A Reading from the Holy Gospel according to John (17:11b-19)
Lifting up his eyes to heaven, Jesus prayed, saying:
“Holy Father, keep them in your name
that you have given me,
so that they may be one just as we are one.
When I was with them I protected them in your name that you gave me,
and I guarded them, and none of them was lost
except the son of destruction,
in order that the Scripture might be fulfilled.
But now I am coming to you.
I speak this in the world
so that they may share my joy completely.
I gave them your word, and the world hated them,
because they do not belong to the world
any more than I belong to the world.
I do not ask that you take them out of the world
but that you keep them from the Evil One.
They do not belong to the world
any more than I belong to the world.
Consecrate them in the truth.
Your word is truth.
As you sent me into the world,
so I sent them into the world.
And I consecrate myself for them,
so that they also may be consecrated in truth.”
REFLECTION: In what it may feel to me like it was yesterday, I can recall very vividly of the day, when my wife and I dropped off our youngest child at LAX airport, for her 6-month study abroad in Hungry, during her junior year at Loyola Marymount University. But before heading to the airport, we made a point to stop, and go inside the campus Sacred Heart Chapel, with our daughter. Lots of prayers were offered by my wife and I, and few tears, too. Entrusting our daughter to God, knowing that we will not be with her for a while, we prayed that God will protect her, keeping her safe from the evil one, and from any harm or illness. We’ve taught her and prepared her, as best we could. But now, it was time for our daughter to be on her own for a while, and at very far away place.
To me, this is what Jesus is doing in today’s Gospel, as He gets ready to go to the cross and ultimately to return to heaven. It is time for His disciples to do this without Jesus right there with them. At least physically. Jesus pours out His heart in prayer for His beloved disciples, and ultimately, for all of us who follow Him. His words are a testament, of His deep love and concern for our well-being, and they offer us guidance and comfort in our daily lives.
Jesus prays for us, as He prayed for His disciples, to be kept safe from the evil one, while we are in the world, and that we may be one, as He and the Father are one. He also prays for our unity, and that we be sanctified in truth through the word, so we can be a witness to the world.
Jesus’s prayer in today’s Gospel, is not just a request; it’s a testament to His profound love and commitment to His disciples, and all who would come to believe in Him. It’s a prayer born of His intimate knowledge of the Father, and a deep understanding of the challenges His followers would face in the world.
Jesus’s prayer is also a powerful reminder, of His untiring love and His enduring intercession for us. It offers us a model for our own prayers. Just as He prays for the unity and protection of His disciples, we can pray for the same blessings for our own lives, and the lives of others. We can learn from His example to pray for the world, to be a light of hope and truth, in a world that desperately needs it.
Dear brothers and sisters, prayer is a remarkable gift, because it opens us up, to God’s promises, and invites God to help us, and those for whom we are praying. Every prayer is heard by God, which means that every time we pray, or are prayed for, something quite wonderful happens. I truly believe that.
ACTION FOR THE DAY: Take time today, from the business of your day, either before you start your day, or in the middle of your day, and in the silence of your heart, ask our Father in heaven, to help you, to be inspired by His example of fervent prayer, so that you may pray more fervently, for the needs of your community, and to be a shining example of God’s love, in the world.
AUDIO REFLECTION:
