Seventh Sunday of Easter

June 1, 2019

Alleluia, Alleluia.

I will not leave you orphans, says the Lord,

I will come back to you and your hearts will rejoice.

Alleluia, Alleluia.

.

The Gospel of Saint John 17: 20-26

Lifting up his eyes to heaven, Jesus prayed saying:

“Holy Father, I pray not only for them, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, so that they may all be one, as you, Father, are in me and I in you, that they also may be in us, that the world may believe that you sent me.

And I have given them the glory you gave me, so that they may be one, as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may be brought to perfection as one, that the world may know that you sent me, and that you loved them even as you loved me.

Father, they are your gift to me.  I wish that where I am they also may be with me, that they may see my glory that you gave me, because you loved me before the foundation of the world. 

 Righteous Father, the world also does not know you, but I know you, and they know that you sent me.  I made known to them your name and I will make it known, that the love with which you loved me may be in them and I in them.”

THE GOSPEL OF THE LORD

REFLECTION by Monsignor Joseph Marino

What has been happening to us during these glorious days of Easter?  It must be something exceptional, something even more significant than during the Season of Lent since we had only 40 days of Lent, but we have been celebrating 50 days of Easter!  As we commemorate the Seventh and last Sunday of Easter, it is worthwhile for us to pause and review what spiritual effects Easter is having on us.

Has not our desire for personally encounter with the Risen Christ grown as we listened and pondered the Word of God which recalled Christ’s appearances to His disciples after His Death and Resurrection?

Has not our devotion to the Holy Eucharist intensified, and has not our attention at Holy Mass increased as the Risen Lord Himself Breaks Open the Scriptures and Breaks the Bread for us?

Have we not noticed that Christ, more times than not, has made His Resurrected Presence felt at a meal: in the Upper Room, on the way to Emmaus, and the breakfast setting at the Sea of Tiberius?  Does this not reveal our responsibility to always be present for the celebration of the holy meal and sacrifice at Sunday Eucharist since Christ himself is the host.

Has not our confidence in our own resurrection grown as we embraced the Gospel story of Mary Magdalen who when arriving at the tomb found not a dead body but her Risen Lord, our Risen Lord?

Pray God that all this has taken place!   But, do not be discouraged if the above has only happened a little because from the Gospels’ perspective all disciples seem to grow in faith and confidence in the Resurrected Christ only a little at a time.  That is what is happening to us as well – a little at a time we are growing in faith, even though we may not be noticing it.

The Gospels tell us that Jesus prayed, however this Sunday we are told that Jesus prayed for us, and we have His words:  I pray … also for those (you and me) who will believe in me (Christ) through their word….

Jesus prays that disciples like us receive a threefold gift from the Father:

            – that they may all be one, as you, Father, are in me and I in you;

            – that where I am they also may be with me, that they may see my glory;

            – that the love with which you loved me may be in them and I in them.

 We are consecrated by this prayer of Christ.  This consecrating prayer gives us the power we need to witness Christ to the world: that the world may believe that you (Father) sent me (Jesus Christ).   Christ has Ascended to heaven, but His Body – His Resurrected Body, his Church (you and me) remains on earth to witness to the truth that Jesus Christ was sent by the Father to be the Savior of the world!  With the constant prayer of Jesus Christ before the Father, may we boldly proclaim JESUS AS LORD!

Prosit!

Monsignor Joseph Marino