Homily for Thursday of the 7th Week of Easter

For daily readings, see http://www.usccb.org/nab/readings/050808.shtml

Mary, Queen of Vocations, pray for us!
Come, Holy Spirit, enlighten our hearts, and enkindle in us the fire of your love!

Today's Gospel reading from John is a beautiful prayer by Jesus describing the kingdom to which His followers are invited. Jesus prays that His disciples would share in the oneness of the Father and Son, in the perfection of the Godhead, in the glory of the Trinity, in the exchange of love between the Father and Son, and in Jesus' seat at the right hand of the Father. In other words, Jesus is praying that the new destiny shared by those who are members of His body far exceeds anything that Adam and Eve experienced in the garden, and so far beyond what has dawned upon the mind of man. One of the greatest inhibitors to people's seeking to be more religious is a failure to contemplate just how great a gift Jesus is offering. We do not contemplate heaven enough, nor do we meditate on how to place our lives within the kingdom of heaven. Instead, we spend a lot of time meditating on how to make the kingdom of heaven a part of our lives, and in so doing, our vision of the glory of heaven is impoverished. This is why Jesus says that it is better for us if He goes to the Father to prepare a place for us. The Ascension keeps our attention to the new destiny opened by the Resurrection of Christ, and then gives way to Pentecost. The Holy Spirit moves those born of the Spirit to seek those things that are above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God!

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