Jesus asks the Almighty Father grant the Apostles unity in the Father’s Name. Every Catholic man can grow in happiness by building the Virtue of Sacrifice so he can many personal sacrifices to glorify God and by cultivating the Virtue of Prayer so he can better imitate the Son’s heartfelt prayers to the Almighty Father.
Liturgy
7th Week of Easter – Thursday – Jn 17:20-26; 7th Week of Easter – Sunday – Cycle A – Jn 17:1-11a
Commentary
After completing His Farewell Discourse (Jn 13:31-16:33) during Holy Week to prepare the Apostles for the coming ordeal of the Passion, Jesus now offers His High Priestly Prayer (Jn 17). In His prayer, the longest prayer recorded in the Gospels, Jesus offers His sacrifice on the Cross to the Father and prays for the preservation of the Apostles and His Holy Catholic Church.
Raising His eyes to God the Father, Jesus makes intimate contact with the Father and prays as He has done before (Jn 11:41-42). With perfect humility, Jesus asks the Father to glorify Him (the Son) so He can offer even greater glory back to the Father; “glory” is a palpable, radiant manifestation of God’s presence, an astounding event that drops men to their knees in awe. In His public ministry, Jesus has continuously glorified God the Father; now, the Father’s glory will be made manifest to all in the Crucifixion, Resurrection, and Ascension of Christ. Jesus tells the Father that He has accomplished His mission because the Apostles have come to “believe”, confirming that all men who wish to be saved must believe in Jesus and Gospel.
Jesus prays for His men to glorify God the Father, for the Father has given the Apostles to Jesus; as the Son glorifies the Father, so too will the Apostles glorify the Son as they perform miracles and heroically die as martyrs. Though Jesus loves Creation, including every single human, He does not pray for the “world”, because the “world” includes the multitudes who continue to rebel against God the Father since Eden; the “world” must be converted to be acceptable to God. Those who repent and believe in the Mercy of Jesus can be assured of their salvation; Jesus dies for the many (but not all Heb 9:28) who accept His Word, are converted and saved. Jesus will soon return to God the Father, leaving the Apostles to evangelize the world.
Be awed by Jesus Christ
Be enlightened by how Jesus perfectly demonstrates various parts of the Virtue of Justice: Son of the Father, Jesus is absolutely Obedient to the will of His Father; perfection of Piety, Jesus reverently acknowledges the Father and offers homage to Him; perfection of Religion, Jesus offers glory to the Father through Praise, Prayer, and Devotion, and through His coming Sacrifice on the Cross.
Make many Sacrifices to glorify God
Realize: As the Son sacrificed for the Father, and the Apostles sacrificed to imitate Jesus, so must every Catholic man sacrifice to glorify God.
Believe: Reflect upon glorifying God by Offering Daily Prayers of Praise (CCC 2639), Using the Name of God to give Him Glory (CCC 2143), Teaching others about Jesus Christ (CCC 1698), and Treating Your Body with Honor (CCC 1004).
Pray: Almighty Father, help me imitate Your Son by building the Virtue of Sacrifice (a part of Justice) so, each day, I sacrifice some of my selfish desires and make many small acts of love to glorify You, and love my family and others.
Imitate the Son’s heartfelt prayers to the Father
Realize: In the Incarnation, Jesus, the Perfect Man, demonstrates how to love God the Father in every one of His words and acts, including His powerful example of praying to the Father.
Believe: Reflect upon How Jesus Prays (CCC 2598-2606, 2620).
Pray: Jesus, Perfection of Prayer, help me build the Virtue of Prayer (a part of Justice) so that I honor You by honoring Your Heavenly Father through my many daily prayers of gratitude, praise and petition to God the Father.