H. José Pablo Guerra Fernández, L.C.
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Christ, our King, Thy Kingdom come!
Preparatory prayer (to put me in the presence of God)
Jesus, help me to always remain united to You.
Gospel of the day (to guide your meditation)
From the holy Gospel according to John 17:20-26
At that time, Jesus raised his eyes to heaven and said, «Father, I do not only ask for my disciples, 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 am in you. May they also be one in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me.".
I have given them the glory that you gave me, so that they may be one, just as we are one. I am in them and you are in me, so that their unity may be perfect, and the world may know that you sent me and that you loved them as you loved me.
Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, so that they may see my glory, which you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world.
Righteous Father, the world has not known you, but I have known you, and these men have known that you sent me. I have made your name known to them, and I will continue to make it known, so that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.
Word of the Lord.
Meditate on what God tells you in the Gospel
This passage from the Gospel is set in the context of the Last Supper. It is the moment of Jesus' greatest intimacy with his disciples; it is when He spoke of the most important things to His Sacred Heart.
This Gospel can be summarized with the word unity. This passage is part of a prayer Jesus offers aloud to the Father. Jesus prays to His Father for the unity of Christians. He prays that they may be one as He and the Father are one.
We can ask ourselves why Jesus is so interested in us being one. I believe this is because He seeks for the church to be a reflection of the unity that exists in the three persons of the Trinity. Jesus lives out of Trinitarian unity and seeks the same for His Church. This call to unity is very relevant today, as there is division in the Church, but Jesus wants it to be united, because only then can it fulfill its mission.
Let us seek unity in all we do; let us seek to build, edify, and foster unity in the Church and in the world. Let us contribute our small part to the path to unity, and thus, the Church will be fulfilling its mission.
«Implore from God the gift of unity to overcome the scandal of divisions among believers in Jesus. He, after the Last Supper, prayed for His own, «that they may all be one» (Jn 17:21). It is His prayer before the Passion, we could say His spiritual testament. However, we note that the Lord did not command unity to the disciples. Nor did He give them a speech to motivate its necessity. No, He prayed to the Father for us, so that we may be one. This means that we alone, with our own strength, are not enough to achieve unity. Unity is above all a gift, it is a grace to be asked for in prayer.
Each one of us needs it. In fact, we realize that we are not capable of guarding unity even within ourselves.»
Pope Francis's Audience, January 20, 2021
Dialogue with Christ
This is the most important part of your prayer, prepare yourself to talk with much love with the One who loves you.
Purpose
Propose a personal one. The one that involves the most love in response to the Beloved... or, if you believe that this is what God is asking of you, live what is suggested below.
I will analyze if I feel disconnected from someone and try to fix this situation.
Farewell
We thank You, Lord, for all Your benefits, You who live and reign forever and ever.
Amen.
Christ, our King!
Thy Kingdom come!
Most prudent Virgin, Mary, Mother of the Church.
Pray for us.
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
