Gospel (Jn 17:1-11a)
When Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you, since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do. And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed.
“I have manifested your name to the people whom you gave me out of the world. Yours they were, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. Now they know that everything that you have given me is from you. For I have given them the words that you gave me, and they have received them and have come to know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me. I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours. All mine are yours, and yours are mine, and I am glorified in them. And I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you.”
Commentary
When addressing the Father, Jesus refers to his disciples as those who “have kept” God’s word. In fact, for three years now the apostles had been hearing the divine words spoken by Jesus. “At your word I will let down the nets” (Lk 5:5), Peter told Jesus, and thanks to his trust his nets were miraculously filled with fish. The apostles had been drawn to the Master by the force of his words, and thus a new world filled with hope was opened to them.
We also want to be one of those who keep God’s word – those who are not satisfied with a superficial vision of the world and of mankind’s destiny. We care for his word when we meditate on it in our personal prayer and ask ourselves: what does Jesus want to tell me in the passage from today’s Mass? What is he telling me in those words of a friend that moved me? What is God suggesting to me through the opportunities and problems I find in my family?
Jesus’ words also care for us. If we let them take root in our heart, they become a tree whose shade offers us shelter and rest. Each person can keep a list of phrases from Scripture that especially move them: words from the Psalms, the Gospels, the letters of Saint Paul, etc. These words can help us to do our prayer well, to be heartened in the midst of difficulties, to ask for light to confront problems, etc.
If we keep Jesus’ words we can remain in the world without fear, because we know that everything has been made by Him, the Divine Word. We realize that everything has a meaning, and that our path is directed toward “the glorious freedom of the children of God” (cf. Rom 8:21).