1) Opening prayer

Lord,
guide the course of world events
and give your Church the joy and peace
of serving you in freedom.
You live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

2) Gospel Reading - Mark 10,17-27

Jesus was setting out on a journey when a man ran up, knelt before him and put this question to him, 'Good master, what must I do to inherit eternal life?' Jesus said to him, 'Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone. You know the commandments: You shall not kill; You shall not commit adultery; You shall not steal; You shall not give false witness; You shall not defraud; Honour your father and mother.'
And he said to him, 'Master, I have kept all these since my earliest days.' Jesus looked steadily at him and he was filled with love for him, and he said, 'You need to do one thing more. Go and sell what you own and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.' But his face fell at these words and he went away sad, for he was a man of great wealth.
Jesus looked round and said to his disciples, 'How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God!' The disciples were astounded by these words, but Jesus insisted, 'My children,' he said to them, 'how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for someone rich to enter the kingdom of God.'
They were more astonished than ever, saying to one another, 'In that case, who can be saved?' Jesus gazed at them and said, 'By human resources it is impossible, but not for God: because for God everything is possible.'

3) Reflection

• The Gospel today narrates two events: (a) it tells the story of a rich man who asks how to obtain eternal life (Mk 10, 17-22), and (b) Jesus warns on the danger of riches (Mk 10, 23-27). The rich man does not accept the proposal of Jesus, because he was very rich. A rich person is protected by the security which is given to him by his riches. He has difficulty to open his hand and detach himself from this security. He seizes strongly the advantage of his goods, lives concerned defending his own interests. A poor person is not accustomed to have this concern. But there may also be some poor people who have the mentality of the rich. And then, the desire for riches creates in them dependence and also makes them become slaves of consumerism. They have no time to dedicate themselves to the service of neighbour. Keeping these problems in mind, problems of persons, of countries, let us read and meditate on the text of the rich man.
• Mark 10, 17-19: The observance of the commandments and eternal life. A person came up to Jesus and asked: “Good Master, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” The Gospel of Matthew tells us that it was the case of a young man (Mt 19, 20.22). Jesus responds abruptly: “Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone!” Jesus takes away the attention from himself to direct it toward God, because what is important is to do God’s Will, to reveal the Father’s project. Then Jesus affirms: “You know the commandments: You shall not kill. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal. You shall not give false witness. You shall not defraud. Honour your father and mother”. It is important to observe always the response of Jesus. The young man had asked something concerning eternal life. He wanted to live together with God. But Jesus does not mention the first three commandments which define our relationship with God! He mentioned only those which indicate respect for the life lived together with others. According to Jesus, we can only be well with God if we know how to be well with our neighbour. It serves nothing to deceive ourselves. The door to reach God is our neighbour.
• Mark 10, 20: What good is it to observe the commandments? The young man answered that he observed the commandments since his earliest days. What is strange is what follows. He wanted to know which was the way to eternal life. Now, the way of life was and continues to be: to do God’s will expressed in the commandments. It means that he observed the commandments without knowing for what purpose. Otherwise, he would not have asked any questions. This is what happens today to many Catholics: they do not know what it means to be a Catholic. “I was born in a Catholic country; this is why I am Catholic!” It is a habit!
• Mark 10, 21-22: To share the goods with the poor and to follow Jesus. Hearing the response of the young man, “Jesus looked at him and was full of love for him and said: You need to do one more thing: go and sell what you own and give the money to the poor and you will have a treasure in heaven, then come, follow me!” The observance of the commandments is only the first step of a stairway that goes higher. Jesus asks more! The observance of the commandments prepares the person for the total gift of self in behalf of neighbour. Jesus asks for very much but he asks it with much love. The rich young man does not accept the proposal of Jesus and goes away, because he was a man of great wealth”.
• Mark 10, 23-27: The camel and the eye of the needle. After the young man left, Jesus commented on his decision: “How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God!” The disciples were astounded. Jesus repeats the same phrase and adds: “It is easier that a camel passes through the eye of a needle than for someone rich to enter the kingdom of God!”
The expression “enter the kingdom” not only indicates and in first place entrance into heaven after death, but also and above all, the entrance into the community around Jesus. The community is and should be a model of the Kingdom. The reference to the impossibility for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle comes from a popular proverb of the time used by the people to say that a thing was humanly speaking, impossible and unfeasible. The disciples were astounded hearing the affirmation of Jesus and they ask themselves: “Then who can be saved?” This is a sign that they had not understood the response of Jesus to the young rich man: “Go, sell all you all you own and give the money to the poor and then come follow me”. The young man had observed the commandments since his earliest days, but without understanding the reason for this observance. Something similar was happening to the disciples. They had already abandoned all their goods as Jesus had asked the young rich man, but without understanding the reason, the why of this abandonment. If they had understood they would not have been astounded before the demands of Jesus. When riches or the desire for riches occupies the heart and the gaze, the person cannot perceive the sense of the Gospel. Only God can help! Jesus looks at the disciples and says: “Impossible for man but not for God. For God everything is possible.”

4) Personal questions

• A person who lives constantly concerned about her wealth or who lives always wanting to buy all the things about which the television makes propaganda, can she free herself from everything to follow Jesus and live in peace in a Christian community? Is it possible? What do you think? How do you do it and what do you do?
• Do you know somebody who has succeeded to abandon everything for the sake of the Kingdom? What does it mean for us today: “Go, sell all you own, and give the money to the poor”? How can we understand and practice today the counsels that Jesus gives to the young rich man?

5) Concluding Prayer

I give thanks to Yahweh with all my heart,
in the meeting-place of honest people, in the assembly.
Great are the deeds of Yahweh,
to be pondered by all who delight in them. (Ps 111,1-2)

The promise of a Consoler. The Holy Spirit,
teacher and living memory of the Word of Jesus
John 14, 15-16.23-26

1. Opening prayer

Most merciful Father, on this most holy day I cry to you from my room behind closed doors. I raise my prayer to you in fear and immobility in the face of death. Grant that Jesus may come to me and dwell at the centre of my heart that he may drive away all fear and all darkness. Grant me your peace, which is true peace, peace of heart. Grant that the Holy Spirit may come to me, the Spirit who is the fire of love, that warms and enlightens, that melts and purifies; who is living water, flowing even to eternal life, that quenches and cleans, that baptises and renews; who is the strong and at the same time soft wind, the breath of your voice and breath; who is dove announcing pardon, a new and lasting beginning for the whole world.
Send your Spirit upon me when I read and listen to your Word so that I may penetrate the mysteries it holds; grant that I may be overwhelmed and submerged, baptised and made into a new person, so that I may give my life to you and to my brothers and sisters. Amen, Alleluia

2. Reading

a) Placing the passage in its context:

These few verses, which are not even well connected, are a few drops of water taken from an ocean. In fact, they are part of that long and grandiose discourse in John’s Gospel, which begins with chapter 13:31 and goes up to and including the whole of chapter 17. The whole of this very deep discourse deals with only one theme, that is, the “going of Jesus”, which we find in 13:33: “Yet a little while I am with you… Where I go you cannot come” and in 16:28: “I came from the Father and have come into the world. Again I leave the world and go to the Father” and again in 17:13: “Now I am coming to you, [Father]”. Jesus’ going to the Father signifies also our going, our essential and faith journey in this world; it is here that we learn to follow Jesus, to listen to him, to live like him. It is here that we receive the complete revelation of Jesus in the mystery of the Trinity as well as the revelation concerning a Christian life, its power, its tasks, its joys and sorrows, its hopes and struggles. In reflecting on these words we find the truth of the Lord Jesus and of ourselves before Him and in Him.
These verses speak especially of three very strong consoling reasons for us: the promise of the coming of the Consoler; the coming of the Father and the Son within those who believe; the presence of a master, the Holy Spirit, through whom the teachings of Jesus will never cease.

