Thursday of the
Seventh Week of Easter
(Acts 22:30.23:6-11; John 17:20-26)
“Suit the action to the word, the word to the action,”
Prince Hamlet instructs a troupe of actors in Shakespeare’s famous drama. The mandate fittingly describes what is
taking place in today’s gospel.
The passage concludes Jesus’ “priestly prayer” at the end
of his long Last Supper discourse. He
has prayed to the Father for his disciples to whom he has revealed the Father’s
love. Now he will proceed to give the
perfect demonstration of that love with his sacrificial death. It is the Father’s love because, as he says,
he and the Father are one. The prayer
includes the petition that his disciples may be one with him and the Father.
We are to consider ourselves among the beneficiaries of
Jesus’ prayer. The word handed down to
us has made us one with him. In giving
testimony to him by works of charity, we have his support as well as his
instruction. We need not fear if our
intentions are misconstrued or if others hate us for doing good. He will come to us as he does to Paul in the
first reading saying, “Take courage….”
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