Jesus raised his eyes to heaven and said,
"Father, the hour has come. Give glory to your son, so that your son may
glorify you, just as you gave him authority over all people, so that he may
give eternal life to all you gave him. Now this is eternal life, that they
should know you, the only true God, and the one whom you sent, Jesus Christ. I
glorified you on earth by accomplishing the work that you gave me to do. Now
glorify me, Father, with you, with the glory that I had with you before the
world began. I revealed your name to those whom you gave me out of the world.
They belonged to you, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word.
Now they know that everything you gave me is from you, because the words you
gave to me I have given to them, and they accepted them and truly understood
that I came from you, and they have believed that you sent me. I pray for them.
I do not pray for the world but for the ones you have given me, because they
are yours, and everything of mine is yours and everything of yours is mine, and
I have been glorified in them. And now I will no longer be in the world, but
they are in the world, while I am coming to you." (John 17:1-11a)
Introductory Prayer: Lord, I believe in you
and all that you have revealed for our salvation. I hope in you because of your
overflowing mercy. Every single act of yours on this earth demonstrated your
love for us. Your ascent into heaven before the eyes of the Apostles inspires
my hope of one day joining you there. I love you and wish you to be the center
of my life.
Petition: Lord, help me to grow in my love for
the Father and for souls.
1. A Legacy of Prayer: The supreme hour of
Jesus has come. As he anticipates his agony of self-giving love to the extreme,
Christ has no thought for himself. His heart turns to its one and only love,
the one for whose glory he has carried out every act of his earthly existence:
his Father. But at the same time, that invincible love for his Father embraces
all those whom the Father has entrusted to him. Christ leaves his followers a
legacy that will remain their greatest source of confidence throughout the
ages: his priestly prayer. In this, Christ teaches us how to pray. Christ prays
first that his Father may be glorified by glorifying the Son. What is the
supreme glory with which the life of the only Son of God will culminate? The
answer is in his bloody immolation upon the cross.
2. The Cross is True Glory: “The word ‘glory’
refers to the splendor, honor and power which belong to God” (The Navarre
Bible: St. John, pg. 202). How can Christ’s humiliating death on the cross
and his abandonment by his closest followers give honor to God and reveal his
splendor and power? How can the cross be Christ’s supreme glory? First, it
reveals a love without limits, a love that does not say, “I will go this far
and no farther.” Christ’s words, “Father, forgive them,” bear witness to a love
that is stronger than sin. The Resurrection, which follows the cross, testifies
to a love that is stronger than death itself. Second, the cross is the
fulfillment of Christ’s mission. His obedience to the Father, even to death,
redeems all of mankind. Have I embraced the cross in my own life as the one way
to follow Christ? Embracing the cross is the only sure path to love Christ and
glorify the Father.
3. Jesus Continues to Trust in Me: Throughout this Gospel
passage, Christ’s words ring with an unshakeable confidence. Even though he
will die, abandoned by his disciples, in agony and humiliating failure, Christ
continues to trust. He trusts both in his Father and in those very disciples
who will soon desert him. Our Lord’s trust in us as his followers must inspire
within us a similar unwavering confidence in our mission to save souls, to
bring others to Christ, and to transform society itself. By ourselves we can
achieve nothing. But we have the assurance of Christ’s own prayers and the
promise of his Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit will speak in the hearts of all
those who Christ calls to bring closer to him. Let us pray often to our great
advocate: “Holy Spirit, inspire in me what I should think, what I should say,
and what I should leave unsaid, so that I may achieve the good of all my brothers
and sisters, fulfill my mission, and make Christ’s kingdom triumph.”
Conversation with Christ: Thank you, Lord, for
loving me to the extreme of dying in unspeakable agony upon the cross. Thank
you for your gift of the Holy Spirit so that I can follow your path of
self-giving love.
Resolution: I will speak with the Holy Spirit
throughout the day and offer to the Father and for souls each cross Christ
sends me.
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