b) To help us with the reading of the passage:

vv. 15-16: Jesus reveals that the observance of the commandments is not a matter of obligation, but a sweet fruit that is born of the love of the disciple for Him. This loving obedience is due to the all-powerful prayer of Jesus for us. The Lord promises another Consoler, sent by the Father, who will always remain with us in order to drive away our solitude once and for all.
vv. 23-24: Jesus repeats that love and observance of the commandments are two vital truths essentially related to each other, that have the power to introduce the disciple into the mystical life, that is, into the experience of immediate and personal communion with Jesus and with the Father.
v. 25: Jesus says something very important: there is a substantial difference between what he said while he was with the disciples and what he will say later, when, thanks to the Spirit, He will be in them, within them. At first, understanding is limited because the relationship with him is an external one: the Word comes from outside and reaches ears, but not pronounced within. Later, understanding will be full.
v. 26: Jesus announces the Holy Spirit as master who will teach no longer from outside but from within us. He will give new life to the Words of Jesus, those forgotten will be remembered and will be understood by the disciples within their capabilities.

c) The text:

15 "If you love me, you will keep my commandments. 16 And I will pray the Father, and he will give you another Counsellor, to be with you for ever.
23 Jesus answered him, "If a man loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. 24 He who does not love me does not keep my words; and the word which you hear is not mine but the Father's who sent me.
25 "These things I have spoken to you, while I am still with you. 26 But the Counsellor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.

3. A time of prayerful silence

I go to the Master’s school, the Holy Spirit. I sit at his feet and I abandon myself in his presence. I open my heart, without any fear, so that he may instruct, console, reprove and make me grow.

4. A few questions

a) “If you love me”. Is my relationship with Jesus a relationship of love? Do I make room for him in my heart? Do I look within myself honestly and ask: “Where is love in my life, is there any?” If I realise that there is no love within me, or just a little, do I try to ask myself: “What is preventing me, what is it that keeps me closed, imprisoned, rendering me sad and lonely?”
b) “You will observe my commandments”. I notice the verb “to observe” with the many meanings it implies: to look after well, to protect, to pay attention, to keep alive, to reserve and preserve, not to throw away, to keep carefully, with love. Am I aware and enlightened by these attitudes, by my relationship as disciple, as Christian, with the Word and the commandments that Jesus gave us for our happiness?
c) “He will give you another Consoler”. How often have I not searched for someone to console me, to look after me, to show me affection and care for me! But, am I truly convinced that true consolation comes from the Lord? Or do I still trust much more in the consolations I find, the ones that I beg for here and there, that I gather like crumbs without ever being able to be satisfied?
d) “Make our home with him”. The Lord stands at the door and knocks and waits. He does not force or oblige. He says: “If you wish…”. He suggests that I might become his home, the place of his repose, of his intimacy. Jesus is ready and happy to come to me, to unite himself to me in a very special kind of friendship. But, am I ready? Am I expecting his visit, his coming, his entering into my most intimate, most personal self? Is there room for him in the inn?
e) “He will…bring to your remembrance all that I have said”. The word “remembrance” recalls another very important, even essential matter. Am I challenged and scrutinised by Scripture? What is it that I recall? What do I try to remember, to bring to life in my interior world? The Word of the Lord is a most precious treasure; it is the seed of life that is sown in my heart; but do I look after this seed? Do I defend it from a thousand enemies and dangers that assail it: the birds, the rocks, the thorns, the evil one? Do I, every morning, carry with me a Word of the Lord to remember during the day and to make my inner light, my strength, my food?

5. A key to the reading

I now approach each one of the characters in the reading and I listen prayerfully, meditatively, reflectively, in contemplation…

The face of the Father:

Jesus says: “I will ask the Father” (v. 26) and thus draws aside a little the mysterious veil surrounding prayer: prayer is the life that leads to the Father. To go to the Father, we are given the way of prayer. As Jesus lives his relationship with the Father by means of prayer, so also must we. I need to read the Gospels and become a careful searcher of signs concerning this secret of the love of Jesus and his Father, so that, by entering into that relationship, I too may grow in the knowledge of God, my Father

“He will give you another Consoler”. The Father is the one who gives us the Consoler. This gift is preceded by the Father’s act of love, who knows that we need consolation: He saw my misery in Egypt and heard my cry. He indeed knows my sufferings and sees the oppressions that torment me (cfr. Es 3: 7-9); nothing goes unnoticed by his infinite love for me. That is why He gives us the Consoler. The Father is the Giver. Everything comes to us from Him and no one else.

“My Father will love him” (v. 24). The Father is the Lover who loves with an eternal love, absolute, inviolable, uncancellable. Thus do Isaiah, Jeremiah and all the Prophets say (cfr. Jer 31:3; Is 43:4; 54: 8; Hos 2:21; 11:1).

“We will come to him”. The Father is united with the Son, Jesus, and is one with Him, and with Him comes to each one of us. He moves, goes out, bends and walks towards us. Urged by a mad and inexplicable love, He comes to us.

“And we will make our home with him”. The Father builds his house within us; he makes of us, of me, of my existence, of my whole being, his home. He comes and will not leave but faithfully stays.

The face of the Son:

“If you love me…” (v. 15); “If anyone loves me…” (v. 23). Jesus enters into a unique and personal relationship with me, face to face, heart to heart, soul to soul; he wants to have an intense relationship, unique, unrepeatable, and he unites me to Him by love if I so wish. He always puts an “if” and says when he asks me by name: “If you wish…”. The only way He constantly seeks to come to me is through love. In fact, it is noticeable that the use of the pronouns “you” and “anyone” are connected to “me” by the verb “to love” and no other verb.

“I will ask the Father” (v. 16). Jesus is the one who prays, who lives by prayer and for prayer. The whole of his life is summed up by prayer and in prayer. He is the supreme and eternal priest who intercedes for us and offers prayers and supplications together with tears (cfr. Heb 5: 7), for our salvation; “he is able at all times to save those who come to God through him, since he lives always to make intercession for them” (Heb 7:25).

“If anyone loves me, he will keep my word” (v. 23); “He who does not love me, does not keep my words” (v. 24). Jesus offers me his Word, he gives it to me in trust that I may look after it and guard it, that I may place it in my heart and there keep it warm, watch over it, contemplate it, listen to it and thus make it bear fruit. His word is a seed; it is the most precious pearl of all, for which it is worthwhile selling every other wealth; it is the treasure hidden in the field worth digging for without counting the cost; it is the fire that makes the heart burn within my breast; it is the lamp that illumines our steps even in the darkest night. Love for the Word of Jesus can be identified by my love for Jesus himself, for his whole being, because, after all, He is the Word. That is why, in this passage, Jesus is crying out to my heart that he is the one I must keep.

The face of the Holy Spirit:

“The Father will give you another Consoler” (v. 16). The Father gives us the Holy Spirit; this is “the good gift and every perfect gift from above” (Jm 1:17). He is “the other Consoler” other than Jesus, who goes and comes back so as not to leave us alone, abandoned. While I am in this world, I do not lack consolation, but am comforted by the presence of the Holy Spirit, who is not just consolation, but is much more: he is a living person and living beside me always. This presence, this company is capable of giving me joy, true joy. In fact Paul says: “The fruit of the Spirit is charity, joy, peace…” (Gal 5:22; cfr. also Rm 14:17).

“to be with you forever”. The Spirit is in our midst, he is with me, just as Jesus was with his disciples. His coming is a physical, personal presence; I do not see him, but I know that he is there and that he will never leave me. The spirit is always here and lives with me and in me, with no limitations of time or space; thus he is the Consoler.

