I pray not only for these,
but also for those who will believe in me through their word
Jesus prayed, not only for his disciples and their successors in the hierarchical Church, but for those who would believe through their word as well, that is, for us. We might well wonder, in this prayer of his that directly touched on the Church of subsequent generations, what did he request?
so that they may all be one,
as you, Father, are in me and I in you,
that they also may be in us
that the world may believe that you sent me.
Jesus prayed that we would be one, that, though many, we would be one Body in him. Successful armies are often marked by a unity of purpose and action. But the unity to which Jesus called us was something deeper. It was something supernatural, that could only come about by sharing and participating in his own unity with the Father in the Holy Spirit. A united army might speak to good leadership, but it did not prove anything supernatural about them. But the union to which Jesus called his Church was so beyond worldly parallels that it would actually be evidence of the divine reality that was its basis.
We may then rightly wonder what happened to this unity. After all, the general populace doesn't typically think of the Church as a pinnacle of unity. And yet, in spite of all of the all too earthly politics that mar her witness, there is a real oneness, transcending time and space, in which believers participate. Apparently, it doesn't manifest in everyone voting in the same way. It doesn't mean all the members will take identical paths, or put their time into the same charitable causes. It doesn't even mean that there won't be disagreements at times. But Catholics share in the same baptismal grace, receive the same Jesus in the Eucharist, and are filled with the same Spirit. They are anchored in a truth that doesn't change with time or place, though it may be expressed differently. It is this supernatural unity that helps the world to believe in Jesus, for when they sense it they feel its pull on their hearts. Though having said all of that, we have a long way to go in allowing ourselves to be fully transformed by this unity that is nevertheless at the core of our lives. The more we do the more the unseen reality will become visibly manifest in our world, which can't help but make it all the more attractive.
And I have given them the glory you gave me,
so that they may be one, as we are one,
I in them and you in me,
The human nature of Jesus was given the glory of the Father, which he revealed at the transfiguration. This was more than a mere special effect, but a visible manifestation of his participation in the divine life of the Trinity. So too is glory not merely an aesthetic benefit for us. It is the grace given to us through the Holy Spirit that causes our adoption as daughters and sons of the Father and makes us able to live in a manner worthy of that call. This process begins on earth when we first receive this glory. But we are progressively transformed from glory to glory (see Second Corinthians 3:18) until, for all eternity, we are finally able to be with Jesus where he is and behold the glory given to him before the foundation of the world by the Father. Glory, since it refers to God's gift of his own divine life for us, is, in some way, every step of the journey as well as the ultimate destination.
Righteous Father, the world also does not know you,
but I know you, and they know that you sent me.
I made known to them your name and I will make it known,
that the love with which you loved me
may be in them and I in them.
Jesus wants the world to know the Father so that it can share with him the love that he first received from him. The world tends to look everywhere but to God for the love it so deeply desires. But Jesus, who definitively made the Father's name known by the mysteries of his life, continues to make it known through the work of his Spirit in the Church. This means that we are called both to a deeper appreciation of the Father's love ourselves and to make that love known to a world that longs for that love.
O LORD, my allotted portion and my cup,
you it is who hold fast my lot.
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