The Lord bade His disciples watch and pray, but hardly has He left them to themselves than they fall asleep. Judas is not asleep; he is actively engaged in getting his company together, giving them instructions how to proceed, so that they might elude the power of the Lord. But the disciples sleep, and are careless of the Lord’s interests. No wonder that the indifference of the disciples gave Him an additional pang. We, too, are the disciples of the Lord. Why do we sleep while the enemy is sowing the seed of error and irreligion? What effect has the instructions, the counsels of the divine Master, had upon us? They are all forgotten, and we look to our own comfort and to our pleasures; we go after the world, money and honors, but think little of God. Let us then watch and pray; the spirit is indeed willing, but the flesh is weak. The soul would act otherwise, if the body had not been allowed an almost limitless freedom while the soul is dying of spiritual starvation. Give your soul an opportunity to rise above the low necessities of the body, and the spirit will then be strong to compel the body to obey. Prayer. Look down upon me, good and gentle Jesus, etc., etc. Seventeenth Day. When Our Lord had prayed and struggled in this mortal agony, He arose and assembled His disciples about Him, and awaited the coming of the traitor. And as He was yet speaking, behold, the crowd arrived, and Judas, one of the twelve, was with them; coming up to Jesus, he kissed Him, and the Lord said: “Judas, with a kiss you betray the Son of man.” Judas thus betrays the Lord with the sign of friendship. He comes up to Him as of old, when returning from a missionary tour, he was met by the Lord with open arms, and he, as well as the other disciples, would tell of their labors, their successes, and the good they had done. And now, as if to throw the Lord off His guard, he pretends to have the same spirit within his breast. O Lord Jesus! with what kindness didst Thou not even then receive Judas, that he might see that Thou didst still love him. In our frequent infidelities the Lord comes to us with the same sweetness and goodness. He would lead us back to our duties and the recognition of our faults. O that we would listen to the words of Our Lord! Prayer. Look down upon me, good and gentle Jesus, etc., etc. Eighteenth Day.