“He will teach you all things” (v. 26). The Holy Spirit is the Teacher, he who opens the way for conscience, experience; no one except him can lead me, inform me, give me new form. His is not a school where one acquires human knowledge that creates pride and does not liberate; his teachings, his whisperings, his precise directions come from God and lead back to God. The Spirit teaches true wisdom and true knowledge (Ps 118:66), he teaches the Father’s will (Ps 118:26.64), his ways (Ps 24:4), his commandments (Ps 118:124.135), which are life. He is a Teacher capable of leading me to the whole truth (Jn 16:13), who gives me deep freedom, even to the time of the separation of the soul and the spirit, for He alone, who is God, can bring me to life and resurrection. As God, he is humble, he lowers himself, descends from his throne and enters into me (cfr. Acts 1:8; 10:44), he gives himself to me entirely and absolutely; he is not jealous of his gift, of his light, but gives without limits.

6. A moment of prayer: Psalm 30

A hymn of praise to God,
who has sent us the new life of the Spirit from on high

Ref. You have given me the fullness of life, Lord, alleluia!

I will extol thee, O Lord,
for thou hast drawn me up,
and hast not let my foes rejoice over me.
O Lord my God, I cried to thee for help,
and thou hast healed me.
O Lord, thou hast brought up my soul from Sheol,
restored me to life from among those gone down to the Pit. Rit.

Sing praises to the Lord, O you his saints,
and give thanks to his holy name.
For his anger is but for a moment,
and his favour is for a lifetime.
Weeping may tarry for the night,
but joy comes with the morning. Rit.

As for me, I said in my prosperity,
"I shall never be moved."
By thy favour, O Lord,
thou hadst established me as a strong mountain;
thou didst hide thy face, I was dismayed.
To thee, O Lord,
I cried; and to the Lord I made supplication. Rit.

Hear, O Lord, and be gracious to me!
O Lord, be thou my helper!"
Thou hast turned for me my mourning into dancing;
thou hast loosed my sackcloth and girded me with gladness,
that my soul may praise thee and not be silent.
O Lord my God, I will give thanks to thee for ever. Rit.

7. Closing prayer

Holy Spirit, allow me to speak to you again. It is difficult for me to go away from my meeting with the Word because you are present there. Therefore, live and act in me. I present to you, to your intimacy, your Love, my face of disciple; I mirror myself in you, O Holy Spirit. I offer you, finger of God’s right hand, my features, my eyes, my lips, my ears… work in me your healing, your liberation and salvation that I may be reborn, today, a new person from the womb of your fire, the breath of your wind. Holy Spirit, I was not born to be alone. I beg you, therefore, send me brothers and sisters that I may proclaim to them the life that comes from you. Amen. Alleluia!

1) Opening prayer

Lord our God,

like Mary, the women and the apostles

on the day before the first Pentecost,

we are gathered in prayer.

Let the Holy Spirit descend also upon us,

that we may become enthusiastic believers

and faithful witnesses to the Person

and the good news of Jesus.

May our way of living bear witness

that Jesus is our light and life,

now and forever.

2) Gospel Reading - John 21:20-25

Peter turned and saw the disciple following whom Jesus loved, the one who had also reclined upon his chest during the supper and had said, "Master, who is the one who will betray you?" When Peter saw him, he said to Jesus, "Lord, what about him?" Jesus said to him, "What if I want him to remain until I come? What concern is it of yours? You follow me." So the word spread among the brothers that that disciple would not die. But Jesus had not told him that he would not die, just "What if I want him to remain until I come? What concern is it of yours?" It is this disciple who testifies to these things and has written them, and we know that his testimony is true. There are also many other things that Jesus did, but if these were to be described individually, I do not think the whole world would contain the books that would be written.

3) Reflection

Today’s Gospel begins with Peter’s question: “Lord, what about him?” Jesus begins to speak with Peter.

• John 21:20-21: Peter’s question concerning John’s destiny. At this moment, Peter turned back and saw the disciple whom Jesus loved and asked,  “Lord, what about him?” Jesus had just indicated Peter’s destiny,  and now Peter wants to know from Jesus what is this other disciple’s destiny. It is a matter of curiosity which does not deserve a proper response from Jesus.

• John 21:22: The mysterious response of Jesus. Jesus says, “If I want him to stay behind until I come, what does it matter to you? You are to follow Me.” A mysterious utterance which ends again with the same affirmation as before: Follow me! Jesus seems to want to bridle Peter’s curiosity. Just as each one of us has his/her own history, in the same way each one of us has his/her own way of following Jesus. Nobody is the exact copy of another person. Each one of us should be creative in following Jesus. This also recalls the laborers in the vineyard (Mt 20:1-15). Each of us also has our own history and relationship with Jesus which is personal and directed by Him if we accept it.

• John 21:23: The Evangelist clarifies the meaning of Jesus’ response. Ancient tradition identifies the Beloved Disciple with the Apostle John and says that he died when he was almost one hundred years old. Putting together John’s old age with Jesus’ mysterious response, the Evangelist clarifies things saying, “The rumor then went out among the brothers that this disciple would not die. Yet, Jesus had not said to Peter, ‘He will not die,’ but, ‘ If I want him to stay behind until I come; what does that matter to you?’” Perhaps, it is a warning to be attentive to the interpretation of the words of Jesus and not base one’s beliefs on any rumor.

Peter’s questions, and the assumptions of the other disciples, could be an example of the sins of pride (hyperēphania), sadness or envy (lypē), and dejection or acedia (akēdia) in terms of the concepts of the fourth century monk Evagrius Ponticus, among others. Rather than rejoicing at the favorable treatment they thought John had, Peter wanted to know the details. Then the rumors and the gossip went out.

• John 21:24: Witness of the value of the Gospel. Chapter 21 is an added appendix when the final redaction of the Gospel was made. Chapter 20 ends with this statement: “There were many other signs that Jesus worked in the sight of His disciples, but they are not recorded in this book. These are recorded so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing this you may have life through His name.” (Jn 20:30-31). The Book was ready but there were many other facts about Jesus. This is why, on the occasion of the definitive edition of the Gospel, some of these “many facts” about Jesus were chosen and added, very probably to clarify better the new problems at the end of the first century. We do not know who wrote the definitive redaction with the appendix, but we know it was someone in the community who could be trusted, because he writes, “This is the disciple who vouches for these things and has written them down and we know that his testimony is true.”

• John 21:25: The mystery of Jesus is inexhaustible. A beautiful thought to conclude the Gospel of John: “There was much more that Jesus did; if it were written down in detail, I do not suppose the world itself would hold all the books that would be written.” It seems an exaggeration, but it is the truth. Never will anyone be capable of writing all the things that Jesus has done and continues to do in the life of people who follow Jesus!

4) For Personal Consideration

• Is there something in your life which Jesus has done and which could be added to this book which will never be written?

• Peter is very concerned about the other disciple rather than live his own “Follow Me” at that moment. Does this also happen to you?

• Several Church Doctors and Fathers talk about overcoming vices such as envy and pride with virtues. Many of their ways of life are an answer to “Follow Me”. How well informed are you about these and how might they be put to use personally in answering His call?

• One’s whole life is a relationship with Jesus. This is true for others as well. When there is gossip about another person, do you think Jesus says “What concern is it of yours?” at those moments too?

5) Concluding Prayer

Yahweh in His holy temple!

Yahweh, His throne is in heaven;

His eyes watch over the world,

His gaze scrutinizes the children of Adam. (Ps 11:4)

1) Opening prayer

Lord our God,

You have appointed shepherds in Your Church

to speak Your word to us

and to build community in Your name.

