Solitude

Communion mystic there took place on Thursday evening last,
The Lord himself Eternal Lamb, as redeeming offering cast.
The Eucharistic bread he broke as all with him could see,
“By this remember me,” he said, “for in this bread I’ll be,
A presence real in sacrament while you on earth do live,
And through this bond that makes us one eternal life I’ll give.”
The sky was dark when, having supped, they went out in the night,
The Master leading to the grove on which the stars gave light.
Foreboding now had filled his soul and his disciples three
Their Lord abandoned, left alone, beneath the olive tree.
What was to come had been foretold but they did not understand
The meaning of the prophesy and the sacrifice at hand.
In agony of soul, Christ to the Father prayed,
The sweat upon his brow of oozing blood was made.
Three times he found his followers had fallen fast asleep,
Who weighed by human frailty the vigil did not keep.
In the olive garden, Christ was left alone,
God he was and man, as man now on his own.
Now came the time so long foretold of suffering and Cross,
The sacrifice made to redeem and make up Adam’s loss.
While three disciples slept, two beings kept awake;
One was deep in prayer, off’ring self for mankind’s sake,
The other, leading men at arms, had counted out his gold,
Judas who his Lord betrayed, for thirty pieces sold;
One in prayer to save our souls as prophecy did tell,
The other, seeking self alone, bound for the flames of Hell.
He who’ll be our guide till time will reach its end
Stands alone upon this earth without an earthly friend,
Alone, delivered by a kiss to be led off to his fate,
The sign of love that Judas turns into an act of hate.
My soul is in Gethsemane, since that time so long ago,
Christ is Alpha and Omega beyond what we can know.
The artist Dürer six times tried His Savior’s face to draw,
To show the deep emotion that in his Lord he saw
When friends were fast asleep upon the mountainside
And Judas came with soldiers, acting as their guide.
“Oh Father!” said Our Savior, “Take this chalice from my sight.”
For he felt our human terror in the darkness of that night.
“But, Father, let your will be done, whatever be the cost
To save these wretched people who otherwise are lost.”

Joseph Matar
All rights reserved © LebanonArt
Translated from French: K. J. Mortimer

Painting: Solitude – 97 x 130 cm – 2010, Oil on Canvas