Cornelius a Lapide

And He cometh to His disciples and findeth them asleep, and saith unto Peter , What , could ye not watch with Me one hour t To gain some consolation, little though it were, and also as having care for His people ; thus teaching bishops and pastors to do the like, and to break off prayer in order to visit them. They were sleeping for sorrow, and He speaks to Peter as the head of the rest, and as having so boldly professed his allegiance to Christ. But observe how gently and tenderly He reproves them. He does not reproach them with their grand promises ; but He merely says, “Could ye not?” Ye wished indeed to watch, but I attribute your sleep not to your will, but to your weakness: arouse yourselves, overcome your infirmity, shake off sleep. Mystically : “ He signified,” says S. Irenseus, “ that His Passion is the awakening of sleepers.”