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From: John 17:11b-19

The Priestly Prayer of Jesus (Continuation)


(Jesus lifted his eyes to heaven and said, ) [11b] “Holy Father, keep them in thy
name, which thou has given me, that they may be one, even as we are one. [12]
While I was with them, I kept them in thy name, which thou hast given me; I have
guarded them, and none of them is lost but the son of perdition, that the scripture
might be fulfilled. [13] But now I am coming to thee; and these things I speak in
the world, that they may have my joy fulfilled in themselves. [14] I have given them
thy word; and the world has hated them because they are not of the world. [15]
I do not pray that thou shouldst take them out of the world, but that thou shouldst
keep them from the evil one. [16] They are not of the world, even as I am not of
the world. [17] Sanctify them in the truth; thy word is truth. [18] As thou didst
send me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. [19] And for their
sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be consecrated in truth.

*********************************************************************************************
Commentary:

11-19. Jesus now asks the Father to give his disciples four things—unity, perse-
verance, joy and holiness. By praying him to keep them in his name (v. 11) he
is asking for their perseverance in the teaching he has given them (cf. v. 6) and in
communion with him. An immediate consequence of this perseverance is unity:
“that they may be one, even as we are one”; this unity which he asks for his
disciples is a reflection of the unity of the three divine Persons.

He also prays that none of them should be lost, that the Father should guard and
protect them, just as he himself protected them while he was still with them.
Thirdly, as a result of their union with God and perseverance they will share in the
joy of Christ (v. 13): in this life, the more we know God and the more closely we
are joined to him, the happier will we be; in eternal life our joy will be complete,
because our knowledge and love of God will have reached its climax.

Finally, he prays for those who, though living in the world, are not of the world,
that they may be truly holy and carry out the mission he has entrusted to them,
just as he did the work his Father gave him to do.

12. “That the scripture might be fulfilled”: this is an allusion to what he said to the
Apostles a little earlier (Jn 13:18) by directly quoting Scripture: “He who ate my
bread has lifted his heel against me” (Ps 41:10). Jesus makes these references
to Judas’ treachery in order to strengthen the Apostles’ faith by showing that he
knew everything in advance and that the Scriptures had already foretold what
would happen.

However, Judas went astray through his own fault and not because God arranged
things that way; his treachery had been taking shape little by little, through his
petty infidelities, and despite our Lord helping him to repent and get back on the
right rode (cf. note on Jn 13:21-32); Judas did not respond to this grace and was
responsible for his own downfall. God, who sees the future, predicted the trea-
chery of Judas in the Scripture; Christ, being God, knew that Judas would betray
him and it is with immense sorrow that he now tells the Apostles.

14-16. In Sacred Scripture “world” has a number of meanings. First, it means the
whole of creation (Gen 1:1ff) and, within creation, mankind, which God loves most
tenderly (Prov 8:31). This is the meaning intended here when our Lord says, “I do
not pray that thou shouldst take them out of the world, but that thou shouldst keep
them from the evil one” (v. 15). “I have taught this constantly using words from holy
Scripture. The world is not evil, because it has come from God’s hands, because
it is his creation, because Yahweh looked upon it and saw that it was good (cf.
Gen 1:7ff). We ourselves, mankind, make it evil and ugly with our sins and infideli-
ties. Have no doubt: any kind of evasion from the honest realities of daily life is for
you, men and women of the world, something opposed to the will of God” (St. J.
Escriva, “Conversations”, 114).

In the second place, “world” refers to the things of this world, which do not last
and which can be at odds with the things of the spirit (cf. Mt 16:26).

Finally, because evil men have been enslaved by sin and by the devil, “the ruler
of the world” (Jn 12:31; 16:11), the “world” sometimes means God’s enemy,
something opposed to Christ and his followers (Jn 1:10). In this sense the “world”
is evil, and therefore Jesus is not of the world, nor are his disciples (v. 16). It is
also this pejorative meaning which is used by traditional teaching which describes
the world, the flesh and the devil as enemies of the soul against which one has
to be forever vigilant. “The world, the flesh and the devil are a band of adventurers
who take advantage of the weakness of that savage you bear within you, and
want you to hand over to them, in exchange for the glittering tinsel of a pleasure
—which is worth nothing—the pure gold and the pearls and the diamonds and
rubies drenched in the life-blood of your God-Redeemer, which are the price and
the treasure of your eternity” (St. J. Escriva, “The Way”, 708).

17-19. Jesus prays for the holiness of his disciples. God alone is the Holy One;
in his holiness people and things share. “Sanctifying” has to do with consecra-
ting and dedicating something to God, excluding it from being used for profane
purposes; thus God says to Jeremiah: “Before I formed you in the womb I knew
you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to
the nations” (Jer 1:5). If something is to be consecrated to God it must be perfect,
that is, holy. Hence, a consecrated person needs to have moral sanctity, needs
to be practising the moral virtues. Our Lord here asks for both things for his dis-
ciples, because they need them if they are to fulfill their supernatural mission in
the world.

“For their sake I consecrate myself”: these words mean that Jesus Christ, who
has been burdened with the sins of men, consecrates himself to the Father
through his sacrifice on the Cross. By this are all Christians sanctified: “So
Jesus also suffered outside the gate in order to sanctify the people through his
own blood” (Heb 13:12). So, after Christ’s death, men have been made sons of
God by Baptism, sharers in the divine nature and enabled to attain the holiness
to which they have been called (cf. Vatican II, “Lumen Gentium”, 40).

*********************************************************************************************
Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.

Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.


10 posted on 05/19/2012 3:35:31 PM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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To: All
Scripture readings taken from the Jerusalem Bible, published and copyright © 1966, 1967 and 1968 by Darton, Longman & Todd

Mass Readings

In some dioceses the Ascension of the Lord is celebrated today. If this applies to you, please reconfigure Universalis to use the appropriate local calendar.


First reading Acts 1:15-17,20-26 ©
One day Peter stood up to speak to the brothers – there were about a hundred and twenty persons in the congregation: ‘Brothers, the passage of scripture had to be fulfilled in which the Holy Spirit, speaking through David, foretells the fate of Judas, who offered himself as a guide to the men who arrested Jesus – after having been one of our number and actually sharing this ministry of ours. Now in the Book of Psalms it says:
Let someone else take his office.
‘We must therefore choose someone who has been with us the whole time that the Lord Jesus was travelling round with us, someone who was with us right from the time when John was baptising until the day when he was taken up from us – and he can act with us as a witness to his resurrection.’
  Having nominated two candidates, Joseph known as Barsabbas, whose surname was Justus, and Matthias, they prayed, ‘Lord, you can read everyone’s heart; show us therefore which of these two you have chosen to take over this ministry and apostolate, which Judas abandoned to go to his proper place.’ They then drew lots for them, and as the lot fell to Matthias, he was listed as one of the twelve apostles.

Psalm Psalm 102:1-2,11-12,19-20 ©
The Lord has set his sway in heaven.
or
Alleluia.
My soul, give thanks to the Lord
  all my being, bless his holy name.
My soul, give thanks to the Lord
  and never forget all his blessings.
The Lord has set his sway in heaven.
or
Alleluia.
For as the heavens are high above the earth
  so strong is his love for those who fear him.
As far as the east is from the west
  so far does he remove our sins.
The Lord has set his sway in heaven.
or
Alleluia.
The Lord has set his sway in heaven
  and his kingdom is ruling over all.
Give thanks to the Lord, all his angels,
  mighty in power, fulfilling his word.
The Lord has set his sway in heaven.
or
Alleluia.

Second reading 1 John 4:11-16 ©
My dear people,
since God has loved us so much,
we too should love one another.
No one has ever seen God;
but as long as we love one another
God will live in us
and his love will be complete in us.
We can know that we are living in him
and he is living in us
because he lets us share his Spirit.
We ourselves saw and we testify
that the Father sent his Son
as saviour of the world.
If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God,
God lives in him, and he in God.
We ourselves have known and put our faith in
God’s love towards ourselves.
God is love
and anyone who lives in love lives in God,
and God lives in him.

Gospel Acclamation cf.Jn14:18
Alleluia, alleluia!
I will not leave you orphans, says the Lord;
I will come back to you,
and your hearts will be full of joy.
Alleluia!

Gospel John 17:11-19 ©
Jesus raised his eyes to heaven and said:
‘Holy Father,
keep those you have given me true to your name,
so that they may be one like us.
While I was with them,
I kept those you had given me true to your name.
I have watched over them
and not one is lost
except the one who chose to be lost,
and this was to fulfil the scriptures.
But now I am coming to you
and while still in the world I say these things
to share my joy with them to the full.
I passed your word on to them,
and the world hated them,
because they belong to the world
no more than I belong to the world.
I am not asking you to remove them from the world,
but to protect 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,
I have sent them into the world,
and for their sake I consecrate myself
so that they too may be consecrated in truth.’

11 posted on 05/19/2012 3:38:45 PM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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