Jesus shares with us the love he gave his apostles

A reflection on the daily readings, for the Memorial of St. Bernard, abbot and doctor of the church, by Father Perry.

By Father Perry D. Leiker, pastor

This extraordinary, intelligent, and deeply spiritual man made a great impact in the church and in the world in his day, and for so many years that followed. Even for us today, a parish church and community was named after him, and to benefit from him as our patron and intercessor.

And now, as we celebrate the beginning of our 100th year, it is as if the parish was born on this day. And exactly one year from today, we will have culminated in our 100th year. This is indeed a glorious moment in time, and a song of appreciation to God and to all who have come before us here in this little Vineyard of the Lord.

Having chosen the readings from the feast day presented to us by the USCCB, we are given a beautiful text from the Wisdom literature and from the book of Sirach.

Here, Woman Wisdom comes to the vulnerable man, to the man who is “practiced in the law.”

That man, who follows the law, “will come to wisdom” who is “Motherlike.”

And the benefits and blessings the man will receive from Wisdom are totally embracing and enriching —

“He will lean upon her and not fall,
he will trust in her and not be put to shame.

“She will exalt him.

She will open his mouth
and fill him with the spirit of wisdom and understanding,
and clothe him with the robe of glory.
Joy and gladness he will find.”

To be clothed in wisdom and glory, what a gift to come to God and walk hand in hand with God, and to experience the blessings and promise of Jesus, as expressed in today’s verse before the Gospel, when Jesus exclaims —

“Remain in my love, says the Lord;
whoever lives in me and I in him will bear much fruit.
Alleluia.”

+ What a gift to be blessed today with the 17th chapter of John’s Gospel. Over the years, the scriptures were organized into chapters and verses so that they could be easily read, referenced, and studied. And the copiers of the Bible entered titles to chapters like the one given to this 17th chapter, “The Prayer of Jesus.”

And it begins —

“Jesus raised his eyes to heaven and said: ‘”Holy Father,
I pray not only for these, but also for those …'”

Jesus prays for their unity with him, the Father, and one another —

“That the love with which you loved me
may be in them and I in them.”

And with these concluding words the chapter ends.

The very next words opening Chapter 18 begin with another title — a very haunting title — “Jesus Arrested.”

And the story begins to come to a climax, but only after Jesus (and only in John’s Gospel) prays this incredible prayer for them and for us.

I certainly do not know, and I certainly suspect that this may have been a favorite passage (Chapter 17) of St. Bernard. I further suspect that he attempted faithfully, repeatedly, and successfully to make this prayer of Jesus a reality for his fellow monks and for all who he guided in the church of his time.

History tells us that he personally was responsible for 65 of the 300 Cistercian monasteries founded during the 38 years that he was abbot. And at the time of his death, there were about 700 monks in the monastery of Clairvaux.

And so on this his feast day, and ours, too, we turn to St. Bernard, and proudly and lovingly say —

“St. Bernard, pray for us!”

“¡San Bernardo, ruega por nosotros!”