“I pray for those whom you have given me, for they are yours”
John 17,1-11
Sermon of St. Francis de Sales of February 27, 1622.
Works X 266-268
The great Apostle St. John assures that anyone who says that he loves God and does not love his neighbor, is a liar; on the contrary, he who says that he loves his neighbor and does not love God contravenes the truth, because it cannot be done.
To love God without loving our neighbor, who is created in His image and likeness, is impossible.
But what should be this union and concord that we must have together? If our Lord had not explained it himself, no one would have had the audacity to do so in the terms he used. “My Father,” he said at the Last Supper, when he bore this incomparable witness of his love for men by instituting the sacrament of the Eucharist, “I beg you that all those whom you have entrusted to me may be one, as you and I, Father, are one.” And to show that he spoke not only for the Apostles but for all men: “I pray not only for these, but for all those who will believe in me by the word of my disciples.”
Who would have dared to make such a comparison, and ask that we be united as the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are?
This comparison seems very strange, for the union of the three divine Persons is incomprehensible, and no one, whoever he may be, can imagine this simple union and unity so unspeakably simple. Therefore, we must not try to achieve equality in this union, because that cannot be done; We just have to get as close as possible, depending on the capacity we have. Our Lord does not call us to equality, but only to the quality of this union, that is, we must love each other and be united as purely and perfectly as possible.
So show that you are truly His children by loving one another with tenderness.