John 17:1-11a

Lectio (Reading)

Read the passage twice and get a sense of what it is saying. Pay attention to what strikes you.

Jesus raised his eyes to heaven and said,
“Father, the hour has come.
Give glory to your son, so that your son may glorify you,
just as you gave him authority over all people,
so that your son may give eternal life to all you gave him.
Now this is eternal life,
that they should know you, the only true God,
and the one whom you sent, Jesus Christ.
I glorified you on earth
by accomplishing the work that you gave me to do.
Now glorify me, Father, with you,
with the glory that I had with you before the world began.

“I revealed your name to those whom you gave me out of the world.
They belonged to you, and you gave them to me,
and they have kept your word.
Now they know that everything you gave me is from you,
because the words you gave to me I have given to them,
and they accepted them and truly understood that I came from you,
and they have believed that you sent me.
I pray for them.
I do not pray for the world but for the ones you have given me,
because they are yours, and everything of mine is yours
and everything of yours is mine,
and I have been glorified in them.
And now I will no longer be in the world,
but they are in the world, while I am coming to you.”

Meditatio (Reflecting)

Slowly read the passage again, pausing on words or phrases that stands out. Take time to consider the meaning. particularly in your life.

Holy Father, keep them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one just as we are one.

Oratio (Responding)

Read the passage again, slowly. Consider how God has spoken to you and respond back to Him. You may want to consider how this passage is asking you to act differently.

This whole passage is a beautiful loving prayer for our protection. We tell each other that God loves us, and that He is watching over us. but that God is a distant mystical being. But Jesus, in this reading, really loves us, and is offering a beautiful, passionate prayer of protection and love upon those He gave his word to, and by proxy all of us that follow and read that word today. This prayer is the point of His entire mission on earth, to perfect our souls on earth, so that in heaven we could be one with Him in heaven, as He and the lord are one.

This does not seem possible in a world of hopes, wishes, dreams and desires. We are all too easily hurt, and we all too easily hurt others. This disconnectedness, makes us turn inward, and separates from each other and from God. I wish that we could connect our minds like the Vulcans do in the Star Trek movies, so that we could fully understand each other… to be one, as you are one. I would love to be able to understand my wife in that way, to be able to love and support her completely in her hopes dreams, and fears.

But alas we only have words, and so we must rely on communication, and try to understand each other. But on both sides of the veil, I think Aquinas’ words are the most apropos. That “love is to will the good of another.” This is so important, because you can’t will the good of another even if you don’t first know what that good is. God knows what is best for each of us, and we must hope and pray that the Lord will be able to manifest that good in us and in the lives of those we love. That is how it will be, in the next world, and it is the expectation of our lives in this world.

Contemplatio (Contemplating)

Take time to simply remain in the presence of God.

Resolutio (Resolving)

Make a resolution that will improve your life, your relationships, or your faith. Make it small and attainable, and do it.

Oh lord, help me today to strive for the good of all of the souls that I may meet today.