In the first reading Paul, calmly and courageously, bids farewell to the believers in Ephesus, telling them that he was ready for persecution and imprisonment.
In the Gospel reading, Jesus asks his Father to glorify him just as he glorified the Father. The obedient Son, he has glorified the Father by his obedience to the Father’s will.
He also prays for his followers, that they may remain faithful to his word and that they may be united to the
Father. We pray that this same prayer of Jesus at the night before he died is also his prayer for us who follow him and his word.