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Translation
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What the Fathers say
Eastern Fathers
John Chrysostom
And because not in appearance but in reality He took upon Himself our flesh, in order to confirm the truth of the dispensation He submits to bear human suffering; for it follows, And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly.
Theophylact of Ohrid
That the prayer was from the human nature, which by permission had the attachment to life common to all, and not from the Divinity, as the accursed Arians say, is evident from the fact that Jesus was in sweat and such agony that, as it were, drops of blood fell from Him. For of those who labor greatly, it is customary to say that they sweat blood, just as of those who bitterly grieve, it is said that they weep blood. …
Justin Martyr
Moreover, the statement, 'All my bones are poured out and dispersed like water; my heart has become like wax, melting in the midst of my belly,' was a prediction of that which happened to Him on that night when men came out against Him to the Mount of Olives to seize Him. …
Western Saints
Augustine of Hippo
Our Lord praying with a bloody sweat represented the martyrdoms which should flow from His whole body, which is the Church.
Ambrose of Milan
Many are shocked at this place who turn the sorrows of the Saviour to an argument of inherent weakness from the beginning, rather than taken upon Him for the time. But I am so far from considering it a thing to be excused, that I never more admire His mercy and majesty; for He would have conferred less upon me had He not taken upon Him my feelings. For He took upon Him my sorrow, that upon me He might bestow His joy. With confidence therefore I name His sadness, because I preach His cross. …
Gregory the Dialogist
He has expressed also the conflict of our mind in itself, as death approaches, for we suffer a certain thrill of terror and dread, when by the dissolution of the flesh we draw near to the eternal judgment; and with good reason, for the soul finds in a moment that which can never be changed.
Translation