Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory which You have given Me; for You loved Me before the foundation of the world.

These are the next words of Jesus’ prayer before He left the upper room where He instituted the sacrament of the Eucharist at the Last Supper.

Jesus now speaks to His Father in heaven: “Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me…” Who are they? The apostles and all who have believed in Christ and received Him.

“…that they may be with Me…” Where? Jesus lets us into a secret: “…where I am…”. And where is Jesus? When He was praying, He was physically present in Jerusalem, in the upper room, but through prayer He was in union with His Father. Now Jesus is in glory but at the same time He is mysteriously present in all who received Him. We can live this unity in prayer, realizing the deep truth of unity with Christ, which He speaks about and emphasizes in many places. The most important thing in our life is to be with Christ! Where? Everywhere! The Apostle says: I am crucified with Christ… we died with Him, we were raised up with Him, and seated with Him in heaven, and we shall also reign with Him.

To be with Him, we first need to receive Him and then to persevere on this path of faith, abiding in Him and His Word. The Spirit of God will then guide us little by little into this deep unity in prayer. Let us remember: we are mere pilgrims on earth. This is the place of struggle, suffering and persecution. Glory will only be after death. Life is the time of smears, crown of thorns, ridicule, persecution and cross. In heaven we will share in the glory of Christ. Jesus says: “…that they may behold My glory which You have given Me.” Jesus points out here that the Father loved the Son before the creation of our earth and the whole universe.

Christ’s prayer is a prayer for the unity of disciples with Him and the Father. In the previous verses, Jesus prays: “…that they may be one just as We are one: I in them, and You in Me.”

The question of unity and glory reveals the mystery of the Mystical Body of Christ – the Church, which will attain perfection in heaven. What amazing hope given us by God that we shall behold and share in His glory in heaven!

Download: Reflection on Jn 17:24