FATHER! 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?

1 Reading 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 16:1-2a and 5, 7-8, 9-10, 11
R. (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.

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.

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

You will show me the path to life,
fullness of joys in your presence,
the delights at your right hand forever.
R.

Alleluia John 17:21
R. 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 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.”

Commentary:
It feels good when someone sincerely assures me that he or she has prayed for me. It feels good every time I remember that I have people who are praying for me even when I do not ask them to. That I am prayed for makes me feel special, and more importantly, it puts my heart at ease. Being prayed for is a priceless gift. If so, how great and blessed should we feel that Jesus himself has prayed for us! And what does he pray for? He prays for the noblest of things to happen to us—that we are granted the kind of union with the Father that Jesus has with Him, that we be where they are, that we behold Christ’s Glory, and that the love with which the Father loves the Son be with us as well!
If everything we ask in Christ’s Name is granted to us (Jn 16:23), how much more perfectly and immediately must Jesus’s prayer for us be answered, for he prays to his Father in his own and the Father’s own Name! Let us retire our worries forever!

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. Amen!