Jesus raised his eyes to heaven and said, "Father, the hour has come. Give glory to your son, so that your son may glorify you, just as you gave him authority over all people, so that he may give eternal life to all you gave him. Now this is eternal life, that they should know you, the only true God, and the one whom you sent, Jesus Christ. I glorified you on earth by accomplishing the work that you gave me to do. Now glorify me, Father, with you, with the glory that I had with you before the world began.

"I revealed your name to those whom you gave me out of the world. They belonged to you, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. Now they know that everything you gave me is from you, because the words you gave to me I have given to them, and they accepted them and truly understood that I came from you, and they have believed that you sent me. I pray for them. I do not pray for the world but for the ones you have given me, because they are yours, and everything of mine is yours and everything of yours is mine, and I have been glorified in them. And now I will no longer be in the world, but they are in the world, while I am coming to you.

Introductory Prayer: Lord Jesus, I truly believe that you have called me to be with you, and that in these moments, you have something to tell me. I trust in you before anyone else, because you have held nothing back from me, and have given me everything. I love you, and I ask you to help me to bring your love to so many souls who are searching for you.

Petition: Lord, let me glorify you by fulfilling your will with love today.

1. I glorified you on earth by accomplishing the work that you gave me to do. For forty days, the apostles have been adapting to a new reality: living with the Risen Lord. He came to them when they least expected it: in the first place, on Easter Sunday, when he first appeared, to the various appearances in Jerusalem and later at the Sea Galilee, until finally, at last, he has been raised up into Heaven. And now, we stand with the Apostles, gazing dumbfoundedly into the sky. So now he has gone. But the memories are too many for us to forget him: we think of when he first walked by the shore of our lives and called us; when he preached the Beatitudes; the miracles, the healings, the forgiveness of sins and then we can imagine the apostles recalling that blessed night of the Last Supper, and these words of our Lord.

If there was one phrase of his that could summarize his life on earth, his whole purpose, perhaps it was this: I glorified you on earth by accomplishing the work that you gave me to do. It was you who sent me here on this mission: to reveal your face to those who sought you. And I have fulfilled this mission perfectly, out of love.

What an example of fidelity and love for God! Jesus completes his role to perfection: in every moment, he seeks to fulfill the Father's will out of love. Not fear, certainly not because he feels good, but because love is real. And this is what goes through the apostles' minds as they await the coming of the promised Advocate.

2. I revealed your name to those whom you gave me out of the world. The whole mission of Christ was to reveal God's name: Our Father. God is not a vengeful, spiteful god who meddles pettily in human affairs. He is Love. And it is Christ who has shown us who he really is. With what delicacy, with what total fidelity Christ fulfilled his Father's will in every moment. How often he spoke of his Father. How often he stepped aside to get a few moments or a few hours in prayer with him. And it was his Father whom he communicated in every act of his life.

Christ's life is a whole lesson in perseverance, hard work, and fidelity to God. He gives us great reason to trust in God: when it gets tough to fulfill God's will, when everything else goes against us, when our feelings flare up or we just don't feel like giving more is when we can draw real strength from Christ. He went through the same in Gethsemane, on Calvary, when the Pharisees and so many people stood against him and challenged him he remained faithful, he gave a little more. And in these days before Pentecost, the apostles were beginning to put all this together.

3. I will no longer be in the world, but they are in the world Little do they know it, but they are about to embark on the greatest mission mankind has ever known. And we too are called to continue this mission. When the Apostles received their mission on Ascension Day, and when they received the Holy Spirit on Pentecost, they were continuing the very same mission of Jesus Christ on this earth, a mission that continues to this day. What an incredible grace we ourselves are living, we are called to live in the same period of the Church after Pentecost. Christ has ascended, the Holy Spirit has come and the Church is alive.

This mission cannot allow us to remain static. It entails a real experience of who Christ is and who God our Father is, and how much he loves me. This is a grace that we must insist on, but confidently; our Father knows what we want before we ask him. As we go about our day, we ought to have great trust in God our Father, and we must never be afraid to do his will. Not only will it turn out to be good for us, but it will be better than we imagined. We will be living our faith, building our relationship with God through our actions, and bringing the message of Christ as a sweet treasure to all those around us.

Conversation: Lord Jesus, thank you for coming to show me how to be faithful, but most of all thank you for showing me the way to my greatest happiness. Without you, Lord, I would be caught in the endless cycle of egotism. Give me the grace always to seek the Father's will with humility, and to trust in you as I strive to bring the Gospel to all those around me.

Questionnaire:

1. How do I live God's will in my life? Do I trust in him completely, even if it seems that he wants me to give up some things that I am very attached to? Have I showed that I love him by renouncing my desires, even legitimate and good ones, in order to do his will?

2. What is my experience of Christ? Do I know him as a friend, the face of love, the Son of our Father? Can I say that I have received strength from his example?

3. What is my mission in this world as a member of the Church, what does God want me to be and to do? How often do I speak with others about Christ? Can I honestly say that when others see me, they see Christ? How can I change today so that they will?