, he has risen and he truly lives today and for all of time.

One Hour.


Cyndi Marlow