Seventh Sunday of Easter 

May 12, 2024 

John 17:11b-19 

Dear Ascension Family, 

    On this Mother’s Day, may I take this opportunity to express my own sentiments of praise and gratitude to all mothers. A proverb very rightly and wisely states: “An ounce of mother is worth a pound of clergy.” As a priest I can honestly say that the proverb makes a lot of sense. My mother never stood in a pulpit, as I do every day. But all through her life, my mother, like every other mother, preached the best homilies through living her Catholic faith in her daily life. This is probably the reason why the American poet William Ross Wallace said in words that now have become classical: “The hand that rocks the cradle is the hand that rules the world.” Such is the marvelous influence that each and every one of you, mothers, have exerted on your children, and of this you can be proud and happy. HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY!!! 

To allow ourselves to be nourished by God’s word, let us reflect on the gospel reading for today - 7th Sunday of Easter, which is part of the so called intercessory or “priestly prayer” of Jesus at the Last Supper. Jesus mediated with the Father for the needs of the disciples whom he was leaving behind to carry on his work. Of course, by his own intercessory prayer for his disciples, Jesus teaches us the value of all intercessory prayer. Intercessory prayer - prayer for others, has been at the heart of the Church’s prayer life since the time of Jesus. St. Paul in his letters frequently refers to his intercessory prayers for his churches and he often calls on his churches to pray for him. Praying for others is one of the ways we give expression to our communion with others in the Lord.

In his prayer, Jesus makes a very important statement about the status of his disciples in reference to the world in which they live. Jesus’ disciples are in the world; they are not to separate themselves from the rest of humankind and to live in isolation like hermits. However, “they do not belong to the world.” This means that, even though his disciples live in the world, they are not of the world. The disciples “do not belong to the world” yet they are to live out their calling in the world; they are called to carry out God’s saving mission in the world, just as Jesus did. Yes, the world can be a hostile place, but “God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him.” (Jn 3:17). The disciples are to bring light to a world that is full of darkness. Jesus prayed for unity among his disciples. “May they be one just as we are one.” 

Jesus prayed for the unity of his disciples because disunity among the disciples is a blight on their witness. Unity, of course, does not mean “uniformity.” The apostles were quite diversified in personality makeup, temperament, and need. Moreover, unity is not determined by whether Christians agree with each other about every interpretation of the Scripture or doctrine or form of church government. Rather, Christian unity is determined by whether and how well we love one another and whether we reflect the love of God in Christ for the world. In the times of the early Church, outsiders were often impressed by the way the Christians held together: “See how these Christians love on another” (an exclamation from a pagan Roman, quoted to us by Tertullian, one of the early church fathers). 

Jesus also prayed that God his Father would protect his disciples from the attacks of the Evil One. There is here an echo of one of the petitions of the Lord’s Prayer, the prayer that Jesus taught to his disciples, “Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.” Jesus was well aware of the presence of evil in the world. Jesus took evil seriously. He knew that his disciples needed to be protected from the power of evil. Jesus began his prayer for his disciples by asking God his Father to “keep them in your name that you have given me.” Here Jesus is praying that his disciples would remain faithful to God, faithful to himself, and faithful to their calling as his disciples. The disciples’ task is not to be successful but to be faithful. 

We should take evil seriously, as Jesus did. But we should never allow its presence to make us despondent because we know that the power of God is greater than the power of evil. If the disciples of Christ fall, it is because they try to meet life on their own strength; they do not seek God’s protecting presence and help. Jesus’ prayer for his disciples is the prayer that we are to pray for ourselves

Praying for you all,

Fr. Anacleto