Gospel
Jerusalem Bible © 1966 by Darton, Longman & Todd Ltd and Doubleday & Company Inc.
Jesus said to his disciples:
‘Do not let your hearts be troubled.
Trust in God still, and trust in me.
There are many rooms in my Father’s house;
if there were not, I should have told you.
I am going now to prepare a place for you,
and after I have gone and prepared you a place,
I shall return to take you with me;
so that where I am
you may be too.
You know the way to the place where I am going.’
Thomas said, ‘Lord, we do not know where you are going, so how can we know the way?’ Jesus said:
‘I am the Way, the Truth and the Life.
No one can come to the Father except through me.
If you know me, you know my Father too.
From this moment you know him and have seen him.’
Philip said, ‘Lord, let us see the Father and then we shall be satisfied.’ ‘Have I been with you all this time, Philip,’ said Jesus to him ‘and you still do not know me?
‘To have seen me is to have seen the Father,
so how can you say, “Let us see the Father”?
Do you not believe
that I am in the Father and the Father is in me?
The words I say to you I do not speak as from myself:
it is the Father, living in me, who is doing this work.
You must believe me when I say
that I am in the Father and the Father is in me;
believe it on the evidence of this work, if for no other reason.
I tell you most solemnly,
whoever believes in me
will perform the same works as I do myself,
he will perform even greater works,
because I am going to the Father.’
(John 14:1–12)
Did you know?
Points of interest and Catholic lore
This text comes from a long section of John’s Gospel known as the ‘Farewell Discourse’, during which Jesus gives final instruction to the disciples at the Last Supper. Perhaps this echoes something of your own experience of the period of mystagogy.
Exploring the Word
Today’s gospel draws our attention to the time when Jesus will depart from the disciples (the Ascension is two weeks away). When Jesus is gone, the disciples must continue the task that he has begun. One can imagine their fear and uncertainty in being left with such a monumental challenge. Philip’s question, ‘Lord, how can we know the way?’, shows their fear clearly enough. But help is available. Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life. He is both the map and the destination. Disciples are called to adopt Jesus’ lifestyle, his approach to God, to others, to all creation. In living as Jesus did, living the life of faith, the disciples will know the truth and will have life. This life of faith and living the way of Jesus, God’s way in the world, will enable the disciples not only to continue the work of Jesus but to perform even greater works.
- In what ways does your commitment to living this life of faith get tested each day?
- What great works are you now called on to perform?
- What are some ways to continue to deepen your knowledge and love of Jesus?
Making connections
Opportunities for group discussion and personal prayer
- Now that you have come to the Father through Jesus Christ, what sense do you have of the Father living in you?
- What are the things that cause your heart to be troubled?
- What are the things that cause you to be satisfied?
- ‘I am going to prepare a place for you.’ Share reflections on those places that are special to you for some reason. Is there a particular place where you find it easiest to experience the presence of God in your life?
- Allow your own home and its various rooms to remind you of your Father’s house this week. Be hospitable and open the doors of your home to someone in need of company.
- Use today’s psalm response as your prayer this week:
Lord, let your mercy be on us,
as we place our trust in you.
Sharing the Tradition
A closer look at the Scripture of the day, to see how it makes more explicit God’s word to us through the teachings of Jesus Christ
Living the way of Jesus is to choose life. An exploration of what ‘Life in Christ’ means takes up an entire section in the Catechism of the Catholic Church. The catechism states that ‘Catechesis has to reveal in all clarity the joy and the demands of the way of Christ’ (CCC, §1697). As the newly baptised may be drawing to the end of their formal period of catechesis, while other catechumens may be continuing, it could be useful to explore the type of catechesis needed for continual ‘newness of life’: a catechesis of the Holy Spirit, of grace, of the Beatitudes, of sin and forgiveness, of human and Christian virtues, of charity and of the Church.
- Using the catechism (CCC, §1697), explore what all these are and how they may be useful in ongoing formation and growth in the life of faith.
- What does it mean to claim that ‘the first and last point of reference of catechesis will always be Jesus Christ himself’ (CCC, §1698). Explore this with relation to today’s gospel.
Symbols and images
The Father’s house, of which Jesus speaks here, refers to that spiritual state of being in which we will live knowing God, as we are already known so intimately by him. It is Jesus who grants access to this ‘house’ or state of being. He is the Way, the Truth and the Life for those who believe. In what ways do you feel ‘at home’ in the Father’s house?
Living the Word
Practical ideas for group leaders to employ in connecting Scripture and daily life, with suggestions for music and environment
- The rooms of the Father’s house are reflected in the various works of the Church. How many ‘rooms’ are there in your parish community? Is everyone welcomed and encouraged to participate? Invite the newly baptised to get involved.
- Continue to use the Easter colours and symbols as a focus for prayer. Pray for each other. You could perhaps use an adaptation of the prayers of intercession for one of the scrutiny liturgies. Sing an Easter song. Conclude by reciting the Creed together.