Thursday in the Seventh Week of Easter, May 17, 2024

John 17, 20-26

Lifting up his eyes to heaven, Jesus prayed saying: “I pray not only for these, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, so that they may all be one, as you, Father, are in me and I in you, that they also may be in us, that the world may believe that you sent me. And I have given them the glory you gave me, so that they may be one, as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may be brought to perfection as one, that the world may know that you sent me, and that you loved them even as you loved me. Father, they are your gift to me. I wish that where I am they also may be with me, that they may see my glory that you gave me, because you loved me before the foundation of the world. Righteous Father, the world also does not know you, but I know you, and they know that you sent me. I made known to them your name and I will make it known, that the love with which you loved me may be in them and I in them.”

Today’s Gospel Reading is taken from the Lord’s prayer to his Father during the Last Supper, hours before he is arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane.

“I pray not only for these, but also for those who will believe in me through their word.”  The Lord shows concern for those who would believe in him after his Resurrection throughout St. John’s Gospel.  The signs that he performs of which St. John writes are meant for us today as well as for the people of the time, and John, knowing this, gives very precise details so that we can almost see them ourselves.  And then, after he has risen, he appears to St. Thomas and says to him, “Blessed are they that have not seen and have believed” (John 20, 29).

“So that they may all be one, as you, Father, are in me and I in you, that they also may be in us, that the world may believe that you sent me.”  When a ruler in this world exhorts his people to unity it is so that he can rule them more effectively.  When Jesus prays for unity for his followers it is so that they may be saved.  The unity that makes us one in Christ that comes through baptism enables us to assist one another on a spiritual level.  1 Corinthians 12, 4–6: “Now there are diversities of graces, but the same Spirit. And there are diversities of ministries, but the same Lord. And there are diversities of operations, but the same God, who works all in all.”

That the world may know that you sent me, and that you loved them even as you loved me. Father, they are your gift to me.  The Holy Church, which is the members of Christ’s Body bound together in him, is the great sign that the Father sent his Son into the world.  “I wish that where I am they also may be with me, that they may see my glory that you gave me, because you loved me before the foundation of the world.”  The Lord Jesus wishes that we remain in such union with him that wherever we go he goes with us, and that where he goes, we go with him.  Thus, if we are in the deepest prison for his sake, he is there.  And dwelling in heaven, we will be there with him.  The son speaks of the glory that he received from the Father from all eternity in begetting him and desires that those who belong to him may see it and so share in it.

“Righteous Father, the world also does not know you, but I know you, and they know that you sent me.”  The world, that is, those who pursue pleasure, power, fame, wealth, and the like, do not believe in God and deny his existence.  Jesus, who has rejected all these things, knows the Father, and those who belong to him believe that he was sent by the Father from heaven — that he is divine.  “I made known to them your name and I will make it known, that the love with which you loved me may be in them and I in them.”  The Son makes known to those who belong to him that God is Father.  God was not known as the Father in the Old Testament.  God is the Creator but not Father.  He becomes our “Father” through baptism, which makes us members of his Son, and in that way we become his adopted children.  This adoption grants us the love of God as his adopted children and not merely as his creatures.  

This love of the Father for his adopted children is deeply personal and can be increased in the sense that our greater conformity with his only-begotten Son, through good works and prayer, enlarges our capacity for experiencing his love.

The thirty-sixth article in our continuing series on the Holy Mass: The Priest’s Chalice

A ritual cup has been used at Mass to hold the wine, offered to God, which is changed by the priest into the Blood of our Savior Jesus Christ, since the very first Mass, as is clear from the Lord’s words to his Apostles, “This is the chalice, the new covenant in my Blood, which shall be shed for you” (Luke 22, 20).  The chalice is mentioned in the earliest descriptions of the Mass in the writings of St. Justin and Tertullian.  It, along with the paten, on which the host is laid, are essential for the Sacrifice of the Mass.

Canon Law specifies that the chalice be made of a precious metal such as silver or gold, and of no breakable material like crystal of pottery.  The lip of the chalice must be fashioned in such a way as to facilitate drinking and avoid spillage.  The chalice, because it is a sacred vessel, must be kept in a secure place when not in use at Mass.  It may not be used for any other function than at Mass.  if it is damaged in some way that makes it useless for Mass, it is to be buried underground.

While most parishes have a chalice for general use, most priests own their own, either as a gift or as having been purchased by the priest.  A chalice presented as a gift often has some memorial attached to it.  It was common not long ago for mothers of priests to have their wedding ring attached to a chalice the parents gave to their newly ordained son.  The bottom of the paten (which is purchased with the chalice) might be engraved to indicate a dedication.  A chalice that is given as a gift reminds the priest at Mass, as he uses it, of those who gave it to him.  

The chalice is “clothed” with its own “vestment” as the priest is, at Mass.  first, a long linen strip, usually folded, is laid over the chalice’s mouth so that it hangs down on both side of it.  This is the purificator, which the priest uses to wipe out the chalice after he has drunk the Precious Blood.  It also protects the lip of the chalice from the paten, containing the host, which is laid on it.  The pall, which is a square of stiffened linen, is laid over the paten.  This covering is used to prevent foreign objects from falling into the chalice during Mass.  Over this is placed the chalice veil, of the same color as the priest’s chasuble.  On top of this is placed a burse, which is formed by two stiffened pieces of linen fastened on three sides.  The verse is used to house the corporal, which is spread over the altar like a small tablecloth and on which the chalice and paten are set.

Next: The Books Used at Mass