577. What is the prayer of the Hour of Jesus? (part 1)

577. What is the prayer of the Hour of Jesus? (part 1) 

(Comp 577) It is called the priestly prayer of Jesus at the Last Supper. Jesus, the High Priest of the New Covenant, addresses it to his Father when the hour of his sacrifice, the hour of his “passing over” to him is approaching.

“In brief”

(CCC 2758) The prayer of the hour of Jesus, rightly called the "priestly prayer" (cf. Jn 17), sums up the whole economy of creation and salvation. It fulfills the great petitions of the Our Father.

To deepen and explain

(CCC 2746) When "his hour" came, Jesus prayed to the Father (Cf. Jn 17). His prayer, the longest transmitted by the Gospel, embraces the whole economy of creation and salvation, as well as his death and Resurrection. The prayer of the Hour of Jesus always remains his own, just as his Passover "once for all" remains ever present in the liturgy of his Church. (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).

Reflection

(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. [IT CONTINUES]

(The question: What is the prayer of the Hour of Jesus?  continues)