May 12, 2013: 7th Sunday of Easter

“Lifting up his eyes to heaven, Jesus prayed saying:
‘Holy Father, I pray not only for them,
but also for those who will believe in me through their word,
so that they may all be one, as you, Father,
are in me and I in you, that they also may be in us,
that the world may believe that you sent me.
And I have given them the glory you gave me,
so that they may be one, as we are on,
I in them and you in me,
that they may be brought to perfection as one….”
Righteous Father, the world also does not know you, but I know you, and they know that you sent me. (John 17: 20-26)

In this Gospel from John, Jesus prays to the Father for those who will carry forward his ministry.
Jesus bestows on his Disciples the grace and courage to engage those they meet with the ideals of Jesus, some that we take for granted. All were welcome in this young “Jesus Movement,” slave and free. It was the inclusion, compassion, healing and justice which Jesus preached that changed lives.
A simple recipe—Love God, and your neighbor as (you love) yourself. Loving ourselves is often the hardest of all to do. As Irish poet, John O’Donohue writes, “See yourself with the same gentleness, expectation and compassion with which the Divine beholds you at every moment.”

Action:

Take out a pen and paper. With gentleness and compassion, give yourself ten minutes to write what the Divine beholds in you, the good, the not-so-good, and perhaps even the ugly. Feel, for just a moment, the acceptance and love with which you are held every second of every day. Give a piece of God’s love to someone who needs it today.
The love you pay forward for yourself and others will come back to you.