TENTH HOUR (From 2 to 3 AM) Jesus is presented to Annas

TENTH HOUR (From 2 to 3 AM) Jesus is presented to Annas

Jesus, be always with me. Sweet Mama, let us follow Jesus together. My
Jesus, Divine Sentry, watching over me in your Heart, and not wanting to
remain alone without me, You wake me up and let me be present with You
in the house of Annas.

You are now at the moment in which Annas questions You about your
doctrine and your disciples. And You, O Jesus, in order to defend the glory
of the Father, open your most sacred mouth, and with sonorous and dignified
voice, answer: “I have spoken in public, and all those here present have heard
Me.”

At your dignified accents, all feel trembling, but their perfidy is such that a
servant, wanting to honor Annas, comes close to You and with a fierce hand
gives You a slap, but so violent as to make You stagger, and to bruise your
most holy Face.

Now I understand, my sweet Life, why You woke me up. You were right;
who would sustain You at this moment, as You are about to fall? Your
enemies burst into satanic laughter, whistling and clapping, applauding an
act so unjust. And You, staggering, have no one to lean on. My Jesus, I hug
You; even more, I want to form a wall with my being and I offer You my
cheek with courage, ready to bear any suffering for love of You. I
compassionate You for this outrage, and together with You I repair for the
fearfulness of many souls, who get easily discouraged. I repair for all those
who, out of fear, do not speak the truth; for the lack of respect due to
priests, and for murmuring.

But, my afflicted Jesus, I see that Annas sends You to Caiphas. Your
enemies hurl You down the stairs, and You, my Love, in this painful fall
repair for those who at nighttime fall into sin under the favor of darkness,
and You call the heretics and the unbelievers to the light of Faith.
I too want to follow You in these reparations, and on the way to Caiphas, I
send You my sighs in order to defend You from your enemies. While I
sleep, continue to be my sentry, and wake me up whenever You need to.
Give me your kiss and your blessing, and I kiss your Heart, and in It I
continue my sleep.

Reflections and Practices

Jesus, brought before Annas, is questioned by him about His doctrine and
about His disciples. He answers about His doctrine in order to glorify the
Father, but He does not touch His disciples so as not to fail in Charity. And
we - are we intrepid and courageous when it comes to glorifying the Lord,
or do we let ourselves be won by human respect? We must always say the
truth, even in front of distinguished people. In our speaking, do we always
look for the glory of God? In order to exalt the glory of God, do we bear
everything with patience like Jesus? Do we always avoid speaking ill of our
neighbor, and do we excuse him if we hear that others run him down? Jesus
watches over our hearts. Do we watch over the Heart of Jesus, so that He
may not receive any offense which has not been repaired by us? Do we
watch over ourselves in everything, so that each one of our thoughts, gazes,
words, affections, heartbeats and desires may be as many sentries around
Jesus, watching over His Heart, and repairing for all the offenses? And in
order to do this, do we pray Jesus to watch over each one of our acts, and
to help us to watch over our own hearts? Every act that we do in God is a
divine life that we take within ourselves. And since we are very limited,
while God is immense, we cannot enclose a God in our simple act.

Therefore, let us multiply them as much as we can in order to at least
enlarge our capacity of understanding and love. Are we ready to answer
when our Jesus calls us? The call from God can make itself heard in many
ways: with inspirations, with the reading of good books, by example. It can
make itself heard tangibly with the attractions of grace, and even with the
very intemperances of the air.

My sweet Jesus, may your voice resound always in my heart; may
everything that surrounds me, inside and out, be the continuous voice
which calls me to love You always; and may the harmony of your divine
voice prevent me from hearing any other distractive human voice.