May 30, 2017

Gospel: Jn 17:1-11a
After saying this, Jesus lifted up his eyes to heaven and said, ”Father, the hour has come! Give glory to your Son, that the Son may give glory to you. You have given him power over all humanity, so that he may give eternal life to all those you entrusted to him. For this is eternal life: to know you, the only true God, and the One you sent, Jesus Christ.
”I have glorified you on earth and finished the work that you gave me to do. Now, Father, give me, in your presence, the same glory I had with you before the world began.
”I have made your name known to those you gave me from the world. They were yours, and you gave them to me, and they kept your word. And now they know that whatever you entrusted to me, is indeed from you. I have given them the teaching I received from you, and they accepted it, and know in truth that I came from you; and they believe that you sent me.
”I pray for them. I do not pray for the world, but for those who belong to you, and whom you have given to me. Indeed all I have is yours, and all you have is mine; and now they are my glory. I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I come to you. Holy Father, keep those you have given me in your name, so that they may be one, as we also are.”

REFLECTION:
This prayer discloses to us what is most important to Jesus because these are what He remembers and cares for even at the moment of danger. These two things are Jesus‘ deep relationship with the Father, and His love and concern for His own. When He prayed, He brings the two together in unity so that He who was united both to the Father in His essence and to the disciples in love, will have those He loved united also.
This is normal in a way. We want those we love to love each other also and we delight in the act of bridging them together. Now Jesus was confident to present His disciples to the Father. He does so with pride since they have been taught, purified and tested. He has deep confidence that His disciples will not fail Him in front of the Father. When everything has been said and done, it is with strong faith that we look forward to a better future ahead especially for the ones we love.