The Gospel according to John (17:1-11a)
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 your son 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.”
Reflection:
This last week of the Easter Season, we have the wonderful “High Priestly Prayer” that Jesus offers to His Father on the night of the Last Supper. In that prayer, He is praying to His Father, commending His Apostles and Disciples into the care of the Father, knowing that He (Jesus) will soon be returning home to the Father.
He’s praying for those initial disciples, but also for us, who have faith, because it has been carried on down through the centuries through the bishops, priests, and those who teach the faith to the current generation. You and I are also called to be those who continue to teach the faith of Jesus to those in our own lives.
I find myself often looking back at the Easter Season, Holy Week and Lent at this point, as next week, the church’s liturgical color will return to green for the long stretch of Ordinary Time that takes us all the way to the end of the liturgical year and Advent. Looking back, I always wonder what I could have done to have made these two seasons (Lent & Easter) more fulfilling, and also more sacrificial, in terms of the love I share with others.
If you’re like me, you may look back and see places where you fell short. I definitely see those in my life, too. But, God still calls each of us to not get caught up looking back, but to look ahead, and know that the Spirit that Jesus promised that night of the Last Supper is with us and we need only cooperate with the Spirit and love more like Jesus Himself does. May that be the legacy of this sacred season nearing its end, that we take Jesus and His love and light into the world with us, to the ends of the earth.
Action for the Day:
For a few moments today, think back on your journey these last weeks through Lent, Holy Week and Easter, and notice the ways you were kind, loving and forgiving. Give thanks to God for His help in those moments. And, look at the times you were not as kind or loving, and ask God to be with you to help you to love better, starting today!
Link to the DEACON5 website: https://deacon5.com/
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