We pray You today:

May they be shepherds like Your Son

who look for those who have lost the way,

bring back the stray, bandage the wounded

and make the weak strong.

May they all be ministers

of Your tender love and service,

as Jesus was, Your Son and our Lord.

2) Gospel Reading - John 21:15-19

After Jesus had revealed himself to his disciples and eaten breakfast with them, he said to Simon Peter, "Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?" Simon Peter answered him, "Yes, Lord, you know that I love you." Jesus said to him, "Feed my lambs." He then said to Simon Peter a second time, "Simon, son of John, do you love me?" Simon Peter answered him, "Yes, Lord, you know that I love you." He said to him, "Tend my sheep." He said to him the third time, "Simon, son of John, do you love me?" Peter was distressed that he had said to him a third time, "Do you love me?" and he said to him, "Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you." Jesus said to him, "Feed my sheep. Amen, amen, I say to you, when you were younger, you used to dress yourself and go where you wanted; but when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go." He said this signifying by what kind of death he would glorify God. And when he had said this, he said to him, "Follow me."

3) Reflection

• We are in the last days before Pentecost. During the time of Lent, the selection of the Gospels of the day continues the ancient tradition of the Church. Between Easter and Pentecost, the Gospel of John is preferred. And thus, during these last days before Pentecost, the Gospels of the day narrate the last verses of the Gospel of John. When we return to Ordinary Time, we will go back to the Gospel of Mark. In the weeks of Ordinary Time, the Liturgy proceeds to a continuous reading of the Gospel of Mark (from the 1st to the 9th week of Ordinary Time), of Matthew (from the 10th to 21st week of Ordinary Time) and of Luke (from the 22nd to the 34th week of Ordinary Time).

• The Gospel readings for today and tomorrow speak about Jesus’ last encounter with His disciples. It was an encounter of celebration, marked by tenderness and affection. At the end Jesus calls Peter and asks him three times, “Do you love Me?” Only after having received three times the same affirmative response, Jesus entrusts to Peter the mission of taking care of the sheep. In order to be able to work in the community, Jesus does not ask many things of us. What He asks of us is to have much love!

• John 21:15-17: Love at the center of the mission. After a whole night of fishing in the lake catching not even one fish, they go to the shore.  The disciples discover that Jesus has prepared bread and roasted fish for them. When they finish eating, Jesus calls Peter and asks him three times, “Do you love Me?” Three times, because Peter denied Jesus three times (Jn 18:17,25-27). After the three affirmative responses, Peter also becomes a “Beloved Disciple” and receives the order to take care of the sheep. Jesus does not ask Peter if he has studied exegesis, theology, morals, or canon law. He only asks, “Do you love Me?” Love in the first place. For the communities of the Beloved Disciple the force which supports and maintains unity is love.

• John 21:18-19: The foreshadowing of death. Jesus tells Peter, “Truly I tell you: when you were young, you put on your own belt and walked where you liked; but when you grow old you will stretch out your hands, and somebody else will put a belt around you and take you where you do not want to go!” Throughout life, Peter, and we too, gain maturity. The practice of love will take root in life and people will no longer be the bosses of their own life. Service to the brothers and sisters out of love will prevail and will lead us. How we dress is often a reflection or necessity of the work we do. If we choose to accept it, God can “dress” us in new clothing for a new destination according to His wants, and send us where we may not want to go. Somebody else will put a belt around you and take you where you would rather not go. Fro Peter there is a the meaning, as the Evangelist comments: “He tells him this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would give glory to God.” Then Jesus adds: “Follow Me.”

• Love in John – Peter, do you love Me? – The Beloved Disciple. The word love is one of the words which we use most nowadays. Precisely because of this, it is a word that has been greatly worn out. But the communities of the Beloved Disciple manifested their identity and their own intentions by this word. To love, is above all, a profound experience of relationship among people in which similar sentiments and values prevail - a care and concern for the other over oneself, as well as joy, sadness, suffering, growth, renunciation, dedication, fulfillment, gift, commitment, life, death. All these together are summarized in the Bible in one single word in the Hebrew language. This word is hesed. It is hard to translate into our language. Generally, in our Bibles it is translated by charity, mercy, fidelity or loving kindness. The communities of the Beloved Disciple sought to live this practice of love in a very radical way. Jesus revealed this in His encounters with people with sentiments of friendship and tenderness, as for example, in His relationship with the family of Martha and Mary of Bethany: “Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.” He weeps before the tomb of Lazarus (Jn 11:5,33-36). Jesus always embodies His mission in a manifestation of love: “having loved His own, He loved them to the end” (Jn 13:1). In this love, Jesus manifests His profound identity with the Father (Jn 15:9). For His communities there was no other commandment except this one: “to act as Jesus acted” (1 Jn 2:6). This presupposes “love of the brethren” (1 Jn 2:7-11; 3:11-24; 2 Jn 4-6). Being such a central commandment in the life of the community, love is defined by John as follows: “This is the proof of love that He laid down His life for us and we too ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.” Our love should not be just words or mere talk but something active and genuine.” (1 Jn 3:16-17). Anyone who lives this love and manifests it in words and attitudes becomes a Beloved Disciple.

4) For Personal Consideration

• Look within yourself and say, “What is the most profound reason that motivates me to work in the community – love, or a concern for ideas?”

• Jesus asks Peter three times. Each time he answers you can feel a rising tension, one that says “what can I do to show you if you don’t believe me?” It isn’t a casual conversation. Do I have this forcefulness in responding to Jesus in my life, or just a casualness?

• Do I allow myself to be dressed by someone else for service to others? Do I go where He leads me? Is my attitude my answer to Jesus’ question: “Follow Me.”?

• What is “my life”? It is not only biological. It is also lifestyle, actions, and identity that come from ego, pride, and self-will. There is something in common though: To “lay down one’s life” has a totality to it. Do I “lay down” my pride, ego, will, wants, and lifestyle for others in my community, or for the “little ones”, the poor or rejected? Is it in totality, or just when it is convenient?

5) Concluding Prayer

Bless Yahweh, my soul,

from the depths of my being, His holy name;

bless Yahweh, my soul,

never forget all His acts of kindness. (Ps 103:1-2)

1) Opening prayer

Father of our Lord Jesus Christ

and Father of all people,

we believe in You

and we know that You loved Jesus

with a deep and trusting, lasting love.

Let Your Holy Spirit pour out this love

into the hearts of all those

who believe in Jesus, our Savior and shepherd.

Let this love unite us in one common bond

of understanding and respect for one another

and let that love lead us

to live for one another and to serve one another

for the sake of Jesus Christ our Lord.

2) Gospel Reading - John 17:20-26

Lifting up his eyes to heaven, Jesus prayed saying: "I pray not only for these, 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."

3) Reflection

• Today’s Gospel gives us the third and last part of the Priestly Prayer, in which Jesus looks toward the future and manifests His great desire for unity among us, His disciples, and that all may remain in the love which unifies, because without love and without unity we do not deserve credibility.

• John 17:20-23: So that the world may believe it was You who sent Me. Jesus expands the horizon and prays to the Father: “I pray not only for these but also for those who through their teaching will come to believe in Me. May they all be one, just as, Father, You are in Me and I am in You, so that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe it was You who sent Me.”  Behold, here emerges Jesus’ great concern for unity which should exist in the communities. Unity does not mean uniformity, but rather to remain in love, in spite of tensions and conflicts. A love which unifies to the point of creating, among all, a profound unity like the unity which exists between Jesus and the Father. The unity in love revealed in the Trinity is the model for the communities. For this, through love among people, the communities reveal to the world the most profound message of Jesus. People said of the first Christians, “See how they love one another!” The present day division among the three religions which came from Abraham is really tragic: the Jews, the Christians and the Muslims. And even more tragic is the division among us Christians who say that we believe in Jesus. If we are divided we do not deserve credibility. Ecumenism is at the center of the last prayer of Jesus to the Father. It is His testament. To be a Christian and not be ecumenical is a contradiction. It means to contradict the last Will of Jesus.

