Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint John 17, 20-26
Lifting up his eyes to heaven, Jesus prayed saying:
“I pray not only for these,
but also for those who will believe in me through their word,
so that they may all be one,
as you, Father, are in me and I in you,
that they also may be in us,
that the world may believe that you sent me.
And I have given them the glory you gave me,
so that they may be one, as we are one,
I in them and you in me,
that they may be brought to perfection as one,
that the world may know that you sent me,
and that you loved them even as you loved me.
Father, they are your gift to me.
I wish that where I am they also may be with me,
that they may see my glory that you gave me,
because you loved me before the foundation of the world.
Righteous Father, the world also does not know you,
but I know you, and they know that you sent me.
I made known to them your name and I will make it known,
that the love with which you loved me
may be in them and I in them.”
They will believe in me
1. Through them. You can do a lot of good in those around you just by being a good person. Evangelization takes place through helping in whatever you can and being sincere with yourself and with other people. It’s not just a matter of carrying a Bible under your arm. You must have a positive attitude towards life, face things, accept your mistakes and be aware that there are things you can do and things you can’t. That’s how you give your life and give testimony: through tiny, everyday gestures. And that testimony leads others to see in you the living God that you preach.
2. Unity. We should always pray for unity in our family, in church groups or movements and institutions and in the Church itself. You shouldn’t wash your dirty laundry in public, so if you’re angry with someone in your family or at work or at church, have a face-to-face conversation with the person or people you’re annoyed with. Don’t go around with unpleasant back-fence gossip, telling everyone what is going on. You run the risk of being defamatory, and defaming means harming the reputation of another person by expressing false statements. Let’s be more united and learn to live together. Jesus asks this of us. The apostles were very different and yet Jesus didn’t talk idly of them, He didn’t allow gossip; on the contrary, he went through a process with each one of them to draw the best out of them. This is how we should work. It’s sad it is to see that we destroy one another among priests, parishioners, and relatives. Let’s pray and work for unity.
3. Be in them. Return to Jesus, don’t neglect your spiritual life. Remember your first encounter with Christ, value life. Don’t get discouraged if things don’t work out for you. There is a living God who walks by your side. You have a lot to give, go ahead and value every day. There’s a well-known quote attributed to the Roman philosopher Seneca which goes like this, “luck is when preparation meets opportunity”. Prepare yourself every day to lead a better life because opportunities will always come your way.
Remember 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.
