Recently I wrote an essay titled, Do Not Hide the Crucifix. I have a friend, Brendan, who is a professional writer and editor. He graciously reads my essays and offers suggestions to correct the technical parts of what I write and also questions areas I may need to explain or clarify. Thank you Brendan.
He advised me on that recent essay. Out of our discussion came the inspiration for this essay, The Agony in the Garden.
In my first essay I made a distinction between a cross with a corpus of the risen Christ and a crucifix with a corpus of the crucified Christ. I based my usage on the word crucifix itself and its etymology,
Middle English crucifix “crucifix,” from Latin crucifixus (same meaning), derived from earlier Latin crucifigere “to crucify,” from cruc-, crux “cross” and figere “to fasten, fix” — related to cross, crucify, fix.
My position is a cross with the risen Christ should not be in the sanctuary of a Catholic church. This position is supported, I think, by the language in the General Instruction of the Roman Missal, or G.I.R.M.
… either on the altar or near it, there is to be a cross, with the figure of Christ crucified upon it, a cross clearly visible to the assembled people. It is desirable that such a cross should remain near the altar even outside of liturgical celebrations, so as to call to mind for the faithful the saving Passion of the Lord. (G.I.R.M. 308)
Ok. Case closed. That’s out of my system.
Ellen and I recently finished watching the fifth season of The Chosen: Last Supper (Part 2). This concludes with the Agony in the Garden. We have to wait until next year for the trial, scourging at the pillar, carrying of the cross and the crucifixion. These last things are I think what most movies and probably most people think about when they think about Christ’s passion and death. Watching this episode really brought the significance of the Agony in the Garden to my attention.
When I think back about movies and television portrayals of Christ’s passion most of the time is given to what happened later on Good Friday. When they show the Agony in the Garden it is generally very short. In Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ it lasts only about three minutes at the beginning of a two hour movie. Although beaten and battered, Christ is usually portrayed as a very stoic figure.
The Chosen’s depiction of the agony really got me thinking. It should. Jesus is truly suffering but not because of external, physical trauma. His suffering was a spiritual suffering. He appeared frightened, terrorized by what was going to happen to him. Luke describes it like this:
And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly; and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down upon the ground. (Luke 22:44)
How great must His suffering have been if it caused Him to sweat blood! I started thinking how crucifixion was a form of execution many mere humans suffered. While it was brutally painful it must have been nothing compared to the suffering Christ endured in the Garden of Gethsemane. Think about it. Why?
My first idea was that He was suffering for all sins ever committed. I can feel remorse and sorrow for something I have done. However, my suffering has never caused me to sweat blood. I did an internet search to see what any saints have said about this. I found this attributed to St. Alphonsus Liguori:
Jesus’s Three Sufferings in the Garden
Jesus, knowing that the hour of His passion had now come, after having washed the feet of His disciples and instituted the most Holy Sacrament of the Altar—wherein He left us His whole self—goes to the Garden of Gethsemane, whither He already knew that His enemies would come to take Him. He there betakes Himself to prayer, and lo! He finds Himself assailed by a great dread, by a great repugnance, and by a great sadness: He began to be afraid, to be weary, and sorrowful.
A Great Dread
There came upon Him, first, a great dread of the bitter death which He would have to suffer on Calvary, and of all the anguish and desolations by which it would be accompanied. During the actual course of His passion, the scourges, the thorns, the nails, and the rest of His tortures came upon Him but one at a time; whereas, in the garden, they all came upon Him together at once, crowding into His memory in order to torment Him.
For His love of us He embraced them all, but in embracing them, He trembles and is in agony: “Being in an agony, He prayed the longer.”
A Great Repugnance
There comes upon Him, moreover, a great repugnance to that which He has to suffer so that He prays His Father to deliver Him from it: “My Father, if it be possible, let this chalice pass away from Me.”
He prayed thus to teach us that in our tribulations we may indeed beg of God to deliver us from them, but we ought at the same time to refer ourselves to His will and to say, as Jesus then said, “Not, however, as I will, but as You will.” Yes, my Jesus, Your will, not mine, be done. I embrace all the crosses that You will send me. You, innocent as You are, have suffered so much for love of me; it is but just that I, who am a sinner, and deserving of hell, should suffer for love of You that which You ordain.
A Great Sadness
There came upon Him, likewise, a sadness so great that it would have been enough to cause Him to die, had He not, of Himself, kept death away, in order to die for us after having suffered more: “My soul is sorrowful even unto death.”
This great sadness was occasioned by the sight of the future ungratefulness of men, who, instead of corresponding to so great a love on His part, would offend Him by so many sins, the sight of which caused Him to sweat in streams of blood: “And His sweat became as drops of blood trickling down upon the ground.”
I do not want to imply Christ’s crucifixion should in anyway be diminished. No. Rather, His Agony in the Garden should be seen with a greater thankfulness and appreciation for what He has done.
I also don’t want to diminish the importance of the Resurrection. I believe we should always remember the Resurrection is a great gift, but it was purchased at great cost. Our thankfulness for this great gift can never come close to equaling what we have received. We need to understand how the sins we still commit, and will commit as long as we draw breath, are part of the suffering Christ endured for us. Our reward comes after we have died and either enter Heaven directly or are offered a second gift, Purgatory, which He freely gives us lest we be lost forever for failing to achieve perfection in this life.
Always remember, when you see a cross, with or without a body on it, to always view it reverently and thank Jesus and express sorrow for the suffering He endured for you and for all.
Greg Gillen
© 2025 Greg Gillen
July 9, 2025
Image Credit/www.wikiart.org/en/paolo-veronese/christ-in-the-garden-of-gethsemane-1584
Public Domain
General Instruction of the Roman Missal Section 308/www.usccb.org/prayer-and-worship/the-mass/general-instruction-of-the-roman-missal/girm-chapter-5
Scripture/Revised Standard Version Second Catholic Edition
Jesus’s Three Sufferings in the Garden/tandirection.com/enemies-of-salvation/jesuss-three-sufferings-in-the-garden/
www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/crucifix?pronunciation&lang=en_us&dir=c&file=crucif03