• John 17:24-26: “So that the love with which You loved Me may be in them.” Jesus does not want to remain alone. He says, “Father, I want those You have given Me to be with Me where I am so that they may always see My glory, which You have given Me, because You loved Me before the foundation of the world.” Jesus is happy when we are all together with Him. He wants His disciples to have the same experience of the Father which He had. He wants us to know the Father and that He knows us. In the Bible, the word to know is not limited to a rational theoretical knowledge, but presupposes the experience of the presence of God living in love with the people of the community.

• That they may be one as We are one. (Unity and Trinity in the Gospel of John) The Gospel of John helps us to understand the mystery of the Trinity, the communion among the three Divine Persons: the Father, the Son and the Spirit. Of the four Gospels, John is the one which puts more stress on the profound unity among the Father, the Son and the Spirit. From the text of John (Jn 17:6-8) we see that the mission of the Son is the supreme manifestation of the love of the Father. And this unity between the Father and the Son makes Jesus exclaim, “The Father and I are one” (Jn 10:30). Between the Son and the Father there is such an intense unity that one who sees the face of one also sees the face of the other. And fulfilling this mission of unity received from the Father, Jesus reveals the Spirit. The spirit of Truth comes from the Father (Jn 15:26). At the bidding of the Son (Jn 14:16), the Father sends the Spirit to each one of us in such a way that He will remain with us, encouraging us and giving us strength. The Spirit also comes to us from the Son (Jn 16:7-8). Thus, the Spirit of Truth, who journeys with us, is the communication of the profound unity which exists between the Father and the Son (Jn 15:26-27). The Spirit cannot communicate a truth which is different from the truth of the Son. Everything which is in relationship with the mystery of the Son, the Spirit makes known to us (Jn 16:13-14). This experience of unity in God was very strong in the communities of the Beloved Disciple. The love which unites the Divine Persons - Father, Son and Holy Spirit - allows us to experience God through union with the people in a community of love. This was also the experience of the community, where love should be the sign of God’s presence in the midst of the community (Jn 13:34-35). This love builds unity in the community (Jn 17:21). They looked at the unity in God in order to understand the unity among themselves.

4) For Personal Consideration

• Bishop Don Pedro Casaldáliga said, “The Trinity is truly the best community.” In the community of which you are a part, can you see any human sign of the Divine Trinity?

• Ecumenism: Am I interested in ecumenism? How do I approach it with others?

• Do I know the doctrine and beliefs of the Church well enough to enter into ecumenical discussion with others without misleading myself or others?

• What limits do I put on ecumenical activity in my life? Should there be limits?

5) Concluding Prayer

Lord, You will teach me the path of life,

unbounded joy in Your presence,

at Your right hand delight for ever. (Ps 16:11)

1) Opening prayer

Lord our God,

Your Son Jesus gave himself totally

to those He loved - that is, to all.

Give us a share of His unselfish love

that we too may learn from experience

that there is more joy in giving ourselves

than in receiving honors or favors.

May the Spirit make us also so much one

that we graciously share with one another

our God-given riches and gifts as people.

We ask You this through Christ our Lord.

2) Gospel Reading - John 17:11b-19

Lifting up his eyes to heaven, Jesus prayed, saying: "Holy Father, keep them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one just as we are one. When I was with them I protected them in your name that you gave me, and I guarded them, and none of them was lost except the son of destruction, in order that the Scripture might be fulfilled. But now I am coming to you. I speak this in the world so that they may share my joy completely. I gave them your word, and the world hated them, because they do not belong to the world any more than I belong to the world. I do not ask that you take them out of the world but that you keep them from the Evil One. They do not belong to the world any more than I belong to the world. Consecrate them in the truth. Your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, so I sent them into the world. And I consecrate myself for them, so that they also may be consecrated in truth."

3) Reflection

• We are now in the Novena of Pentecost, waiting for the coming of the Holy Spirit. Jesus says that the gift of the Holy Spirit is given only to those who ask for it in prayer (Lk 11:13). In the Cenacle, for nine days, from the Ascension to Pentecost, the Apostles persevered in prayer together with Mary, the Mother of Jesus (Acts 1:14), and they obtained the abundance of the gift of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:4). Today’s Gospel continues to place before us the Priestly Prayer of Jesus. It is a very opportune text to prepare ourselves during these days for the coming of the Holy Spirit in our life.

• John 17:11b-12: Keep them in Your name! Jesus channels His concern into prayer: “Keep those You have given Me true to Your name, so that they may be one like Us!” Everything which Jesus does in His life, He does in the Name of God. Jesus is the manifestation of the Name of God. The Name of God is Yahweh, JHWH. In the time of Jesus, this name was pronounced saying,  “Adonai,”  “Kyrios,”  “Lord.” In the discourse of Pentecost, Peter says that Jesus, because of His Resurrection, was constituted Lord: “For this reason the whole House of Israel can be certain that the Lord and Christ whom God has made is this Jesus whom you crucified.” (Acts 2:36). And Paul says that this has been done so that “every tongue should acknowledge Jesus Christ as Lord to the glory of God, the Father” (Phil 2:11). It is the Name which is above all other names” (Phil 2:9). JHWH or Yahweh, the Name of God, took on a concrete face in Jesus of Nazareth! Unity has to form around this name: keep those you have given Me true to Your name so that they may be one like We are. Jesus wants the unity of the communities in such a way that they can resist the world which hates them and persecutes them. The people united around the name of Jesus will never be conquered!

• John 17:13-16: That they may share My joy to the full. Jesus is bidding farewell. In a short time He will go away. The disciples continue in the world. They will be persecuted and be afflicted. Because of this, they are sad. Jesus prays that their joy may be full. They want to continue to be in the world without being of, or belonging to, the world. This means to live in the system of the Empire, whether liberal or Roman, without allowing themselves to be contaminated. Like Jesus, and with Jesus, they should live in the opposite direction of the world.

• John 17:17-19: As You sent Me into the world, I have sent them into the world. Jesus asks that they be consecrated in truth. That is, that they may be capable of dedicating their whole life to giving witness of their convictions concerning Jesus and God the Father. Jesus sanctified Himself in the measure in which, during His life, He revealed the Father. He asks that the disciples enter into the same process of sanctification. Their mission is the same as Jesus’ mission. They sanctify themselves in the measure in which, living in love, they reveal Jesus and the Father. To sanctify oneself means to become human like Jesus. Pope Leo the Great said, “Jesus was so human, but so human, as only God can be human.” For this reason we should live in opposition to the world, because the system of the world dehumanizes human life and renders it contrary to the intentions of the Creator.

4) For Personal consideration:

• Jesus lived in the world, but was not of the world. He lived contrary to the system, and because of this, He was persecuted and was condemned to death.  Do I live contrary to today’s system, or do I adapt my faith to the system?

What words and actions do I show that I belong to the world or don’t belong to the world? Am I showing a little of both?

• Preparation for Pentecost. To invoke the gift of the Holy Spirit, the Spirit who gave courage to Jesus. In this Novena of preparation for Pentecost, it is good to dedicate some time to asking for the gift of the Spirit of Jesus.

5) Concluding Prayer

I bless Yahweh who is my counselor,

even at night my heart instructs me.

I keep Yahweh before me always,

for with Him at my right hand, nothing can shake me.

