Today, 22nd of June, we celebrate
Saint Paulinus of Nola and
Saints John Fisher and Thomas More.
First Reading: Acts 20:17-27
I am finishing my course and the
ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus.
From Miletus Paul had the presbyters
of the Church at Ephesus summoned.
When they came to him, he addressed them,
"You know how I lived among you
the whole time from the day I first came to the province of Asia.
I served the Lord with all humility
and with the tears and trials that came to me
because of the plots of the Jews,
and I did not at all shrink from telling you
what was for your benefit,
or from teaching you in public or in your homes.
I earnestly bore witness for both Jews and Greeks
to repentance before God and to faith in our Lord Jesus.
But now, compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem.
What will happen to me there I do not know,
except that in one city after another
the Holy Spirit has been warning me
that imprisonment and hardships await me.
Yet I consider life of no importance to me,
if only I may finish my course
and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus,
to bear witness to the Gospel of God's grace.
"But now I know that none of you
to whom I preached the kingdom during my travels
will ever see my face again.
And so I solemnly declare to you this day
that I am not responsible for the blood of any of you,
for I did not shrink from proclaiming to you the entire plan of God."
Responsorial Psalm: Ps 68:10-11, 20-21
R./ Sing to God, O kingdoms of the earth. or: Alleluia.
A bountiful rain you showered down, O God, upon your inheritance;
you restored the land when it languished;
Your flock settled in it;
in your goodness, O God, you provided it for the needy.
R./ Sing to God, O kingdoms of the earth. or: Alleluia.
Blessed day by day be the Lord,
who bears our burdens; God, who is our salvation.
God is a saving God for us;
the LORD, my Lord, controls the passageways of death.
R./ Sing to God, O kingdoms of the earth. or: Alleluia.
Gospel Reading: John 17:1-11a
Father, glorify your Son.
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."
Dear brothers and sisters, peace and all good.
“The hour has come.” Those words from Jesus were probably one of the most intense moments in His farewell to His friends. It’s one thing to know your Master is in danger, and another to hear that it’s all going to happen now. And with how “slow” (no offense) they were to understand Him, those four words may have finally woken them up. There was no more time for excuses, no more delays. The moment had come.
In our lives, there are also moments that arrive—whether we like it or not. Being born, starting school, growing up, having to choose a profession, deciding whether to marry or not… Many of these moments just come to us—and sometimes they feel more like a crash than a meeting. Because we’re not always ready. We think we have everything under control, and then life surprises us.
Today might be a good day to think about our relationship with God. We don’t know when, but for each of us, “the hour” will come. At the hour of our death, we’ll have our final meeting with God. And how that moment goes will depend on how we have lived. Because eternal life doesn’t start after we die—it begins here and now, in how we relate to God and to our brothers and sisters. Later may be too late. Today, there’s still time.
Christ made God’s glory visible in our world. That’s why He became human. And through His example, Jesus invites us to live in a way that makes God’s glory visible in us. And the way to do that, of course, is through love. That’s the sign by which people will know we are His disciples.
He also calls us to live so that His glory shines through us—that His love and truth become visible in our lives. Like Paul, we are invited to share God’s plan with everyone we meet along the way.
Your brother in faith,
Alejandro, C.M.F.
