St. Bernardine of Siena, priest 

＊＊＊ 1st Reading ＊＊＊     

Acts 22:30; 23:6-11

The next day the comman­der wanted to know

For certain the charges the Jews were making against Paul. So he released him from prison and called together the High Priest and the whole Council; and they brought Paul down and made him stand before them.

Paul knew that part of the Council were Sadducees and others Pharisees; so he spoke out in the Council, “Brothers, I am a Pharisee, son of a Pharisee. It is for the hope in the res­ur­rection of the dead that I am on trial here.”

 At these words, an argument broke out between the Pharisees and the Sadducees and the whole assembly was divided.  For the Sadducees claim that there is neither resurrection, nor angels nor spirits, while the Pharisees acknowledge all these things.

 Then the shouting grew louder, and some teachers of the Law of the Pharisee party protested, “We find nothing wrong with this man. Maybe a spirit or an angel has spoken to him.”

With this the argument became so violent that the commander feared that Paul would be torn to pieces by them. He therefore ordered the soldiers to go down and rescue him from their midst and take him back to the fortress.

 That night the Lord stood by Paul and said, “Courage! As you have borne witness to me here in Jerusalem, so must you do in Rome.”

 

Ps 16:1-2a & 5, 7-8, 9-11

Keep me safe, O God; you are my hope.

 

＊＊＊＊ Gospel ＊＊＊＊

John 17:20-26

 I pray not only for these but also for those who through their word will believe in me. May they all be one as you Father are in me and I am in you. May they be one in us; so the world may believe that you have sent me.

I have given them the Glory you have given me, that they may be one as we are one: I in them and you in me. Thus they shall reach perfection in unity and the world shall know that you have sent me and that I have loved them just as you 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 has not known you but I have known you, and these have known 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.”

     

Gospel Reflection：

Jesus prayed long and hard for His disciples whom He would leave behind. He is wrapping up His ministry. They would have to take over afterwards. That is why His prayer is a grocery list of requests. He asks His father to provide for them when He is gone. It is also a report of what has been accomplished so far.

He is also preparing Himself to let go of the leadership He exercised on behalf of the ministry. So many things to do, and yet so little time. So much uncertainty about the future ahead, yet Jesus takes time to pray. Worrying and continuous planning ahead may not help much.

And so Jesus takes the path of prayer. He enlists the support of the Father, unleashing a tremendous power that can be relied upon to deliver, but in its own time and not according to human desires. No wonder that the little band that Jesus left behind is now the biggest faith community in the world. The Fathers support made a lot of difference.