(Acts 1:12-14; Psalm 26; 1 Peter 4:13-16; John 17:1-11)

A key element of our Faith is the dialogue we have with God; which we call prayer. In our scripture readings today, we have examples of prayer. In the Gospel, we have Jesus praying to the Father. He is offering prayer by glorifying the Father and at the same time, telling the disciples that He has completed [or will soon complete] the work His Father set him.

He also prays for the disciples, acknowledging that they have accepted Him as the Christ, sent by God Almighty.

In the first reading, we have the Apostles and other disciples, meeting with Our Lady and other women. They spent their time in prayer.

Can we imagine what that room was like?

Can we imagine being in their presence?

They also used this time to be active and planned for the next stage of growth of the Church. It was during these days that they selected Mathias to replace Judas, again they did this in prayer and then sought Divine intervention by casting lots. We are called to follow the example of the Apostles and to pray.

At this time,

·       We pray for an outpouring of the Holy Spirit on all Christians, so that the Church founded by Jesus and developed by the Apostles can be one again.

·       We pray for an outpouring of the Holy Spirit on those preparing for Confirmation, so that they can reignite the faith of those around them, just like the Apostles and the other disciples did, that Pentecost Sunday.

·       We pray for an outpouring of the Holy Spirit to restore peace in our world.

·       We pray for our leaders that they will see the value of every person from conception to natural death and that they will work to ensure that every person they serve is given every opportunity to thrive and contribute to Society.

We also remember that prayer, being a dialogue, involves listening. In the quiet during our prayer time, we need to follow the example of the Apostles and listen. What does God ask us to do? As I mentioned earlier, the Apostles used this time to plan the next stages of the Church. During our prayer time, do we ask how God wants us to be involved in the next stages of the Church? Our Diocese has a ten-year plan, have we looked at this recently to see how we can actively engage with it? Can we see where God wants us to be involved?

We can sometimes think that these things are difficult, that it is only really special people that God calls, that we are not able to do God’s work. But that is not true. Jesus called ordinary men and women to be His disciples. Some of them were named as Apostles and they were commissioned to go out to the whole world and baptise in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Every single person who has been baptised is an adopted child of God; we are all special. We have all been baptised as priest, prophet and king and this makes us all heirs to the kingdom. We have all been given a task to do, a task that only we can do.

Jesus told the Apostles to go and stay in Jerusalem and await the gift He had promised; that gift is the Holy Spirit. We therefore join in prayer with Catholics around the world and pray for that gift, it is a gift promised to all who believe. The promise was made by Jesus and Jesus keeps all of His promises.

Further Reading

The Catechism of the Catholic Church

Seventh Sunday of Easter: prayerand the spiritual life

CCC 2746-2751: Christ’s prayer at the Last Supper
CCC 312, 434, 648, 664: the Father glorifies Christ
CCC 2614, 2741: Jesus prays for us
CCC 726, 2617-2619, 2673-2679: at prayer with Mary

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We pray in today’s collect that we “may experience, as he promised, until the end of the world, his abiding presence among us.” The presence of someone is very important as humans. When we lack the presence of a loved one, it can be very difficult. We feel empty and sad. As we just celebrated the Ascension this past Thursday, I can imagine the apostles and disciples of Jesus having a feeling of sadness in that Jesus was no longer physically present among them. Sometimes in our relationship with God, we don’t sense the presence of God, especially in moments of hardship. Although we cannot ‘see’ God we do know he is present when we feed the hungry and clothe the naked, when someone’s heart is broken, when two or three are gathered in Jesus’s name and when we share in the Eucharist together. The liturgy is also a place of encounter with God. Specifically, in the Eucharist, in the ministry, in the Word of God, and as the assembled People of God. In such as way, it is important that we come together every Sunday as a family – to encounter God and each other. After Communion, we especially pray that God will graciously be present to his people. As Christians, it is our task to be present to the people in our world, even if might have nothing to say or do. “I will not leave you orphans, says the Lord; I will come to you again, and your heart will rejoice, alleluia”

Prayer of the Faithful 

For the Church, the Bride of Christ, as she waits for her Lord’s Second Coming – 

may she show forth to the world her unity with Christ her Lord, and by her life of prayer and action, may she hasten his Second Coming.                   

For all who risk martyrdom for their Christian faith – 

that the love of God may keep their hearts in peace and that the ears of their oppressors may be unstopped to hear their words of grace and salvation.

For unity in our community – 

may we realise, through our union with the Risen Lord, that what divides us on purely human terms is of little consequence compared to our common faith and hope.

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These hymns have been chosen from various sources:

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Be not afraid (CFE830, L964)

Be still and know I am with you (CFE690, L698)

O thou who at thy Eucharist did pray (CFE5576, L833)

Come down O love divine (CFE125), L303)

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Key

CFE - Celebration Hymnal for Everyone

L – Laudate

LHON – Liturgical Hymns Old and New (Mayhew, 1999)

TCH – The Catholic Hymnbook (Gracewing)