Monday, January 21, 2008

Jn 17, 6-8 They have believed that you sent me

(Jn 17, 6-8) They have believed that you sent me
[6] "I revealed your name to those whom you gave me out of the world. They belonged to you, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. [7] Now they know that everything you gave me is from you, [8] because the words you gave to me I have given to them, and they accepted them and truly understood that I came from you, and they have believed that you sent me.
(CCC 2747) Christian Tradition rightly calls this prayer the "priestly" prayer of Jesus. It is the prayer of our high priest, inseparable from his sacrifice, from his passing over (Passover) to the Father to whom he is wholly "consecrated" (Cf. Jn 17:11, 13, 19). (CCC 2748) In this Paschal and sacrificial prayer, everything is recapitulated in Christ (Cf. Eph 1:10): God and the world; the Word and the flesh; eternal life and time; the love that hands itself over and the sin that betrays it; the disciples present and those who will believe in him by their word; humiliation and glory. It is the prayer of unity. (CCC 2750) By entering into the holy name of the Lord Jesus we can accept, from within, the prayer he teaches us: "Our Father!" His priestly prayer fulfills, from within, the great petitions of the Lord's Prayer: concern for the Father's name (Cf. Jn 17:6, 11, 12, 26); passionate zeal for his kingdom (glory) (Cf. Jn 17:1, 5, 10, 22, 23-26); the accomplishment of the will of the Father, of his plan of salvation (Cf. Jn 17:2, 4, 6, 9, 11, 12, 24); and deliverance from evil (Cf. Jn 17:15).

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