I wonder how Isaiah mustered the courage to say to God, “Here I am. Send me.” Because saying these words and acting on them will certainly reap eternal rewards, yet will also lead to a radical change in one’s life. 

An exegesis on this verse explained that the Lord prepared Isaiah for His mission in this way: 1) He revealed Himself to Isaiah as King; 2) He led Isaiah to a deep understanding of His own sinfulness; and 3) He forgives Isaiah after his confession and atonement of his sin.

At every Mass, I believe the Lord prepares me in the same way. As the priest raises the host during the Consecration, I come into the Lord’s presence and I am moved to declare, “My Lord, my King, and my all.” While praying the Our Father, I recall my sins, beg His forgiveness, and ask for His protection from evil. As the Mass ends, and the priest says in the Dismissal, “Go in peace to love and serve the Lord,” I thank Him for sending me anew and equipping me for His next mission. 

Dina Pecaña (dina.p@shepherdsvoice.com.ph)

reflect

The Lord asks you: “Whom shall I send?” What is your reply?

Lord, I am unworthy and afraid. Yet You still call me to serve You and Your people. Use me, Lord. Use my imperfections to reveal the perfect God You are. Amen.

St. Gaspar Bertoni, pray for us.

Feast of Our Lord Jesus Christ, The Eternal High Priest Let us reflect upon how God calls all of us into the mission of the Church. We are given the Holy Spirit at Baptism, so we need to take responsibility for this calling. The Church is supposed to provide us with living examples of the many ways we can serve Him. Jesus, the eternal High Priest, has shown us what it takes to give our lives in the service of others through the example of His life. Let us reflect on this and ask ourselves how we can best place our lives at the service of the Gospel.  

¹ In the year King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and his train filled the temple. ² Above him stood the seraphim; each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he flew. And one called to another and said: ³ ‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory’! ⁴ At the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. ⁸ And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, ‘Whom shall I send? Who will go for us?’ Then I said, ‘Here I am! Send me.’  

Responsorial Psalm | Psalm 23:2-3, 5, 6 

R: The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.

² Fresh and green are the pastures where he gives me repose. Near restful waters he leads me; ³ he revives my soul. He guides me along the right path, for the sake of his name. (R) ⁵ You have prepared a table before me in the sight of my foes. My head you have anointed with oil; my cup overflowing. (R) ⁶ Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life. In the Lord’s own house I dwell for length of days unending. (R) 

Gospel | John 17:1-2, 9, 14-26

Jesus promises us that He will be with us. He sends us the Holy Spirit to be our advocate and guide, as well as His Word that will accompany us in our lives of discipleship. This is easier for us than the Early Church, as we all havecopies of the Scriptures that we can take with us wherever we go. The first followers of Jesus only relied on their memory of what they heard preachers proclaim. Let us be faithful in using the Scriptures daily so we can be nourished and grow in our relationship with Jesus.

Gospel Acclamation

I will pour clean water upon you and I will give you a new heart; a new spirit I will put within you.

¹ Jesus lifted up his eyes to heaven and said, ‘Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you, ² since you have given him power over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. ⁹ I am praying for them; I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours. ¹⁴ I have given them your word; and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. ¹⁵ I do not pray that you should take them out of the world, but that you should keep them from the evil one. ¹⁶ They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. ¹⁷ Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. ¹⁸ As you did send me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. ¹⁹ And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be consecrated in truth. ²⁰ ‘I do not pray for these only, but also for those who believe in me through their word, 2¹ that they may all be one; even as you, Father, are in me and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. ²² The glory which you have given me I have given them, that they may be one even as we are one, ²³ I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and have loved them even as you loved me. ²⁴ Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to behold my glory which you have given me in your love for me before the foundation of the world. ²⁵ O righteous Father, the world has not known you, but I have known you; and these know that you have sent me. ²⁶ I made known to them your name, and I will make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.’

Read the Bible in one year! Read 1 KINGS 21 - 22 today.

The Ultimate Goal Is Unity

John presents us with one of the priestly prayers of Jesus, and in it, one of the things that He prays for is the unity of the Church. Unity should be one of the strongest witnessing points of the Church, but the reality is that the Church is divided between Catholic, Orthodox, Protestant, and numerous other groups that have split from the mainline churches at one time or another in history. Some people seem to regard splits as essential and even good for the health of the Church. I think they are a disaster and certainly not willed by God. People will defend the splits by saying the original was not being faithful to the Gospel, or for one reason or another. However, if we read today’s Gospel and honestly reflect upon it, we can see that Jesus does not at all support the division of the Body of Christ into different parts.

The heart of Jesus is a heart that desires unity. What is the nature of the Gospel if it is not a call for us to reunite with God after a life of sin and, thus, become one with Him? The very heart of the Gospel speaks of a power to unite people together with God, not split them apart along national, doctrinal, or disciplinary lines. We have to ask ourselves how seriously we are going to take the words of Jesus in this Gospel. If we want to take His words seriously, then what are we doing to heal the divisions within our own communities and within the whole Body of Christ? If not, how can we say that the Scripture is the Word of God if we are just going to pick and choose those portions we will accept and those we will reject?

The Holy Spirit has been sent to draw us to God. As we all approach that single entity we call God, we will be drawn closer together ourselves. This physical imagery must also be translated into reality in our hearts and minds so that we will not just be near to one another but that we all become true brothers and sisters in the Son of God—Jesus.

 Fr. Steve Tynan, MGL

reflection questions

How can you work to bring greater unity between the various Christian groups that you relate to? Can you be an instrument of unity for the Church?

Jesus, You desire that all who follow You be of one mind and one heart. Teach us how to work with one another so that the Gospel will be proclaimed clearly and with power.

Today, I pray for: ________________________________________