The similarity between Jesus’s prayer in today’s Gospel and the Suscipe (or the Take, Lord, and Receive) prayer at the end of the Spiritual Exercises is remarkable.  Each of these prayers has as its foundation the understanding that all that we have, and all that we are, comes from God.  

These words that Jesus speaks in today’s Gospel come just before he is arrested.  His prayer is that his followers remain close to the Father.  In the style so typical of John’s Gospel, the language Jesus uses is verbose, to say the least, and beautifully poetic.  Each sentence in this passage could be its own prayer meditation.  

Referring to his disciples, Jesus says, “they accepted [the words you gave to me] and truly understood that I came from you, and they have believed that you sent me.”  How can you act today based on your understanding that all that Jesus commanded us to do came from the Father?

—The Jesuit prayer team