(Ps 16:7-8)

1) Opening prayer

Lord our God,

Your Son Jesus Christ

carried out the mission You had given Him,

without fear and in all faithfulness to You.

God, give us a taste

of His sense of mission.

Give us the strength of the Spirit

to speak Your word as it is,

bold and demanding,

without compromising or giving in

to the changing moods and fashions of the day.

And may our lives be like an open book

in which people can read Your word.

We ask You this through Christ our Lord.

2) Gospel Reading - John 17:1-11a

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. I glorified you on earth by accomplishing the work that you gave me to do. Now glorify me, Father, with you, with the glory that I had with you before the world began. "I revealed your name to those whom you gave me out of the world. They belonged to you, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. Now they know that everything you gave me is from you, because the words you gave to me I have given to them, and they accepted them and truly understood that I came from you, and they have believed that you sent me. I pray for them. I do not pray for the world but for the ones you have given me, because they are yours, and everything of mine is yours and everything of yours is mine, and I have been glorified in them. And now I will no longer be in the world, but they are in the world, while I am coming to you."

3) Reflection

• In today’s Gospel, in tomorrow’s, and the day after tomorrow’s, we will meditate on the words that Jesus addressed to the Father at the moment of His farewell. John keeps these words and puts them in Jesus’ mouth during His last encounter with the disciples. It is the Testament of Jesus in the form of a prayer, also called the Priestly Prayer (Jn 17:1-26).

• Chapter 17 of the Gospel of John is the end of a long reflection by Jesus, begun in chapter 15, on the mission in the world. The communities preserved these reflections in order to be able to better understand the difficult moment that they were going through: tribulations, abandonment, doubts, and persecution. The long reflection ends with the prayer of Jesus for the communities. In it are expressed the sentiments and concerns, according to the Evangelist, Jesus had at that moment in which He was going out, leaving this world, and going toward the Father. With these sentiments and with this concern, Jesus now finds Himself before His Father, interceding for us. Because of this the Priestly Prayer is also the Testament of Jesus. Many people, in the moment when they leave forever, leave some message. Everyone keeps the important words of a father and mother, especially when they are the last moments of life. Keeping these words is like keeping the person. It is a form of respect and of affection.

• Chapter 17 is a diverse text. It is a friendlier one rather than one of reasoning. In order to grasp the whole meaning, it is not sufficient to reflect with the head, with reason. This text has to be meditated upon and accepted in the heart as well. It is a text not so much to be discussed, but to meditate reflect upon. Therefore, do not be worried if you do not understand it immediately. This text demands a whole life of pondering and deepening. Such a text should be read, meditated on, thought, read again, repeated, savored, as one does with a good sweet in the mouth. One turns it over and over in the mouth until it is finished. For this, close your eyes, keep silence within you and listen to Jesus who speaks to you, transmitting in His Testament His greatest concern, His last will. Try to discover which point Jesus insists on the most and which points He considers the most important.

• John 17:1-3: “Father, the hour has come!” It is the long awaited hour (Jn 2:4; 7:30; 8:20; 12:23,27; 13:1; 16:32). It is the moment of the glorification which will take place through the Passion, death and Resurrection. In reaching the end of His mission, Jesus looks back and proceeds to a review. In this prayer, He expresses the most intimate sentiment of His heart and the profound discovery of His soul: the presence of the Father in His life.

• John 17:4-8: Father, they will recognize that I come from You! In reviewing His own life Jesus sees Himself as a manifestation of the Father for the friends whom the Father has given Him. Jesus does not live for Himself. He lives in order that all may have a flash of goodness and love which are enclosed in the name of God which is Abba, Father.

• John 17:9-11a: All I have is Yours and all You have is Mine! At the moment of leaving the world, Jesus expresses His concern to the Father and prays for the friends whom He leaves behind; that they will continue in the world, but they are not of the world. They are of Jesus, they are God’s, and they are signs of God and of Jesus in this world. Jesus is concerned about the people who remain, and He prays for them.

4) For Personal Confrontation

• If you were about to die, what would be the message that you would like to leave to your family and to your community?

• Notice that He is addressing the One He is going to, not those He is leaving. Would this be your way too? Why or why not?

• Many fear death, even though it is just a passing to new life. A large part of the “message” we leave is in how we leave – accepting and at peace or clinging on to this life. Imagine yourself at those moments. What message do you present in those last days or hours? How do you feel while putting yourself in these last moments?

5) Concluding Prayer

Blessed be the Lord day after day,

He carries us along, God our Savior.

This God of ours is a God who saves;

from Lord Yahweh comes escape from death. (Ps 68:19-20)

1) Opening prayer

Lord our God,

when Your Son Jesus had to pass through trials,

He knew that you were with Him

and He committed Himself into Your hands.

In this way He brought peace to people.

As people baptized into His name,

let Your Spirit help us to be brave

when suffering and difficulties come our way,

that, like Your Son and with Him,

we may overcome evil in ourselves

and in the world.

May our pains give birth

to love and peace and hope for others.

We ask You this through Christ our Lord.

2) Gospel Reading - John 16:29-33

The disciples said to Jesus, "Now you are talking plainly, and not in any figure of speech. Now we realize that you know everything and that you do not need to have anyone question you. Because of this we believe that you came from God." Jesus answered them, "Do you believe now? Behold, the hour is coming and has arrived when each of you will be scattered to his own home and you will leave me alone. But I am not alone, because the Father is with me. I have told you this so that you might have peace in me. In the world you will have trouble, but take courage, I have conquered the world."

3) Reflection

• The context of today’s Gospel continues to be the environment of the Last Supper, an environment of fraternity and of farewell, of sadness and expectation, which mirrors the situation in the communities of Asia Minor at the end of the first century. In order to be able to understand the Gospels well, we can never forget that they give the words of Jesus not as if they had been recorded on a CD to transmit them literally. The Gospels are pastoral writings which seek to embody and update the words of Jesus in the new situations in which the communities find themselves in the second half of the first century in Galilee (Matthew), in Greece (Luke), in Italy (Mark) and in Asia Minor (John). In the Gospel of John, the words and the questions of the disciples are not only those of the disciples. In fact, they reveal the questions and problems of the communities. They are the mirror in which the communities of that time, as well as those of today, are recognized with their sadness and their anguish, with their joys and their hopes. They find light and strength in the answers of Jesus.

• John 16:29-30: ‘Now, you are speaking plainly." Jesus had told His disciples, ‘The Father Himself loves you, because you have loved Me, and you have believed that I come from God. I came from the Father and have come into the world and now I am leaving the world to go to the Father (Jn 16:29-30)."  Listening to this affirmation of Jesus, the disciples answered, "Now You are speaking plainly and not using veiled language. Now we see that You know everything and need not wait for questions to be put into words. Because of this we believe that You came from God". The disciples think that they have understood everything. Yes, truly they got a true light to clarify their problems,but it was still a very dim light. They got the seed, but at that moment, still did not know the tree. The light or the seed was the fundamental intuition of faith according to which Jesus is for us the revelation of God, who is Father: "Now we believe that you came from God." This was only the beginning, the seed. Jesus Himself was and continues to be the great parable, the revelation of God for us. God reaches us and reveals Himself to us,, but God does not enter into any representations. He exceeds all, goes beyond our representations and gives us the unexpected surprise, which sometimes is very painful.

