The prayer of Jesus on Maundy Thursday is called The High Priestly Prayer because with it Jesus functioned as high priest and interceded to the Father, for the disciples first and then for all believers. This prayer was not offered, as was the “Lord’s Prayer,” in order to teach His disciples how to pray. This prayer is truly the Lord’s Prayer, expressing in view of His coming crucifixion, the deepest feelings of His heart at a very critical hour in His life. The beauty and message of these words of our Lord are discovered in the expressions of love and concern for each of us.

Jesus prays that we have His joy fulfilled in us. He is not referring to the ecstasy that accompanies the religious experience of some people, but to true joy, eternal joy, the joy that filled the life of Jesus even while He faced betrayal and execution and that would abide in us even in the midst of this world’s catastrophes and calamities.

Jesus prays that we may be kept. “Holy Father, keep them your name, which you have given me...” We are the subject of God’s promises and Jesus’ prayer that we will be kept by God.

Jesus prays, not that we should be spared the conflicts and struggles of our world, but that in the midst of it all we might walk in the truth. “Sanctify them in your truth; your Word is truth,” prayed our Lord.

Our Lord loves us greatly! It is when we really believe in this love, accept and abide in this divine, everlasting love, that we will become lovers and will be enabled to communicate this love to our fellow beings in our world about us.

We stand in awe of the amazing, incredible, incomprehensible love that our Lord has for us. May our love for Him and all our human creatures grow daily as we reach out to love and serve