Thursday of the Seventh Week of Easter
(Acts 22:30.23:6-11; John 17:20-26)
Fr. Richard Gula is a moral theologian who wrote a book he
called The Good Life. It is not
about fancy restaurants or comfort resorts.
Rather The Good Life describes the moral virtues that are found
in a person who recognizes that she or he is loved by God and, in response,
loves God and all His creatures.
Fr. Gula describes two virtues as fundamental to the good
life – humility and gratitude. Both
these virtues are at the heart of Jesus’ “priestly prayer “of which we hear
part in today’s gospel. Humility accepts,
affirms, and celebrates who one is. Jesus
does just this as he recognizes that his Father has bestowed upon him glory. Gratitude acknowledges one’s gifts by sharing
them with others. So Jesus prays that
his disciples may know the love with which the Father has loved him.
Jesus’ priestly prayer summarizes his work on earth, the
purpose of his becoming human and undergoing the great Paschal mystery. He has given us a model to emulate. We begin by practicing humility and gratitude
daily.
