Thursday of the Seventh Week of Easter
May They All Be One
Liturgical Cycle: A, B, C | Lectionary Cycle: I, II
Introduction
“May they all be one… May the love with which you loved me be in them, so that I may be in them.” There is perhaps no stronger witnessing than the world would believe that Jesus is the one sent, than that those who believe in Christ would also be united in one love by the bond of love which is the Holy Spirit. But the tragic reality is that Christians are divided into many denominations and sects. Even in our Church, there are different groups, usually people of goodwill and full of good intentions. We need ecumenism not only between Churches but also in our Church. Is the love with which the Father has loved Christ not in us?
Opening Prayer
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ
and Father of all people,
we believe in you
and we know that you loved Jesus
with a deep and trusting, lasting love.
Let your Holy Spirit pour out this love
into the hearts of all those
who believe in Jesus, our Savior and shepherd.
Let this love unite us in one common bond
of understanding and respect of one another
and let that love dispose us
to live for one another and to serve one another
for the sake of Jesus Christ our Lord.
Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 16:1-2a and 5, 7-8, 9-10, 11
R. (1) Keep me safe, O God; you are my hope.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Keep me, O God, for in you I take refuge;
I say to the LORD, "My Lord are you."
O LORD, my allotted portion and my cup,
you it is who hold fast my lot.
R. Keep me safe, O God; you are my hope.
or:
R. Alleluia.
I bless the LORD who counsels me;
even in the night my heart exhorts me.
I set the LORD ever before me;
with him at my right hand I shall not be disturbed.
R. Keep me safe, O God; you are my hope.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Therefore my heart is glad and my soul rejoices,
my body, too, abides in confidence;
Because you will not abandon my soul to the nether world,
nor will you suffer your faithful one to undergo corruption.
R. Keep me safe, O God; you are my hope.
or:
R. Alleluia.
You will show me the path to life,
fullness of joys in your presence,
the delights at your right hand forever.
R. Keep me safe, O God; you are my hope.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Alleluia Verse
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
May they all be one as you, Father, are in me and I in you,
that the world may believe that you sent me, says the Lord.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
I pray not only for them, but also for those who will believe in me through their word.
May they all be one just as you, Father, are in me and I am in you. May they be one in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me.
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. Then they will be perfect in unity, and the world will know that you have sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.
Father, since you have given them to me, I want them to be with me where I am and see the glory you gave me, for you loved me before the foundation of the world.
Righteous Father, the world does not know you, but I know you, and they know that you have sent me.
As I revealed your name to them, so will I continue to reveal it so that the love with which you loved me may be in them, and I also may be in them.”
Prayers of the Faithful
– Lord Jesus, that in the land where you walked the roads Palestinians and Jews may come to respect one another and seek peace, we pray:
– Lord Jesus, different as we are in our faces and characters, let the Holy Spirit bind us together in one love, we pray:
– Lord Jesus, however difficult it is, let the Holy Spirit make our communities one heart and one soul, we pray:
Prayer over the Gifts
Lord our God,
at his invitation
we gather at the table of your Son
and we prepare ourselves to share in his meal.
As he has united us as his brothers and sisters,
may the Holy Spirit keep us united
in the life of every day.
Let him bind us together
in strong and dedicated communities
in which we accept one another
notwithstanding all our differences.
Unite us in the one love
of Jesus Christ our Lord.
Prayer after Communion
Lord our God,
the Psalmist rejoices
when even brothers and sisters
can live together in one love.
Let this be a reality among us
who believe in our one Lord Jesus Christ.
Let the deepest witnessing of our faith be
that we live for one another in the same unity
that united your Son Jesus with you,
our living and loving God,
now and forever.
Blessing
The best witness to Jesus, that the Father sent Jesus and that we believe in him and that he is alive in us, is that we are one. Division between Churches and division and quarrels in communities are the opposite of witnessing to Christ and his gospel. May God’s Spirit unite you and may almighty God bless you, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
REFLECTIONS
John 17:20-26
Unity is a gift of fraternity in the family of Jesus
In the third section of his “Priestly Prayer,” Jesus broadens the scope. After praying to the Father for himself and his disciples, he now requests the Father to grant faith and love to all who believe in him: “May they all be one, like you, Father, in me, and I in you.” Jesus emphasises our responsibility for one another. Brotherhood is a clear sign of genuine Christian fellowship.
Jesus’ call for brotherhood does not mean we all have to be shaped in the same mould. Our faith fellowship is a permanent invitation to know how to integrate others’ differences, not to see them as threats but as possibilities for mutual enrichment. This is a constant challenge. By instinct, we associate with people of the same culture who speak our language and share our thinking patterns. When we regard people who are different from us, in culture, colour, race or nationality, as enemies, we create a divided world and run into conflicts and wars.
Today, Jesus's words invite us to live as brothers and sisters, sharing in each other's joys and worries. Treating others as our brothers or sisters is always a challenge. It is particularly difficult to avoid imposing ourselves or competing. Jesus prays that we, as his brothers and sisters, will have the generosity to help one another, seek understanding, and lean on each other, prioritising mercy and compassion.
We easily forget Jesus’ invitation to unity. Unity cannot be imposed on the other. It is a mutual gift that needs to be cultivated. It is the fruit of the Holy Spirit we are aspiring for. Jesus concludes his prayer by asking that we all love each other.
Pope Francis composed a beautiful prayer for fraternity in his encyclical Fratelli Tutti. Let us join him and pray:
Lord and Father of humanity,
who created all human beings with equal dignity,
instil in our hearts a fraternal spirit.
Inspire us with a dream of reunion, dialogue, justice and peace.
Impulse us to create healthier societies
and a more dignified world,
without hunger, without poverty, without violence, without wars.
May our hearts open
To all the peoples and nations of the earth,
to recognise the good and beauty
That you sowed in each one,
(Pope Francis, Fratelli tutti )