The Gospel Of Saint John | Chapter 17 | Priestly Prayer Of Jesus | God The Father, God The Son
As Jesus offers prayer to God the Father we may find ourselves trying to fathom just what it might mean for Jesus to have been God incarnate, God the Son humbling himself to be born human.
There are so many questions we might ask. Was Jesus born into this world with compete knowledge of everything – of all time and every place? If so, can Jesus be said to have shared our humanity, one condition of which is our historical contingency, and all the uncertainty this brings, the limitations, the cloud of not knowing everything, and too the hope, the endeavour, and, when things go well, our sense of triumph? If not, then what did Jesus the man know? Was there some sort of temporary act of forgetting entailed in the incarnation? Would this not entail not being God?
Questions, questions. The Incarnation, Jesus, God the Son, become a human being, is a mystery our limited rational faculties break upon.
We may think of representations of Jesus and Mary, Jesus the child, his arms out-reached, the sign of the cross present at the moment of Jesus’ birth. We think also of the times of Jesus’ prayer, when he takes himself aside to be alone with God the Father. These times of prayer are instructive for us as we seek through prayer to orient ourselves, our lives, to God. In Jesus, it seems we have the exemplar par excellence.
We know some of the content of Jesus’ prayer. We know how he prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane, how he struggled within himself to be true to his Father’s will, to bring the work of our salvation to fruition. Jesus agonized while he prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane. Here more than anywhere else we experience something of what it might have meant to Jesus to be both God and human being. Jesus knew just how horrific the next few hours were to be. Through prayer, Jesus, human being and God the Son, became enabled to endure extremes of suffering for our sake. The agony in the garden attests to the power of prayer, through which the love of God triumphs eternally.
We know also of Jesus’ priestly prayer, recounted by John in chapter 17 of his Gospel. Here, during the Last Supper, Jesus praises God the Father and celebrates his life, through which he has glorified the Father. Jesus prays for his disciples, the Apostles, who will be sent into the world to save mankind, and Jesus prays for those who will hear the Gospel and be converted – Jesus prays for us. Jesus’ priestly prayer is a glorious hymn to our redemption. This is the summit of thanksgiving to God. In Jesus, human history is resolved, as we are saved.
When Jesus teaches us how to pray, when he gives us the words of the Lord’s prayer, the Our Father, Jesus is sharing with us the relationship with God the Father which he enjoys. It is through Jesus, God the Son, that we become privileged to address God as Father. Through the Lord’s prayer, we open our souls to receive our Father, entreating that the Kingdom of God, the Kingdom of heaven, might come to be realised in our lives. Jesus came to give his life for us. In the person of Christ, the Kingdom of God was inaugurated. We pray that he come again – to enter into our lives once more with each day.
Reading the Bible, we are guided to a closer understanding of prayer with Jesus. We are encouraged to take ourselves to a solitary place, to be alone with God. It seems our healthy relationship with God and with our fellow human beings requires this balance between time in community and time alone. These two aspects of our lives then inform and nourish one another, so that each may thrive.
We are aware of the conflicts, the struggle, we find within prayer as we open ourselves up without reservation to God. Not for nothing is our Lord the God of Israel, meaning ‘one who struggles with God’ (Hebrew, transliterated: yisra’el). Through prayer, we encounter our own reality – we become at our most self-aware – at the same time as we place ourselves entirely at the service of the ultimate reality. This is why prayer is such a powerful activity. As we give ourselves in prayer to Jesus we are empowered and we are at our most alive.
This is healing. Our prayer takes our flawed existence and asks God to reconstruct us. Through prayer, we place ourselves in God’s hands, and we are encouraged to know that, as we pray, Jesus himself has done this – he has been in this situation and we pray as Jesus prayed. We know the incredible relief as we ask for healing and as our prayer is answered. It is most strange. Just a quarter of an hour can turn our life around. All that is good seems to resonate from this brief offering of time to God with Jesus. God within us.
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Love Revealed By Jesus Christ | A Beginning Of A Prayer To Jesus | The Lower-Case ‘i’ Is Deliberate
As i come to Jesus in prayer, i know that it is essential to acknowledge my initial brokenness and my sins. This acknowledgement sets the foundation for my relationship with Christ. i cannot approach Jesus with a self-righteous attitude, pretending that i have it all together. i must come to him in complete humility, recognizing that i am a sinner in need of a saviour.
Acknowledging my initial brokenness and my sins can be a challenging thing to do. It requires me to be vulnerable and honest with myself and with God. It means that i must confront my mistakes and shortcomings and confess them to Jesus. But when i do this, i open myself up to the healing and transformative power of Christ.
The Bible tells me that ‘if i confess my sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive me my sins and purify me from all unrighteousness’ (1 John 1:9). This promise is a reminder that no matter how broken i may feel, i can always turn to Jesus for forgiveness and healing. But i cannot receive this forgiveness unless i am willing to acknowledge my sins and hold nothing back.
Holding nothing back means that i must be completely transparent with Jesus. i cannot hide anything from him, for he already knows everything about me. i must lay all of my fears, doubts, and struggles before him, trusting that he will take them from me and replace them with his peace and joy.
