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| SYMBOL OF THE HOLY TRINITY. Image from holytrinityparish.catholicweb.com via google.com |
"... so that they may all be one,
as you, father, are in me and I in you,
that they may also be in us,
that the world may believe
that you sent me."
This entire passage is considered the High Priestly Prayer of the Lord Jesus Christ by which He prays not only for His present disciples but also for those who will come to believe in Him through them.
That they all may be one ...
Unity is one of the signs of the true Church. The Lord declares that aside from the the ones He already has, He also have other sheep that must belong to the flock so that there would be just One Fold and One Shepherd [see John 10:16]. This passage clearly confirms that when the Lord established His Church he truly intended that it becomes One Institution, not merely a confederation of independent and autonomous groups all claiming Him to be the Lord perhaps but have different views and ideas about Him and the other articles of Faith which is so far from His idea of having stability in unity [see Matthew 12:25; Mark 3: 24-25; Luke 11:17].
... as you Father is in me, and I in You ...
Nothing else can beat this great model of Unity: the Unity of the Holy Trinity, for the Three Persons are all united as One God though distinct in their Personages and roles yet sharing the same power from one source of divinity [see John 16: 13-15]. This reminds us of what the Apostle Paul teaches about the Church as the Body of Christ: we may be different parts having diverse roles to fulfill but we all belong to the same Body and make up the one Church [see 1 Corinthians 12]. Hence the term Holy Communion: holy because it derives from God and communion because it unites us with the Lord Jesus Christ and our fellow Christians into the Mystical Body of Christ [see CCC 1331, 1396].
... that they may also be in Us ...
This is the ultimate end of the Church: to be one with the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. It is not only about unity with God in heaven in the future but a unity with God here and now, the present. We must be one with the Father, who created us and since the beginning of time has destined us to become His children therefore deserves our perfect love and obedience [see Ephesians 1:5; 1 Thessalonians 5:9; Romans 8:29]; with the Son, who saved us and ransomed us with His blood from the bondage to sin [see Romans 5:8; Galatians 1:4] and called us to His holy friendship [see John 15: 12-17]; and with the Holy Spirit, who sanctifies us and made our bodies His temple [1 Corinthians 3:16; 6:19; James 4:5].
... that the world may believe ...
Through this unity, fully expressed through our love for one another and for our neighbors, the world will come to know the Lord Jesus Christ and so believe in Him [see John 13: 34-35]. For there is no greater power that the Lord has entrusted to us in order to overcome the world except through love concretely expressed by doing good [see Proverbs 25:22; Romans 12:20-21; Matthew 5:44-47; 25: 31-46].
... that you sent me.
God is love, writes the Apostle John [1 John 4: 8, 16] hence if we love one another, it is our simple way of proclaiming to the world that Jesus Christ is truly our Lord and that He was truly sent by the Father if we who are His friends and followers also express love concretely and are united with one another. For we are merely messengers and bearers of Christ, Christ who is sent by the Father and we can only truly and fully proclaim Him by keeping His commands, the greatest of which is to love one another as He loved us [see John 14: 15; 15: 12-17] which fully and truly reflects the love of the Father for us [see John 3:16].
Our Lord prayed for us to become one, to be united. Let us fulfill His prayer as we accomplish our respective roles in the Body of Christ, the Church. For as the Father has sent Him to fulfill the mission of saving mankind from bondage to sin, He has also sent the Church to continue such saving act. And as members of the Church, we share in such a mission. But the Church cannot fully proclaim the mission if we who are her members do not accomplish our respective tasks and, more especially, if we fail to love one another by which the world will truly know that we are the Lord's friends and followers [see John 13:35].
A blessed Seventh Sunday of Easter to all and in other places, a Glorious Ascension Day.
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