Gospel: John 17:1-11a
After saying this, Jesus lifted up his eyes to heaven and said, “Father, the hour has come! Give glory to your Son, that the Son may give glory to you. You have given him power over all  humanity, so that he may give eternal life to all those you entrusted to him. For this is eternal life: to know you, the only true God, and the One you sent, Jesus Christ.I have glorified  you on earth and finished the work that you gave me to do. Now, Father, give me, in your presence, the same glory I had with you before the world began.I have made your name known to those  you gave me from the world. They were yours, and you gave them to me, and they kept your word. And now they know that whatever you entrusted to me, is indeed from you. I have given them the teaching I received from you, and they accepted it, and know in truth that I came from you; and they believe that you sent me.I pray for them. I do not pray for the world, but for  those who belong to you, and whom you have given to me. Indeed all I have is yours, and all you have is mine; and now they are my glory. I am no longer in the world, but they are in the  world, and I come to you. Holy Father, keep those you have given me in your name, so that they may be one, as we also are.

Reflections
“You have given him power over all humanity.”Jesus says his priestly prayer to the Father. In his prayer, he talks about his own glorification and that of the Father. Glorification here  means giving eternal life to those who acknowledge him as the Son of God. Jesus mentions his mission on earth which is none other than to glorify the Father as he makes him known to the peo­ple. He makes God’s presence vi­sible through his own bodily pre­sence. He has also communicated to them his teachings which are readily received by his disciples.Jesus prays for his  disciples’ safety. He wants them always to stay in his fold, never to wander away from God. He prays most of all for their unity. Jesus desires the best for his disciples. They are the  fruits of his mission.The prayer of Jesus is dubbed as Christian prayer for unity. The unity that God wills for us his dis­ciples is oneness with God and oneness with one another. Our  unity is patterned after the Father and Son’s unity which is constant relationship with each other.We need to pray for unity in our communities to give glory to God. We do this best in the Eucha­ristic celebration.
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