Gospel: June 3, 2025
June 3, 2025 (Tuesday)
7th Week of Easter
Psalter: Week 3 / (Red)
St. Charles Lwanga and companions, martyrs
Ps 68:10-11, 20-21
Sing to God, O kingdoms of the earth.
1st Reading: Acts 20:17-27
Gospel: John 17:1-11a
After saying this, Jesus lifted up his eyes to heaven and said, “Father, the hour has come! Give glory to your Son, that the Son may give glory to you. You have given him power over all humanity, so that he may give eternal life to all those you entrusted to him. For this is eternal life: to know you, the only true God, and the One you sent, Jesus Christ. I have glorified you on earth and finished the work that you gave me to do. Now, Father, give me, in your presence, the same glory I had with you before the world began. I have made your name known to those you gave me from the world. They were yours, and you gave them to me, and they kept your word. And now they know that whatever you entrusted to me, is indeed from you. I have given them the teaching I received from you, and they accepted it, and know in truth that I came from you; and they believe that you sent me. I pray for them. I do not pray for the world, but for those who belong to you, and whom you have given to me. Indeed, all I have is yours, and all you have is mine; and now they are my glory. I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I come to you. Holy Father, keep those you have given me in your name, so that they may be one, as we also are.
Reflection:
“To have life to the full.”
Saint Irenaeus said, “the glory of God is man [a human being] fully alive.” Every person is an act of praise to their Creator through their very creation. God delights in his people and wants them to have life to the full (Jn 10:10). It was for this that he sent his Son to heal humanity, since, according to St. Irenaeus, the fullness of human life is “the vision of God.” Thus, we depend upon God continually and thrive when we live in union with him. The hope of heaven (the beatific vision) gives meaning to martyrdom. Saint Charles Lwanga and the other Ugandan martyrs did not reject their faith nor their love of God despite the threat of a terrible death after refusing to participate in the immoral behavior of their King. Therefore, in their death, they were fully alive and glorious in their martyrdom, as they journeyed to a complete vision of God. This is why the life and death of God’s faithful are both important for God, since their continued fidelity is precious to Him (cf. Ps 116:15). It’s that fidelity that leads Jesus to say, “now they are my glory.” Lord, help us to grow in fidelity.
