Gethsemane was an olive grove at the foot of the Mount of Olives, across the Kidron Valley, facing Jerusalem.
Its name comes from the Aramaic gat shemanê, “olive press,” a sign that there was a press there for extracting oil from the olives of the region.
It was in this garden that Jesus lived through the most anguished hours of his earthly life, on the night he was betrayed and arrested.
He took Peter, James and John with him, withdrew a little and prayed alone, asking the Father that, if possible, the cup of suffering drawing near would be taken from him.
Even facing such anguish, Jesus submitted to the Father’s will, an example of obedience that preceded the cross.
While he was still praying, Judas Iscariot arrived with an armed crowd and handed him over with a kiss. There the soldiers arrested Jesus, and the disciples fled.
