Thursday May 20

SEVENTH WEEK OF EASTER

 

MAY THEY ALL BE ONE

 

Introduction

“May they all be one… May the love with which you loved me be in them, so that I may be in them.” There is perhaps no stronger witnessing – that the world would believe that Jesus is the one sent – than that those who believe in Christ would also be united in one love by the bond of love which is the Holy Spirit. But, the tragic reality is that, Christians are divided in many denominations and sects. Even in our Church, there are different groups, usually people of good will and full of good intentions. We need ecumenism not only between Churches but also in our Church. Is the love with which the Father has loved Christ not in us?

 

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 dispose us
to live for one another and to serve one another
for the sake of Jesus Christ, our Lord.

 

Reading 1: ACTS 22:30; 23:6-11

Wishing to determine the truth
about why Paul was being accused by the Jews,
the commander freed him
and ordered the chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin to convene.
Then he brought Paul down and made him stand before them.

Paul was aware that some were Sadducees and some Pharisees,
so he called out before the Sanhedrin,
“My brothers, I am a Pharisee, the son of Pharisees;
I am on trial for hope in the resurrection of the dead.”
When he said this,
a dispute broke out between the Pharisees and Sadducees,
and the group became divided.
For the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection
or angels or spirits,
while the Pharisees acknowledge all three.
A great uproar occurred,
and some scribes belonging to the Pharisee party
stood up and sharply argued,
“We find nothing wrong with this man.
Suppose a spirit or an angel has spoken to him?”
The dispute was so serious that the commander,
afraid that Paul would be torn to pieces by them,
ordered his troops to go down and rescue Paul from their midst
and take him into the compound.
The following night the Lord stood by him and said, “Take courage.
For just as you have borne witness to my cause in Jerusalem,
so you must also bear witness in Rome.”

 

Responsorial Psalm: Ps 16:1-2A AND 5, 7-8, 9-10, 11

(1) Keep me safe, O God; you are my hope.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Keep me, O God, for in you I take refuge;
I say to the LORD, “My Lord are you.”
O LORD, my allotted portion and my cup,
you it is who hold fast my lot.
R. Keep me safe, O God; you are my hope.
or:
R. Alleluia.
I bless the LORD who counsels me;
even in the night my heart exhorts me.
I set the LORD ever before me;
with him at my right hand I shall not be disturbed.
R. Keep me safe, O God; you are my hope.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Therefore my heart is glad and my soul rejoices,
my body, too, abides in confidence;
Because you will not abandon my soul to the nether world,
nor will you suffer your faithful one to undergo corruption.
R. Keep me safe, O God; you are my hope.
or:
R. Alleluia.
You will show me the path to life,
fullness of joys in your presence,
the delights at your right hand forever.
R. Keep me safe, O God; you are my hope.
or:
R. Alleluia.

 

Alleluia: JN 17:21

Alleluia, alleluia.
May they all be one as you, Father, are in me and I in you,
that the world may believe that you sent me, says the Lord.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

 

Gospel: JN 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.”

 

Intercessions

–   Lord Jesus, that in the land where you walked the roads, Palestinians and Jews may come to respect one another and seek peace, we pray:

–   Lord Jesus, different as we are in our faces and characters, let the Holy Spirit bind us together in one love, we pray:

–   Lord Jesus, however difficult it is, let the Holy Spirit make our communities one heart and one soul, we pray:

 

Prayer over the Gifts

Lord our God,
at his invitation,
we gather at the table of your Son
and we prepare ourselves to share in his meal.
As he has united us as his brothers and sisters,
may the Holy Spirit keep us united
in the life of every day.
Let him bind us together
in strong and dedicated communities,
in which we accept one another,
notwithstanding all our differences.
Unite us in the one love
of Jesus Christ, our Lord.

 

Prayer after Communion

Lord our God,
the Psalmist rejoices
when even our brothers and sisters
can live together in one love.
Let this be a reality among us
who believe in our one Lord, Jesus Christ.
Let the deepest witnessing of our faith be
that we live for one another in the same unity,
that united your Son Jesus with you,
our living and loving God,
now and for ever.

 

Blessing

The best witnessing that the Father sent Jesus and that we believe in him and he is alive in us is that we are one. Division and quarrels between Churches and different communities are the opposite of witnessing to Christ and his Gospel. May God’s Spirit unite you and may Almighty God bless you, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

 

Commentary

In the third part of his “Priestly Prayer” Jesus stretches the horizon. After having pleaded with the Father for him and for the community of disciples, he now asks the Father for the gift of faith and love for all believers: “May they all be one, like you, Father, in me, and I in you.” The highest request of Jesus. Brotherhood is the inevitable sign of authentic Christian fellowship.

This brotherhood that Jesus asks for is not uniformity. It is not that we all have to go through the same model. Our faith fellowship is a permanent invitation to know how to integrate the differences of others, not to see them as a threat, but as a possibility of mutual enrichment. It is a constant challenge. By natural instinct we tend to associate with people of same culture, who speak our language and share our sensibilities. When we tend to see people who are different from us, in culture, colour, race or nationality as an enemy, our world becomes so divided, and we run into bloody conflicts and wars.

The words of Jesus are clear and it calls on us to live as brothers and sisters, sharing the joys and concerns of one another. And if we thought, it is easy to consider the other as our brother or sister, just try it! Soon we would realise how hard it is not to impose ourselves, not to compete. Jesus prays that we, his brothers and sisters who are in this world, have the generosity to reach out to help one another, to understand one another, to lean on, where mercy and compassion are a priority.

We easily forget this invitation of Jesus to unity. It is not something that is imposed. It is a gift that is received and needs to be cultivated. It is a fruit of the Holy Spirit we are aspiring for. Jesus concludes his prayer by asking that we all love each other.
Pope Francis composed a beautiful prayer for fraternity in his encyclical Fratelli tutti. Let us join him and pray:

Lord and Father of humanity,
who created all human beings with equal dignity,
instil in our hearts a fraternal spirit.
Inspire us with a dream of reunion, dialogue, justice and peace.
Impulse us to create healthier societies
and a more dignified world,
without hunger, without poverty, without violence, without wars.
May our hearts open
to all the peoples and nations of the earth,
to recognize the good and beauty
that you sowed in each one,
to strengthen bonds of unity, of common projects,
of shared hopes.
Amen.
(Pope Francis, Fratelli tutti )