A reading from the holy Gospel according to John
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.”
Jesus prays directly to the Father for his disciples. He prays that God may give glory to him so that in turn he can glorify the Father. He asks this of his Father so that he may give eternal life to the disciples and to all who believe in him. To give eternal life is what Jesus prays for as he intercedes for us even now, in heaven and in body, blood, soul, and divinity in the Eucharist. And what is eternal life as Jesus states in his prayer: “Now this is eternal life, that they should know you, the only true God, and the one whom you sent, Jesus Christ.” The unity that Jesus has with the Father he prays that those who follow him may also have. Eternal life is this: knowing the one true God and the love between the Father and the Son.
God, part of your Son’s prayer is to glorify you as he asks you to glorify him. To give you glory does not always result in comfort, but any suffering we experience can be made into means of glorifying you. As Saint Paul says in the second reading, “But whoever is made to suffer as a Christian should not be ashamed but glorify God because of the name.” Give me the grace, God, to understand that to glorify you is to know you and your Son. To live in that love is to believe in eternal life, to perceive it dimly in this life but to experience it fully in the life to come. Jesus, who sits at your right hand desires this for the disciples and for all who believe in him. With these four words, he leaves no room for doubt about his love and constant intercession: “I pray for them.”
From the responsorial psalm, help me recall throughout the day: “I will not leave you orphans, says the Lord. I will come back to you, and your hearts will rejoice.”
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.