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Gospel: John 17: 1-11
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 your son 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.”
The Gospel of the Lord.
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One of the most popular Catholic Saints is Francis of Assisi.
He left a life of riches behind and devoted himself entirely to the Lord. He had a unique love of nature, a kindred spirit, and spent his life, “rebuilding the Church.”
Perhaps his most important contribution to the life of the Church was establishing the Franciscans, a religious order of both men and women that continues doing Christ’s work around the world today.
At the age of 45, while lying on his deathbed, Francis turned to his brothers – the first Franciscans – and said to them, “I have done what was mine to do. Now you must do what is yours to do.”
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Francis aligned himself with the words of Jesus in today’s Gospel.
We continue with the “Farewell Discourse,” when Jesus leaves his parting words to his friends. Like Francis, Jesus was at peace knowing that he has done what was his to do.
As he says, “Father, I glorified you on earth by accomplishing everything you gave me to do.”
That’s something I hope – perhaps we all hope – to say when the sun sets on our earthly life. “Father, I’ve accomplished everything you gave me to do.”
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How do we know what is “ours” to do? How did Francis know? How did Jesus know?
First, they prayed. Their hearts were open to the voice of the Spirit.
Secondly, they were disciplined.
It isn’t always easy to do what God asks of us – consider Jesus carrying his cross, or Francis leaving a life of wealth behind. But with prayer and discipline, we can do everything that God has given us to do, even today.
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Image credits: (1) Bethel Assembly Church in Foston, MN (2) Francis of Assisi, Biography (3) Bible