First Reading – Acts 1: 12 – 14
Second Reading – 1 Peter 4: 13 – 18
Gospel – John 17: 1 – 11
A businessman and admirer of Mother Teresa of Calcutta offered to make a set of “business cards” for her work. Imprinted on the small yellow cards, are five lines which outline the direction of what Mother Teresa calls her simple path.
The cards read: “The fruit of silence is PRAYER. The fruit of prayer is FAITH. The fruit of faith is LOVE. The fruit of love is SERVICE. The fruit of service is PEACE” .
This simple path has led Mother Teresa to live her life in union with God and given in loving service to the poorest of the poor. While he was with them, Jesus marked a similar path for his disciples. A life of prayer, faith, love, service and peace was his legacy to them, and before he returned to the Father Who had sent him, Jesus prayed that his followers would persevere in the path he himself had traveled. To aid believers in keeping to the path he had set for them, Jesus promised that he and the Father would come to dwell within them through the Spirit Who would remain with them always (recall the Gospel for Sixth Sunday of Easter, especially John 14:16-20). — In a sense, Jesus was telling his disciples that each of them would become a dwelling place for God, a meeting place of prayer and peace, an Upper Room! The season of Easter is nearly at an end. This past Thursday we celebrated the Ascension of our Lord. The central theme of today’s readings is a challenge to us to rejoice in our suffering for the Faith because the more we suffer the more we are identified with Jesus who has liberated us from the bondage of sin by his suffering and death.
Today’s Gospel gives us the first part of Jesus’ magnificent prayer at the Last Supper. In the section for today, taken from the beginning of the “High Priestly Prayer,” Jesus prays for himself and for the protection and unity of his disciples. This prayer is called “The High Priestly Prayer” because Jesus, as High Priest, is preparing to offer himself as a sacrifice for the sins of the world, and he is interceding for his disciples just as the high priest interceded for the people of Israel. It is also called the “Prayer of Consecration” because in it, Jesus consecrates himself to his redemptive death, offering himself to the Father as an obedient, willing sacrifice. Also, he prays that through his death the Father and the Son may be glorified. Thus, the prayer proclaims our hope and our certainty— a life lived in communion with the Father and the Son. Jesus has glorified the Father; the Father has glorified the Son. We know that Jesus has come from the Father. We are “incorporated” into Christ by adoption, as Christ, by Nature, is in the Father. We belong to God, and He will protect us so that we may be one with each other in Him. The sufferings we face are only temporary; the glory we will receive is eternal. Jesus prays first for the success of his mission. “Glorify your Son so that Your Son may glorify You.” This “glory” of the Son would come in a very strange way – through suffering and death. To Jesus, the Cross is the glory of life and the way to the glory of eternity. Jesus considers his crucifixion as his glorification — as do the martyrs. Their deaths show people what, who, and Whose, they really are. The Cross is the glory of Jesus because it is the completion of his Redemptive work. “I have accomplished the work,” he says to the Father, “which You gave me to do.” His work is both to reopen the Gates of Heaven for humankind, and to show men, by his life, suffering, and death, how much God loves them. The cross of Jesus glorifies God because Jesus accepts his death on the cross in perfect obedience to his Father, God. In the second part of today’s section of the “High Priestly Prayer,” Jesus commends his apostles to the Father and prays for them because they have already accepted the word of God and acknowledged his Divine origin as the Messiah. They have put their trust in Jesus and his Father. Jesus prays that they may act as agents of truth and love in the world. They are to be the leaven in the dough, the purifying salt, and the lights shining in the darkness. Jesus asks the Father to protect them from evil and to make them one. Prayer is a constant and continuing attitude of trust and acceptance of God’s presence in the community. It is not merely asking God for something, but also giving Him thanks for everything. It is desiring that God’s Holy Will may be done effectively in and through our lives. We need to center our Christian life on prayer. Christian prayer has forms for individual Christians and for communities. These include individual prayer, the prayer of the liturgy, and para-liturgical prayers/services, such as Stations of the Cross and Benediction of the Most Blessed Sacrament. There are also different kinds of prayer, including vocal prayers, the Rosary, and contemplative prayer. In the final analysis, prayer means getting into contact with God — listening to Him and talking to Him. We should try to set aside some time each day to spend with God in prayer. If we are convinced of the presence of God within us, we can talk to Him even while we are driving, waiting in line, or doing routine work in the kitchen or yard. Our talk with God can include praise and thanksgiving, pleas for forgiveness and prayer for our needs. A few minutes spent in reading the Bible is a good way of listening to God. We need to glorify Christ by the lives we live. When we live ethical lives, that is, lives of integrity in which our performance is in harmony with our profession of Faith, we are glorifying Jesus. An honest day’s work for an honest day’s pay, a fair deal on a product, a truthful, trustworthy guarantee – all these reflect our integrity. We glorify God by our prayer-life and our faithful observance of the Lord’s Day. We glorify Jesus by humble and selfless service to Him in our brothers and sisters – distributing lunches to the homeless begging on the street corner, volunteering at homeless shelters, tutoring children, helping with after-school care, teaching Vacation Bible School, or doing random acts of kindness.