Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint 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.”
That they may be one
1) Unity. Jesus asks the Father that we may be united. He prays to the Father for you and me, so that we may be truly united by the love of God, through our faith and through our prayers. Sometimes there’s more division than unity among us; some say they support one Pope or another, some say they are right wing and others left. But the truth is, we all belong to Christ, and that’s it! It is He who gave His life for you and me; look at the Cross and remember His hands are outstretched because He wants to embrace us all.
2) Joy. This is God’s proposal to you: that you live in the joy of having peace and serenity. How beautiful it is to sleep with a clear conscience at night, and how beautiful it is to have a day full of inner peace. You can have this gift from Jesus every day. The joy God gives to you is eternal and alive.
3) Sent into the world. God sends you out to spread the Good News with the peace that He blesses you with. This peace is created by the deep inner relationship you have with Him. Jesus asks you to proclaim Him, from your own experience. Always remember that something good is on the way.
God bless you and be with you in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