As i come to Jesus in prayer, i remember to acknowledge my initial brokenness and my sins. i hold nothing back, but instead, i am completely transparent with him. When i do this, i open myself up to the transformative power of Christ, and i can experience the joy and peace that comes from a relationship with him.
‘Make haste, O God, to deliver me; make haste to help me, O Lord.’ In this opening verse, the psalmist urgently calls upon God, imploring Him to come quickly to his aid and deliverance. The tone is one of immediate need and a deep reliance on divine assistance [ … ]
Padre Pio, also known as Saint Pio of Pietrelcina, was an Italian Capuchin friar who lived from 1887 to 1968. He is renowned for his piety, his stigmata, and his gift of healing, and has become a beloved figure in the Christian world. Born into a devout Catholic family in Pietrelcina, Italy, Padre Pio felt a calling to the priesthood from a young age. He entered the Capuchin order in 1903 and was ordained a priest in 1910. He spent much of his life as a humble friar, dedicated to prayer, the sacraments, and the service of others. Padre Pio’s most famous spiritual gift was the stigmata, the visible wounds of Christ that he bore on his hands, feet, and side. He experienced this phenomenon for over 50 years, from 1918 until his death in 1968. While some were skeptical of his wounds, many believed them to be a sign of his profound union with Christ and his participation in the suffering of the crucified Christ. In addition to his stigmata, Padre Pio was also known for his gift of healing. Many people came to him seeking physical, emotional, and spiritual healing, and he prayed over them, sometimes prescribing special devotions or treatments. While some were healed miraculously, others did not experience a physical cure, but nonetheless found comfort and peace through his intercession. Padre Pio’s life was marked by his devotion to God and his love for others. He spent long hours in prayer, often in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament, and had a deep appreciation for the power of the Eucharist. He also had a special love for the Virgin Mary, whom he called his ‘Heavenly Mother’, and encouraged others to pray the Rosary. Today, Padre Pio is venerated as a saint by the Catholic Church, and his influence has spread far beyond Italy. He is remembered for his holiness, his humility, and his profound union with Christ, as well as for his compassion and concern for the sick and suffering. Christians of all denominations continue to look to him as a model of faith and devotion to God. Prayer To Saint Padre Pio | A Prayer For Healing Saint Padre Pio is renowned for his gift of healing, which he used to help countless people throughout his life. He believed in the power of prayer and the importance of placing our trust in God, even in the face of illness and suffering. In James 5:16, we are reminded that ‘the prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective’. Padre Pio’s life was a testament to the truth of this verse, as he interceded for those who came to him seeking physical, emotional, and spiritual healing. One of the most striking examples of Padre Pio’s healing ministry was the case of Gemma Di Giorgi, a young girl who had been diagnosed with a life-threatening illness. Her parents brought her to Padre Pio, who prayed over her and blessed her with the sign of the cross. To the amazement of her doctors, Gemma’s condition began to improve, and she was eventually healed completely. In addition to physical healing, Padre Pio also believed in the importance of emotional and spiritual healing. He often spoke of the need for repentance and conversion, and encouraged his followers to turn to God with contrite hearts. In Luke 5:31-32, Jesus tells the Pharisees, ‘It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.’ Padre Pio understood that true healing involves not only the body, but also the soul. For those who are in need of healing, whether physical, emotional, or spiritual, Saint Padre Pio can serve as a powerful intercessor. He believed in the importance of prayer and the power of God’s grace to heal even the most difficult of cases. Through his intercession, we can ask God for the strength and courage to face our illnesses and our struggles, knowing that we are never alone and that God’s healing love is always with us. So let us pray: ‘Saint Padre Pio, you who had a deep faith in God and a profound love for your fellow human beings, we turn to you in our time of need. We ask for your intercession on behalf of all those who are sick and suffering, that they may be healed in body, mind, and spirit. We ask that you pray for us, that we may have the strength and courage to face our illnesses and our struggles with faith and hope, knowing that God is with us always. We trust in God’s love and mercy, and in the power of prayer to bring healing and wholeness to all who seek it. Saint Padre Pio, pray for us, and lead us to the healing grace of God. Amen.’ Prayer To Saint Padre Pio | A Prayer For Peace Saint Padre Pio was a man of peace, who lived his life in the service of God and his fellow human beings. He believed that peace was not merely the absence of conflict, but a state of inner harmony that could only be achieved through a deep and abiding relationship with God. In John 14:27, Jesus tells his disciples, ‘Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.’ Padre Pio understood the importance of this peace, and dedicated his life to helping others find it. One of the ways that Padre Pio fostered peace was through his ministry of reconciliation. He encouraged those who came to him to confess their sins and seek God’s forgiveness, knowing that this was the first step towards inner peace. In Matthew 5:9, Jesus says, ‘Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.’ Padre Pio believed that this was not just a call to be a mediator in conflicts between […]
Saint Ambrose opens with a sweeping affirmation: though all of Scripture breathes God’s grace, the Book of Psalms possesses a distinctive attractiveness. This is not mere literary charm; it is the fruit of divine inspiration that speaks directly to the human heart. The Psalms do not merely record history or doctrine—they pray, praise, plead, and weep with the reader. They give voice to every spiritual state, forming what Ambrose calls a gymnasium for the soul, a place where each believer can exercise the virtues and train for heaven [ … ]
