Gospel – John 17: 11-19
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 on the Gospel
Let us remember that we are in the holy presence of God.
Jesus is filled with joy because he is returning to the Father and he wants us to share that joy. This is a challenge when someone else I love returns to the Father. Usually the overwhelming feeling is grief. It is a comfort to know that Jesus is sitting at the right hand of the Father, ready to welcome my loved one.
I can also find comfort that Jesus understands that I have trouble from the evil one and I need the Father’s help. This is one reason for the promise of the Father – the Holy Spirit. Our thoughts and prayers turn to this promise of the Father as we observe the annual novena during which we pray for a greater outpouring of the power of the Holy Spirit. How we need this power since Jesus sends us into the world to care for those he loves.
Saint John Baptist de La Salle – Pray for us.
Live, Jesus, in our hearts – Forever.