Homily Cycle C 6-02-19
In our Gospel, Jesus lifts His eyes to heaven & prays,
“that all may be one … that the world may believe that You sent me ….” Jesus prays for you and for me & that
all may believe in Him. Msgr. Sacks
offered in our Opening Prayer, “may [we] experience [God’s] abiding presence
….” Wouldn’t it be wonderful if each one
of us would allow God’s abiding presence to guide us?
St. Luke recounts the stoning of St. Stephen who as he was
dying prayed for his assailants, “Lord, do not hold this against them.” Forgiveness is an essential element of
prayer.
In our reading from Revelation we are told that Jesus is the
Alpha & the Omega [1st & last], the offspring of David, the
bright morning star.
Jesus tells His Apostles & us “I will not leave you orphans … I will come
back to you, and your hearts will rejoice.”
As our Easter Season enters the 7th & final
week, it points to next Sunday - Pentecost.
Take a moment to think about Jesus, Son of God, the 1st &
the last – praying for you & me.
Wow!
Prayer is essential to our relationship with Jesus. Prayer sustains us; it strengthens us &
builds that relationship. Jesus the Word
of God - INCARNATE – shows us how to relate to and with God.
Today’s Gospel is known as Jesus’ High Priestly Prayer, He
offered it at the Last Supper. He prays
for His Apostles, He prays for us & He prays for the world. His prayer is like a last will &
testament; He wants us to realize how important believing in Him is for us
& for the world.
St. Francis de Sales said, “Let God be the air in which your
heart breathes at ease.” How can we
develop such a prayer life? Everyday focus your prayer life on the sign
of the cross, the mark of our salvation & the Our Father. Think about what you are praying, “… the
Passion of our Lord…” traced in the shape of a cross. [The Sign of the Cross, St. Francis de Sales]
Think about the many times we invoke God, “In the name of
the Father...” entering Church, at every Baptism, on Ash Wednesday, at prayer time
& hundreds of other times. Sometimes we see athletes ask God for help using
it.
It is a solemn invocation, a solemn request of God, a God
who we are called to know intimately. It
is a plea for God’s help and assistance.
It is an appeal to God for grace to mold and guide us. This High Priestly Prayer provides us a
glimpse into the intimacy of the Trinity: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. We are invited not so much to pray to God as
inside God who is - Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
On Thursday we celebrate Our Lord’s Ascension when the
intimate relationship Jesus had with His Apostles was changed not ended.
Jesus’ prayed the High Priestly Prayer, BUT He gave us a
prayer of profound intimacy to offer to Him.
The Our Father, consider for the rest of your life starting
& ending each day you are granted on earth with the Sign of our Salvation
{the Sign of the Cross} and an Our Father.
Pray them slowly and reverently and I promise you that you will have an
intimate relationship with God, who is Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Take a few minutes to think about how you can begin &
end you day with the Sign of the Cross and the Our Father.
May God Be Praised!
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