“And the glory that You gave Me I have given them, so that they may be one, just as We are one” (Jn 17:22)
Friday (May 22/29)
John 17:18–26
Today’s Gospel shows us a very special part of Scripture. It is not a parable or a public teaching. It is a deep conversation between the Son and the Father.
What is important is that Jesus prays not only for His apostles, but also for all who will believe in Him through their word—that means for us. Christ is praying for you and for me even before we were born and before we began to believe.
What does He ask for? Not success in this world, not an easy life, and not the absence of problems. He asks for something much deeper: that we may be one.
He asks that we may have the same unity that exists between the Father and the Son. This is a very high standard. It is not just agreement or the absence of conflict. It is unity in love, trust, and truth.
Jesus says: “The glory that You gave Me I have given them, so that they may be one, just as We are one.” What is this “glory” that brings unity?
In the Gospel of John, “glory” is not honor or outward beauty. It is love—the love that fills the Holy Trinity and becomes visible in Jesus Christ. This glory is shown most fully on the Cross, where Jesus gave His life completely. It is the perfect image of true love.
So the glory the Father gives the Son is self-giving love. And this love creates unity with the Father.
We can also look at married life through these words of Christ. Marriage is a Holy Mystery of love. In marriage, a man and a woman become one.
In the wedding rite, the Church prays: “Crown them with glory and honor.” This is not just a poetic phrase. The Church prays that God will crown the couple with the same “glory” spoken of in the Gospel—that their love will become visible: a love that sacrifices, forgives, serves, and remains faithful.
Marriage is not only a blessing for life together, but also a sharing in God’s love, which is the source of true unity.
We often think unity means “no conflict” or “everything is perfect.” But real unity means that even in conflict, we do not lose love. We do not fight against each other, but search for truth together. We do not try to win, but to protect the relationship.
The greatest danger for a family is not problems, but slowly losing this “glory”—losing self-giving love. This happens when hearts close, when trust is replaced by suspicion, when service is replaced by calculation: “I more, you less.”
So today let us ask the Lord to keep this “glory” of self-giving love in our families, to teach us to protect unity even in difficulties, and to help our families become a living image of the love between the Father and the Son.
Mission tasks:
1. Personal level:
Every day learn to protect the “glory” of self-giving love in your heart: seek less personal victory and more unity, forgiveness, and truth in relationships.
2. Parish level:
Build an atmosphere of unity and support in the parish, so families can find strength for faithfulness, prayer, reconciliation, and growth in love.
3. Mission level:
Show the world that true unity comes from Christ’s self-giving love, and that the Christian family is called to be a living icon of God’s love.