Thursday, May 21, 2026

 

Thursday of the Seventh Week of Easter

(Acts 22:30.23:6-11; John 17:20-26)

From its earliest days the Church has been plagued by disunity.  In several places the New Testament tells of unauthorized preachers spreading discord.  There are thousands of sects today.  Recently two large groups have strained relations with the Bishop of Rome to the extent that both may splinter.

One group claims that the Second Vatican Council was in error.  It specifies, contrary to the Council’s teaching, that people may not follow their consciences in choosing a religion and that seeking reunion with break-off churches and communities undermines the pope’s authority.  The other group seeks to liberalize the Church’s teachings on sexual morality. 

In today’s gospel Jesus prays for unity among all who believe in him.  He realizes the difficulty of keeping human minds and hearts united endowed as they are with free will and a gamut of emotions. Accordingly, Pope Leo recognizes that true unity comes from full union with Christ.  The Church must ever strive to attain the love Jesus had for his disciples.  It does so by rooting itself in his teaching and seeking reunion based on its truths.

Thursday, June 5, 2025

 

Memorial of Saint Boniface, bishop and martyr

(Acts 22:30.23:6-11; John 17:20-26)

Today’s patron, St. Boniface, was English born and educated.  He became a monk but also a missionary.  He preached today’s gospel – the unity of Father, Son, and Spirit -- mainly in what is now Germany.  His message included the unity of humans in Christ.  Boniface exemplified this unity when he gave his life for the people he served.

Giving themselves to Christ in Baptism, Christians take on his mind and heart.  They share the same faith and come to love selflessly as Christ did.  It is not only a matter of imitating Christ’s love.  More importantly, they imbibe his Precious Blood which moves them to perfect love.

We cannot have the same mind and will as the Father, Son, and Spirit.  Their unity in everything except the relationships among them makes them God.  However, we approach their unity by believing what the Son taught and, especially, loving one another as he loved all.

Thursday, May 16, 2024

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.

Thursday, May 20, 2021

 Thursday of the Seventh Week of Easter

(Acts 22:30.23:6-11; John 17:20-26)

Indwelling names how the Father inhabits the Son and how the Son inhabits his disciples.  Indwelling enables Jesus to inculcate the Father’s love in his disciples.  By indwelling we can inculcate, at least to a degree, the same love in the world.  We can think of indwelling as forming us.  Like a bowl is formed from clay to hold water, we are formed to hold God’s love. 

In today’s gospel Jesus prays that we may be so formed.  It is possible to reject God’s grace because it will require sacrifices.  We can think of these rejecters as those who no longer correspond with loved ones when the loved one become hard of hearing or deficient in memory. 

God’s indwelling will make us more sensitive to people when their needs grow.  Formed as receptacles of God’s love, we find treasure in helping the needy.  It may give us the peace of remembering past blessings or the satisfaction of treading the moral high ground.  In any case, when we help the needy, we are united with the Father and the Son.

Thursday, May 17, 2018

Thursday of the Seventh Week of Easter

(Acts 22:30.23:6-11; John 17:20-26)

In today’s gospel Jesus tells his Father that he has made known His name to his disciples.  What is that name?  The answer is as evident as it is telling.  Jesus continually calls God “Father.”  He is making the same point as found in the parable of the “Prodigal Son.”  God is the loving father that seeks a change in his rebellious children’s hearts.  He wants to dress them in fine clothes -- the virtues – so that they stand out as exceptional people.  He intends to feed them a banquet -- the Eucharist – so that they have eternal life.

Jesus further says that he will continue to reveal his Father’s name.  He means that he will send the Holy Spirit to reveal the breadth and depth of the Father’s love.  The Spirit will uncover the meaning of the paschal mystery as giving his followers an eternal destiny.   It will also reveal the nature of reality and history so that their faith will be fortified.

We await the celebration of the Spirit’s coming this Sunday.  It will flood us with the peace and joy of knowing the Father’s love.  It will likewise move us to share that love with others.  After all God created humans to live together in harmony as His family.

Thursday, June 5, 2014

Memorial of Saint Boniface, bishop and martyr

(Acts 22:30.23:6-11; John 17:20-26)

St. Boniface, the patron of Germany, was martyred while at work as a missionary.  Born in late seventh century England, Boniface was commissioned by the pope to convert pagan tribes.  Doing so, he endeavored to realize the vision that Jesus proclaims in today’s gospel.

Jesus is praying for unity.  The words he uses – “’so that they may all be one’” – are often quoted in ecumenical circles.  But Jesus has more in mind than the unification of disparate Christian communities.  He wants to draw all people– believers and non-believers alike – into communion.  In the end he is praying for the reconciliation of the whole world!

As always, we need to adopt Jesus’ position as our own.  We not only pray but also endeavor to bring the world together in peace.  Simple efforts are needed: conversing with people of different backgrounds, greeting friends of different religions on their holy days, and taking interest in the traditions of different nations.

Thursday, June 9, 2011

Thursday of the Seventh Week of Easter

(Acts 22:30.23:6-11; John 17:20-26)

Although St. Thomas Aquinas found metaphysical meaning in God’s name, John the Evangelist sees it in a different way. Aquinas taught that the name “I am who am,” which God revealed to Moses, indicates that God’s existence is His very essence such that everything that exists is rooted in Him. Aquinas pointed out that this assertion does not reveal anything of God’s nature. For that, he realized, divine revelation is needed. John’s gospel supplies abundant description of who God is. He is (or, as Jesus says, “I am”) “the light of the world,” “the Good Shepherd,” “the bread of life.” Since Jesus reveals the Father, these images apply to the Father just as much as they to him.

In today’s gospel Jesus prays to his Father that he has made the Father’s name known to his disciples. They know that the “I am” is not a distant God but as close to the world as the light that fills it. They realize that the “I am” does not disregard any of His human subjects but treats each one with the care of the most responsive of shepherds. They recognize that the nourishment of the “I am” is not truncated as the earthly sojourn ends, but that the bread He provides nourishes for eternity.

As the Easter season ends, we stand in awe of God’s blessing in Jesus Christ. He has called us back from sinful ways, demonstrated the infinity of His love with Jesus’ death and resurrection, and now will grace us with the Holy Spirit so that we mig