SO THAT THE FATHER MAY BE GLORIFIED IN THE SON

1 Cor 15,1-8; Ps 18; Jn 14,6-14
3 MAY
Why must every prayer be raised to the Father through the Son? The motivations are divinely high. Two passages from the Gospel can help us to ascertain the truth.

Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said of him, “Here is a true Israelite. There is no duplicity in him.” Nathanael said to him, “How do you know me?” Jesus answered and said to him, “Before Philip called you, I saw you under the fig tree.” Nathanael answered him, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel.” Jesus answered and said to him, “Do you believe because I told you that I saw you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than this.” And he said to him, “Amen, amen, I say to you, you will see the sky opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man” (Jn 1,47-51).

At that time Jesus said in reply, “I give praise to you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned you have revealed them to the childlike. Yes, Father, such has been your gracious will. All things have been handed over to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him. “Come to me, all you who labour and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for your selves. For my yoke is easy, and my burden light” (Mt 11,25-30).

In the Gospel according to John Jesus is the ladder that unites heaven and earth, his Father and men. Nothing descends from heaven to earth except through Christ Jesus. Nothing from the earth rises up to heaven, except through Him. There are no other stairs. Even in heaven between the Father and all the blessed of Paradise the only ladder that reaches the heart of the Father is the heart of Christ. Everything is accomplished in Christ, through Christ and with Christ.

In the Gospel according to Matthew the same truth is affirmed. By saying Jesus that everything was given to him by his Father, we must understand for everything every grace, every truth, every revelation and every mediation, including listening to prayer. We pray in Christ, with Christ and for Christ, the Father listens to us. One does not pray in Christ, with Him and for Him, the Father cannot listen to us. He misses the ladder, he is deprived of the mediator. But how do we pray in Christ, with Christ and for Christ? Dwelling us in the Word, living the Word and living for the Word. Christ and his Word are inseparable forever. He is in Christ who is in his Word. He prays for Christ, who gave his life to the Word for the announcement and the testimony of it. We pray outside the Word, we do not pray for Christ, because we are not in Christ and we are not with Christ. The Word is the ladder that makes us enter the heart of Christ. The heart of Christ is the ladder that introduces us into the heart of the Father.

Jesus said to him, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you know me, then you will also know my Father. From now on you do know him and have seen him.” Philip said to him, “Master, show us the Father, and that will be enough for us.” Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you for so long a time and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak on my own. The Father who dwells in me is doing his works. Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else, believe because of the works themselves. Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever believes in me will do the works that I do, and will do greater ones than these, because I am going to the Father. And whatever you ask in my name, I will do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything of me in my name, I will do it.

The Father wants the whole world to know who Jesus is for Him: his All. He also wants it to know that He does nothing without Christ. Whoever wants to find Him, the Father, can only find Him in the Son. Who wants to love him can love him only in the Son. Whoever wants to be heard by him, can be it only in the Son for the Son. Without the Son, the Father not only does not exist, he does not want to exist and or act, or speak and or operate. He does not even want to be invoked, praised, prayed and celebrated. Everything must take place in his Son, in his Beloved. The Father according to the Gospel and the God without the Gospel are as distant as Heaven and hell: irreconcilable forever. I am for the Father of Christ Jesus.

Virgin Mary, Mother of the Redemption, Angels and Saints give us true faith in the Father.