May 16, 2015

7th Sunday of Easter - B

Commentary

Jesus' Two Prayers

Jesus addresses God as “Holy Father” [1] as he prays for his followers.

And Jesus asks the Holy Father two things:
You keep them from the evil one.”
Consecrate them in the truth” The verb “consecrate” can also be translated as “make [them] holy.”[2]

The first prayer demands trust on our part – that God keeps us from evil. In fact, we pray this every time we make the Lord's prayer our own, “deliver us from evil.”

Two attitudes are required on our part with the second prayer: humility and openness. Humility to acknowledge that holiness and truth come from God and God alone. [3]  Openness to allow God's holiness and truth to consecrate us.

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[1], [2], & [3] Frank Moloney, This is the Gospel of the Lord: Reflections of the Gospel Readings, Year B. Homebush, NSW, Australia: St. Paul Publications, 1993; p. 126 – 127. 

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