A cute story of a little boy, who loved fruits.

This little boy fellow was once, tempted to pluck some cherries from a tree, which his father had strictly forbidden him to touch.

“You need not be afraid,” said his notorious companion, “for if your father should find out that you have taken them, he is too kind to hurt you.”

“Ah,” said the brave little fellow, “that is the very reason why I would not touch them;

>> For I know that my father would not hurt me. So I should not hurt him by my disobedience!”

The little boy knew the love of his Father towards him… and so he dared not hurt his Father.

>> He was not afraid of the punishment of the Father.

>> He was instead afraid of the hurt that would cause pain to the Father.

True  love causes a holy and pious concern of not wanting to cause any offence to the one who is loved.

·      True Love casts away all fear!

·      True Love drives away every anxiety!

It is this True Love of the Father that was made known by Jesus to all of us.

 
The Gospel of the Day presents Jesus shedding greater light on His intimate relation with the Father and revealing deeper, the love of the Father for each one of us.

Jesus prays, “… so that they may be one, as we are one. I in them and You in Me, that they may be brought to perfection as one, that the world may know that  you sent me, and that you loved them even as you loved me.” (Jn 17: 22b, 23)

 
The high priestly prayer of Jesus in the Seventeenth Chapter is another insight into the intimate relation that Jesus had with His Father.
 
>> All His life, He sought to do only the Father’s Will

>> All His life, He sought to reveal the love of the Father to the world.

This was driven by the fact that Jesus was in intimate union with the Father.

To His disciples, Jesus wishes to leave this same legacy – the legacy of loving the Father intimately.

>> Jesus wishes to tell us that we have a Father who is deeply interested and caring for us.

>> Jesus wishes to convince us that our lives are secure in the Providential care of the Father.

However, our lives sometimes fails to display this trust and confidence in the providential care of the Father

>> Some of us may have a wrong notion of God being interested only in finding my wrongdoings and punishing me for the same…

>> Some of us may have the wrong notion of God being too holy and majestic that makes Him unapproachable, unavailable and inaccessible!

But Jesus seeks to drive away all such false impressions.

He tells us that the Father…
… is surely the keeper of justice, and may take us through a time of trials and difficulties.

But those are not to be seen as cruel punishments, but loving acts for improvements towards a holier life!

He tells us that the Father…
…. is surely the Lord and Master of the Universe, and is totally aware of even the calamities or hardships that befall our lives

But in all those hard moments, the loving Father keeps us safely in the palm of His hand, not allowing us, His beloved children to get hurt or harmed!

When we are convinced of this deep love that the Father has towards us, we would be able to orient our lives in a way that is worthy of our call as witnesses of Christ.
 

Jesus by His unity with the Father, enjoyed perfect freedom.

He invites us to also deepen our union with the Father and enjoy greater freedom of happiness and joy.

 God Bless! Live Jesus!

The earthly life and ministry of Jesus is presented in the Bible mainly through the Four Gospels – Matthew, Mark, Luke, John.

Of these, Mathew, Mark and Luke are termed as the Synoptic Gospels (synoptic meaning ‘same view’) because they have a common view. 

The Gospel of John reflects a Christian tradition that is different from that of the other Gospel.

>> It differs significantly from the synoptic gospels in theme, content, time duration, order of events, and style.

One important distinction that is seen between the Synoptic Gospels and the Gospel of John is that, while some events are very clearly and narratively described in the Synoptics, the elements of the same are found in the Gospel of John, either figuratively or in more detail.

 
One such event is the Temptations.

>> The temptations of Jesus find a clear mention in the three Synoptic Gospels as a one-time event.

> But the Gospel of John would present the same temptations, not as a one-time affair, but spread through the life and ministry of Jesus. 

 
Another event we see is the Institution of the Holy Eucharist.

>> The narrative of the Institution of the Holy Eucharist finds a specific mention in all the three Synoptic Gospels, at the time of the Last Supper

> The Gospel of John presents a very long teaching on the Holy Eucharist (Jn 6) and clearly presents the implications and consequences of being a Eucharist through the washing of the feet and His explicit commandment of love (Jn 12)

Another event or incident that finds a mention in two of the Synoptic Gospels is the Lord’s Prayer – the Our Father.

>> But it doesn’t appear as one-block of prayer in the Gospel of John.

However, the Gospel of John also presents a very extensive teaching and displays a method of prayer.

 
The Gospel of the Day is this beautiful expression of Jesus praying in the Gospel of John and presents to us elements which need to become part of our own prayer life.

 
The Seventeenth Chapter of the Gospel of John is traditionally called as the High Priestly prayer of Jesus.

The Gospel passage of the day (Jn 17: 1-11) presents a few basics and essentials of prayer: 

 
1. Jesus prays for the Glory of the Divine

Every prayer ought to be an expression of praise, worship and exaltation of the Holy Name of God.

Jesus prayed, “Father, the hour has come. Give glory to Your Son, so that your Son may glorify You!” (Jn 17: 1)

The lips of the Lord moved in praise of His Father and seeking the glory that was due to Him.
 

Is my prayer an expression of my desire to ‘lift up the name of the Lord on high?”

>> Or does my prayer degenerate into merely asking for things and wanting to focus the attention on me, than the Divine?

2. Jesus prays for the gift of eternal life for His people

Every prayer ought to have its intention aimed towards eternity!

Jesus prayed, “.. just as You gave Him authority over all people, so that He may give eternal life to all You gave Him” (Jn 17: 2)

The  purpose of the Lord was clearly focussed on eternal goodness and everlasting benefits.

Is my prayer an articulation of my longing for heaven and centred towards seeking the higher-things of life?