• John 16:31-32: You are leaving Me alone and yet I am not alone because the Father is with Me. Jesus asks, "Do you believe at last?" He knows His disciples. He knows that there is still much lacking in their understanding of the mystery of God and of the Good News of God. He knows that in spite of their good will and in spite of the light that they have just received in that moment, they still have to face the unexpected and painful surprise of the passion and death of Jesus. The small light that they got is not sufficient to overcome the darkness of this crisis: "Behold, the time will come, indeed it has come already, when you are going to be scattered, each one going his own way and leaving Me alone; and yet I am not alone because the Father is with Me." This is the source of certitude of Jesus and through Jesus, this is and will be the source of certitude for all of us: The Father is with me! When Moses was sent to liberate the people from the oppression of the Egyptians, this being his mission, he received this certainty: “”Go! I am with you” Ex 3:12). The certainty of the liberating presence of God is expressed in the name that God assumes at the moment of the beginning of the Exodus and of the liberation of his people: JHWH, God with us: This is the name for all time (Ex 3:15).

• John 16:33: "Courage, I have conquered the world!" And now we have the last sentence pronounced by Jesus who anticipates victory and which will be a source of peace and of strength for the disciples of that time, as well as for all of us, up until now: "I have told you all this so that you may find peace in Me. In the world you will have hardship, but be courageous, I have conquered the world." With His sacrifice made out of love, Jesus conquers the world and Satan. His disciples are called to participate in the struggle and the victory. "To feel the courage which He gives is already to overcome the battle’. (L.A. Schokel)

4) For Personal Examination

• A small light helped the disciples to take a step farther, but it did not light the whole journey. Have you had a similar experience in your life?

• Courage, I have conquered the world! Has this saying of Jesus helped you some times in your life?

5) Concluding Prayer

Protect me, O God, in You is my refuge.

To Yahweh I say, "You are my Lord, I have no good apart from You.

My birthright, my cup is Yahweh;

You, You alone, hold my lot secure." (Ps 16:1-2,5)

The mission of the Church:
To give witness to the pardon which Jesus offers to all
Luke 24, 46-53

Opening prayer

Shaddai, God of the mountain,
You who make of our fragile life
the rock of your dwelling place,
lead our mind
to strike the rock of the desert,
so that water may gush to quench our thirst.
May the poverty of our feelings
cover us as with a mantle in the darkness of the night
and may it open our heart to hear the echo of silence
until the dawn,
wrapping us with the light of the new morning,
may bring us,
with the spent embers of the fire of the shepherds of the Absolute
who have kept vigil for us close to the divine Master,
the flavour of the holy memory.

1. LECTIO

a) The text:

46 and he said to them, 'So it is written that the Christ would suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, 47 and that, in his name, repentance for the forgiveness of sins would be preached to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. 48 You are witnesses to this. 49 'And now I am sending upon you what the Father has promised. Stay in the city, then, until you are clothed with the power from on high.' 50 Then he took them out as far as the outskirts of Bethany, and raising his hands he blessed them. 51 Now as he blessed them, he withdrew from them and was carried up to heaven. 52 They worshipped him and then went back to Jerusalem full of joy; 53 and they were continually in the Temple praising God.

b) A moment of silence:

Let us allow the voice of the Word to resonate within us.

2. MEDITATIO

a) Some questions:

- In the name of the Lord: In whose name do I live my daily life?
- To all nations. Am I capable of welcoming all or do I discriminate easily according to my point of view?
- Stay in the city. Do I have staying power in the most difficult situations or do I try, even before I understand their meaning, to eliminate them?
- My prayer. Do I praise the Lord for all he does in my life or do I ask things for myself?

b) A key to the reading:

These few lines speak of life, motion, journey, meeting… This is the aim of the so it is written and all the nations. Life is marked by witness. The apostles are those sent, they do not bring anything of their own but become life, motion, journey, meeting, a way that brings life wherever they go.

v. 46. «So it is written that the Christ would suffer and on the third day rise from the dead. What is written? Where? The only scripture we know is that of encounter. It seems that God cannot do without humankind, and so God goes seeking people wherever they are and will not give up until God embraces them. This is what is written: An eternal love, capable of enduring suffering, of drinking the chalice of pain to its dregs, so as to look once more upon the face of the beloved children. In the depths of non-life, Christ descends to take the hand of humankind to lead humankind back home. Three days! Three moments: passion, death, resurrection! This is what is written for Christ and for all those who belong to him. Passion: you surrender trustingly, and the other does with you whatever he wishes, he embraces you or ill-treats you, he welcomes you or rejects you… but you go on loving to the end. Death: a life that cannot be taken back… dies, is snuffed out… but not forever, because death has power over the flesh but the spirit that comes from God goes back to God. Resurrection: Everything makes sense in the light of Life. Love once given will not die but will always resurrect again.

v. 47. And in his name, repentance for the forgiveness of sins would be preached to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. Jesus’ word, spoken in time, does not come to an end. It needs those who proclaim it. The apostles go, sent in the holy name of God. They go to all nations. No longer to one chosen people, but to all who are now chosen. They go to put their arms around the shoulder of their brothers and sisters and to convert them, to turn them around towards them and to tell them: All is forgiven, you can live the divine life once more, Jesus died and rose again for you! Faith is not an invention. I come from Jerusalem, I saw him with my eyes, I experienced him in my life. I am telling you no more than my story, a story of salvation.

v. 48. You are witnesses to this. We know God from experience. To be witnesses means carrying the word that is Christ written in one’s skin, woven syllable by syllable. When one is touched by Christ, one becomes a bright lamp, even without one’s knowledge! And if one wanted to put out the flame, it would light up again, because the light comes not from the lamp but from the Spirit poured into the heart and beams eternal communion endlessly. 

 v. 49. And now I am sending upon you what the Father has promised. Stay in the city, then, until you are clothed with the power from on high». Jesus’ promises are always fulfilled. He goes away, but he does not leave his friends orphans. He knows that they need God’s constant presence. And God comes back to humankind. This time no longer in the flesh, but invisibly in the fire of an intangible love, in the ardour of a bond that will never be broken, the rainbow of the ratified covenant, the splendour of God’s smile, the Holy Spirit. Clothed in Christ and in the Holy Spirit, the apostles will not be afraid and can finally go!

v. 50. Then he took them out as far as the outskirts of Bethany, and raising his hands blessed them. The moment of separation is a solemn one. Bethany is the place of friendship. Jesus raises his hands and blesses his own. This is a salute and a gift. Goes does not draw away from his own, God simply leaves them to come back in different guise.

v. 51. Now as he blessed them, he withdrew from them and was carried up to heaven. Every separation brings sorrow with it. But in this case the blessing is a legacy of grace. The apostles live in such an intense communion with their Lord that they are not aware of a separation.

v. 52. They worshipped him and then went back to Jerusalem full of joy. Great is the joy of the apostles, the joy of going through the streets of Jerusalem with a limitless treasure, the joy of belonging. Christ’s humanity goes to heaven, to open a gate that will never be shut again. The joy of the superabundance of life that Christ has now poured into their experience will never cease…

v. 53. And they were continually in the Temple praising God. To stay… is a very important verb for the Christian. To stay presupposes a special strength, the ability not to flee from situations but to live them out savouring them to their depths. To stay: an evangelical programme to be shared with all. Then praise flows out sincerely, because in staying God’s will is sipped like a healthy and intoxicating drink of bliss.

c) Reflection:

The witness of charity in the life of the church is without any doubt the clearest mirror for evangelisation. It is the instrument that loosens the soil so that when the seed of the Word falls it may bear abundant fruit. The good news cannot choose other ways to touch the hearts of people than that of mutual love, an experience that leads directly to the source: «This is my commandment: that you love one another as I have loved you» (Jn 15:12). We find all this in the early Church: «This is the proof of love, that he laid down his life for us, and we too ought to lay down our live for our brothers» (1 Jn 3:16). The disciple who met and knew Jesus, the beloved disciple, knows that he cannot speak of him and not walk the ways he walked. «I am the way, the truth and the life» (Jn 14:6). What better words can express that the high road of every evangelisation is gratuitous love? Christ is the way of evangelisation. Christ is the truth to transmit in evangelising. Christ is evangelised life. And the love with which he loved us is evangelisation, a love given without conditions, that will not retreat but goes forward to the end, faithful to itself even at the price of death on a cross of malediction, to show the face of the Father as one of Love, a love that respects the freedom of human beings, even when this means rejection, contempt, aggression and death. «Christian charity has a great evangelising force. To the extent that it reveals itself as a sign and a window of God’s love, it opens the minds and hearts to the proclamation of the Word of truth. As Paul VI said, today’s people who look for authenticity and concreteness, value witnesses more than teachers, and generally will only allow themselves to be guided to discover the depth and the demands of God’s love if they have been touched by the tangible sign of charity». (CEI, Evangelisation and the witness of charity, in Enchiridion CEI, vol. 1-5, EDB, Bologna 1996 n. 24). Every pastoral endeavour that wants to show the deep relationship between faith and charity in the light of the Gospel, and that characteristic note of Christian love that is proximity and caring, has the duty of motivating and sustaining openness to others in service. (cfr Lk 10:34).

