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.”
HOMILY
We are the gifts that GΘD the Father has given to his beloved Son, Jesus.
In today’s Gospel we see Jesus drawing all of us deliberately into his high priestly prayer by asking his Father that we may be one, just as the Trinity is one. Specifically, Jesus invites all of us to be “brought to perfection as one” into the love of the Trinity. He was about to lay down his life for us, but not before he explained what he hoped to accomplish, namely, the unification of the Church as one body that participates eternally in the love of the Most Holy Trinity.
Jesus loves and values each one of us so much that he actually calls us gifts from the Father himself. His love for us is an indescribable and unchanging truth. Jesus doesn’t just love us when we’re behaving ourselves; he loves us at all times from the very depths of his heart, and he never takes his eyes off of us. And the more deeply we comprehend his love for us, the less likely we are to offend him by giving in to sin.
The supreme mission of Jesus—the very reason he left the glories of heaven to become one of us—was to fulfill the will of his Father. Jesus wants us to know his Father. He gave us the “Our Father,” and we hear in every Eucharistic Prayer at Mass an extended prayer to the Father. My friends, how often do you meditate on the nature of GΘD the Father and his love for you? Today is a good day to start, because…
…we are the gifts that GΘD the Father has given to his beloved Son, Jesus.
ACT OF SPIRITUAL COMMUNION
O my Jesus,
I believe that You are present in the Most Holy Sacrament.
I love You above all things, and I desire to receive You into my soul.
Since I cannot at this moment receive You sacramentally,
come at least spiritually into my heart.
I embrace You as if You were already there,
and I unite myself wholly to You.
Never permit me to be separated from You.
Amen.
ESPAÑOL
EVANGELIO
Juan 17, 20-26
En aquel tiempo, Jesús levantó los ojos al cielo y dijo: “Padre, no sólo te pido por mis discípulos, sino también por los que van a creer en mí por la palabra de ellos, para que todos sean uno, como tú, Padre, en mí y yo en ti somos uno, a fin de que sean uno en nosotros y el mundo crea que tú me has enviado. Yo les he dado la gloria que tú me diste, para que sean uno, como nosotros somos uno. Yo en ellos y tú en mí, para que su unidad sea perfecta y así el mundo conozca que tú me has enviado y que los amas, como me amas a mí. Padre, quiero que donde yo esté, estén también conmigo los que me has dado, para que contemplen mi gloria, la que me diste, porque me has amado desde antes de la creación del mundo. Padre justo, el mundo no te ha conocido; pero yo sí te conozco y éstos han conocido que tú me enviaste. Yo les he dado a conocer tu nombre y se lo seguiré dando a conocer, para que el amor con que me amas esté en ellos y yo también en ellos’’.
HOMILÍA
Somos los dones que DIΘS el Padre le ha dado a su amado Hijo, Jesús.
En el Evangelio de hoy vemos a Jesús atrayéndonos a todos deliberadamente a su oración sacerdotal al pedirle a su Padre que seamos uno, así como la Trinidad es una. Específicamente, Jesús nos invita a todos a ser “llevados a la perfección como uno” al amor de la Trinidad. Estaba a punto de dar su vida por nosotros, pero no antes de explicar lo que esperaba lograr, a saber, la unificación de la Iglesia como un cuerpo que participa eternamente en el amor de la Santísima Trinidad.
Jesús ama y valora tanto a cada uno de nosotros que en realidad nos llama regalos del Padre mismo. Su amor por nosotros es una verdad indescriptible e inmutable. Jesús no solo nos ama cuando nos estamos comportando; Él nos ama en todo momento desde lo más profundo de su corazón, y nunca nos quita los ojos de encima. Y cuanto más comprendamos su amor por nosotros, menos probabilidades hay de ofenderlo al ceder al pecado.
La misión suprema de Jesús, la razón por la que dejó las glorias del cielo para convertirse en uno de nosotros, fue cumplir la voluntad de su Padre. Jesús quiere que conozcamos a su Padre. Él nos dio el “Padre Nuestro”, y escuchamos en cada oración eucarística en la misa una oración extendida al Padre. Mis amigos, ¿con qué frecuencia meditan sobre la naturaleza de DIΘS el Padre y su amor por ustedes? Hoy es un buen día para comenzar, porque ...
... somos los dones que DIΘS el Padre le ha dado a su amado Hijo, Jesús.
EL ACTO DE COMUNIÓN ESPIRITUAL
Oh Jesús mío,
creo que estás presente en el Santísimo Sacramento.
Te amo por encima de todas las cosas y deseo recibirte en mi alma.
Como no puedo recibirte en este momento sacramentalmente,
entra al menos espiritualmente en mi corazón.
Te abrazo como si ya estuvieras allí,
y me uno completamente a ti.
Nunca permitas que me separe de ti.
Amén.