Daily Retreat 05/30/06

2006 May 30 Tue: Easter Weekday

Acts 20: 17-27/ Ps 67(68): 10-11. 20-21/ Jn 17: 1-11a

From today’s readings: "I solemnly declare to you this day that I am not responsible for the blood of any of you, for I did not shrink from proclaiming to you the entire plan of God.... the LORD, my Lord, controls the passageways of death.... 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.’ "

The Lord’s Prayer

As the conclusion to the Last Supper, Jesus turned to God the Father in intimate communion and fervent intercessory prayer for His disciples of that time and of all ages. While the "Our Father" is the "Lord’s Prayer" because He taught it to us, the "Priestly Prayer" of Christ in Chapter 17 of John is the "Lord’s Prayer" because He Himself spoke those words of supplication and intercession as the compendium of His entire saving mission at that pivotal moment at the end of the Last Supper and right before the suffering of His Passion.

The prayer has three main parts. First, Jesus prays for Himself (vv. 1-5), for the glorious fulfillment of God’s plan of salvation about to be completed through His Passion, Death, and Resurrection. Then, Jesus prays for His Apostles (vv. 6-19) with ecstatic confidence in the unity He enjoys with the Father and extends to His disciples, concluding with verse 19, the distinctively priestly summary of His life: "And I consecrate Myself for them, so that they also may be consecrated in truth!"

Finally, Jesus prays also for the whole Church, for Christian unity among all those who will come to belief through the apostolic foundation. In other words, Jesus was praying for you and for me and for all believers of all times! Just as His prayer embraces us, we embrace the Lord’s prayer and raise our voices and shape our wills in union with His....