3. ORATIO

Psalm 22, 22-31

I shall proclaim your name to my brothers,
praise you in full assembly:
'You who fear Yahweh, praise him!
All the race of Jacob, honour him!
Revere him, all the race of Israel!'

For he has not despised
nor disregarded the poverty of the poor,
has not turned away his face,
but has listened to the cry for help.

Of you is my praise in the thronged assembly,
I will perform my vows before all who fear him.
The poor will eat and be filled,
those who seek Yahweh will praise him,
'May your heart live for ever.'

The whole wide world will remember
and return to Yahweh,
all the families of nations bow down before him.
For to Yahweh, ruler of the nations,
belongs kingly power!

All who prosper on earth will bow before him,
all who go down to the dust will do reverence before him.
And those who are dead,
their descendants will serve him,
will proclaim his name to generations
still to come;
and these will tell of his saving justice to a people yet unborn:
he has fulfilled it.

4. CONTEMPLATIO

Lord, I know that evangelisation requires deep spirituality, authenticity and holiness of life on the part of witnesses, people of mature faith, able to mix well so as to make their personal experience of faith a meeting place and a place of growth in interpersonal contacts thus building deep relationships open to the Church, the world and history. As yet, I feel inadequate. In a context where images, words, proposals, projects and records follow each other swiftly and disorient, almost intoxicate thought and confuse feelings, bearing witness is a privileged word for a reflective pause, for a moment of rethinking. But am I one who is carried away by these images, words and projects?  Of one thing I am certain, and this comforts me. Even the most beautiful witness would in the long run be powerless were it not enlightened, justified, made explicit by a clear and unequivocal proclamation of the Lord Jesus. The Good News, proclaimed by a living witness, sooner or later needs to be proclaimed by the word of life. I will justify my hope by proclaiming your name, your teaching, your life, your promises, your mystery as Jesus of Nazareth and Son of God. This seems to me to be the simplest way to arouse interest in knowing and meeting you, Master and Lord, who have chosen to live as son of man so as to show us the face of the Father.  Every pastoral endeavour today that finds itself chained by faith, will be able to ask you, God, that the gates of preaching be reopened to proclaim the mystery of Christ, the kind of preaching that as divine word works wonders in those who believe.

1) Opening prayer

Lord God, merciful Father,

it is hard for us to accept pain,

for we know that You have made us

for happiness and joy.

When suffering challenges us

with a provocative "why me?"

help us to discover the depth

of our inner freedom and love

and of all the faith and loyalty

of which we are capable,

together with, and by the power of,

Jesus Christ our Lord.

2) Gospel Reading - John 16:23b-28

Jesus said to his disciples: "Amen, amen, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in my name he will give you. Until now you have not asked anything in my name; ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be complete. "I have told you this in figures of speech. The hour is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figures but I will tell you clearly about the Father. On that day you will ask in my name, and I do not tell you that I will ask the Father for you. For the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me and have come to believe that I came from God. I came from the Father and have come into the world. Now I am leaving the world and going back to the Father."

3) Reflection

• John 16:23b: The disciples have full access to the Father. This is the assurance that Jesus gives to His disciples: they can have access to God’s fatherhood in union with Him.  Jesus’ mediation takes the disciples to the Father. Clearly, the role of Jesus is not that of substituting Himself for “His own.”  He does not assume it by means of a function of intercession, but He unites them to Himself, and in communion with Him they present their needs.

The disciples are certain that Jesus can access the riches of the Father: “In all truth I tell you, anything you ask from the Father in My name, He will grant it to you” (v.23b). In such a way, it means, in union with Him, the petition becomes effective. The object of any petition to the Father must always be joined to Jesus, that is to say, to His love and to His commitment to give His life for man (Jn 10:10). Prayer addressed to the Father, in the name of Jesus, in union with Him (Jn 14:13; 16:23), is heard.

Until now they have not asked anything in the name of Jesus, but they will be able to do it after His glorification (Jn 14:13) when they will receive the Spirit who will fully enlighten them on His identity (Jn 4, 22ff) and will create the union with Him. His own will be able to ask and receive the fullness of joy when they will go from the sensory vision of Him to that of faith.

• Jn 16:24-25: In Jesus the direct contact with the Father. The believers are taken into the relationship between the Son and the Father. In Jn 16:26 Jesus once again speaks about the link produced by the Spirit that permits His own to present every petition to the Father in union with Him. That will take place “on that day.” What does this mean: “On that day you will ask”? It is the day when He will come to His own and will transmit the Spirit to them (Jn 20:19,22). It is then that the disciples, knowing the relationship between Jesus and the Father, will know that they will be listened to. It will not be necessary for Jesus to intervene between the Father and the disciples to ask on their behalf, not because His mediation has ended, but they, having believed in the Incarnation of the Word, and being closely united to Christ, will be loved by the Father as He loves His Son (Jn 17:23,26). In Jesus the disciples experience direct contact with the Father.

• John 16:26-27: The prayer to the Father. To pray consists, then, in going to the Father through Jesus; to address the Father in the name of Jesus. The expression of Jesus in vv. 26-27, “And I do not say that I shall pray to the Father for you; because the Father Himself loves you”, deserves special attention. The love of the Father for the disciples is founded on the adherence of “His own” to Jesus on faith in His provenance, the acknowledgment of Jesus as gift of the Father.

After having gathered the disciples to Himself Jesus seems to withdraw from His role of mediator, but in reality He permits that the Father take us and seize us: “Ask and you will receive and so your joy will be complete” (v.24). Inserted into the relationship with the Father through union in Him, our joy is complete and prayer is perfect. God always offers His love to the whole world, but such a love acquires the sense of reciprocity only if man responds. Love is incomplete if it does not become reciprocal: as long as man does not accept,  it remains in suspense. However, the disciples accept it at the moment in which they love Jesus and thus they render operational the love of the Father. Prayer is this relationship of love. In the end the history of each one of us is identified with the history of His prayer, even at the moments which do not seem to be such.  Longing, yearning is already prayer and in the same way, searching, anguish...

4) Personal questions

• Does my personal and community prayer take place in a state of calmness, silence, and great peace?

• How much effort or commitment do I dedicate to growing in friendship with Jesus? Are you convinced of attaining a real identity through communion with Him and in the love for neighbor?

• How do I view my union with Jesus, reflecting on Song of Songs 2:16, “My beloved is mine, and I am his” ?

• Do I pray in union with Jesus, or with my own ideas and agenda?

5) Concluding Prayer

God reigns over the nations,

seated on His holy throne.

The leaders of the nations rally

to the people of the God of Abraham. (Ps 47:8-9)