>> Or do I get limited in my prayer with merely earthly and transitory things of life; not that they are unimportant, but whether they snatch away our minds from the true needs and requirements of life?

 
3. Jesus prays with an expression of His intimacy with God and His People

Every prayer ought to be a manifestation of my unity with the Lord and the people to whom I am connected.

Jesus prayed, “I revealed your name to those whom you gave me out of the world. They belonged to you and you gave them to me… ” (Jn 17: 6)

The prayer of the Lord showed that He was in intimacy with the Father and was in close union with the people in His life

Is my prayer a sign of my close friendship with the Lord as well my close binding with the many people in my life?

>> Or am I failing in my prayer due to a breakage of relation with the Lord due to sin, and suffering from disturbance of mind due to damaged and hateful links with the people in my life? 

 
4. Jesus prays for the unity and safety from the evil

Every prayer ought to make me closer to the Lord and His people and cause to me stay further away from the evil.

Jesus prayed, “Holy Father, keep them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one just as we are one” (Jn 17: 11b)

 
The heart of the Lord moved to seek to protect the people He loved and also grow in greater intimacy

 
Is my prayer constantly drawing me to purge away sins from my life, so that I can remain in His name, and also make me assist His people in service?

>> Or does my prayer life make no effect on me to stay away from the evil and fail to be expressed in loving actions of charity and help?
 

The Lord desires that just as He prayed, in close intimacy with His Father, we too may grow in our life of prayer and union with the Heavenly Father.

Let us seek the intercession of St John of Avila, whose feast we celebrate today.

May we make his prayer, our own: “Turn yourself round like a piece of clay and say to the Lord: I am clay, and you, Lord, the potter. Make of me what you will.

 
God Bless! Live Jesus!

Space scientists in the 1960’s and 70’s made several efforts to help astronauts or cosmonauts to have a safer and healthier stay in space.

The major hurdle to this was the fact that no matter how well prepared physically the cosmonauts or astronauts for the trip…
… even a short stay in space had a massive negative influence on their health.

Weightlessness  (antigravity) and lack of movement (hypokinesia) caused immediate retardation of the whole body space traveller –muscles, bones, peripheral and central nervous systems degenerated within several hours to a large extent.

Upon return to Earth, the astronauts had to readjust to Earth’s gravity and experienced problems standing up, stabilizing their gaze, walking and turning.

They needed a long-term intensive rehabilitation to get back in shape.

 
To counteract this, a running suit laced with elastic bands was utilized.

The function of this elastic band,  was to resist every move that the cosmonaut would make.

>> This resistance would force them to exert extra strength.

This worked!

>> When they had resistance, their muscles were stronger and it prepared them for recovery back into the earth’s atmosphere.

>> The greater pressure they exerted, the stronger was their physique and faster did it help them to get back to normalcy faster.

 
How true is this of our life as well!

>> The easier our life, the greater is the possibility of our spiritual fibre being weak…

>> The comfortable our living, the higher are the chances of being lax and lethargic…

 
Strength of any kind grows only by exertion!

And therefore, the Gospel of the Day will present Jesus encouraging and motivating His disciples and we, His followers to be firm and strong, even in the midst of any sort of persecution or problems.

>> Jesus will tell, “In the world you will have tribulations; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world” (Jn 16: 33)

The Lord in His final discourses to the Disciples constantly gives the message of Hope and Encouragement.

 
>> Jesus is a not a leader who shys away from presenting the truth.

>> Jesus is not a Master who hides the real facts of following Him.

 
He plainly tells them that His going away from the world will result in a number of persecutions.

>> He predicts that His chosen ones would desert Him in His time of agony and suffering: “Behold, the hour is coming and has arrived when each of you will be scattered to His own home and you will leave me alone.” (Jn 16: 32)

Yet, He assures His followers, that He will still remain with them and strengthen them.

He is bold to tell them, “… Take courage, I have conquered the world” (Jn 16: 33b)

Our life is also beset with many problems, afflictions and difficulties.

>> Sometimes, we do ask ourselves, “why do I face so many problems?”

>> Sometimes, we do feel, “why such immense pains in our life?”

>> Sometimes, we do question, “why is life so unfair to me?”

But the Lord tells us, that we ought not to get discouraged or disheartened.

>> Rather, we need to realise, that such hardships and problems, keep us oriented towards seeking the help of God.

 
When difficulties creep in life, our face is set more towards the Lord.
… but when life goes on too smoothly, there are chances that tend to relax our relation with Him

When problems surface and surmount, our minds are attuned more towards seeking the Lord
… but when life is too cosy and comfortable, there are possibilities of being too casual in prayer life

When hardships bite us hard, our hearts long deeper for the presence and providence of God
… but when life goes on a smooth sailing, there are prospects that we tend to forget the important role of the Lord in life

Adversities in life act as elastic bands, that cosmonauts or astronauts use…

…. they function in a way, to resist our every good action and aspiration…

>> But resistance ought to make us exert greater effort and have a stronger dependence on the Lord!

 
The greater the adversities, the stronger ought to be our dependence and trust in the Lord.

>> Strength of any kind grows only by exertion!

Let us not get discouraged by the problems of life… instead, consider them as golden opportunities and graces to grow much deeper and stronger in the Love of the Lord!

Let us seek the intercession of St Pachomius, who is considered to  the Founder of the Cenobatic (living in communities) life of Consecrated Life.

Let us pray to him for the grace to always remain in the love of the Lord, and give heed to his words:

“If an impure thought enters your mind, be it hatred or wickedness, jealousy, envy, contempt for your brother, or human vainglory, remember at once and say, ‘If I consent to any one of those things, I shall not see the Lord.”

God Bless! Live Jesus!