that, where I am, they also whom Thou hast given Me may be with Me[1], that they may see My glory.”
And having said the Hymn[2], they went forth to the Mount of Olives (Fig. 84, p. 645).
COMMENTARY.
Our Lords Divinity. In His prayer: “Father, glorify Thy Son &c.”, Jesus calls God His Father, and Himself the Son of the Divine Father.. He also speaks of His glory which He had with the Father before the world began, thus teaching most clearly that, before His Incarnation, He was from all eternity with the Father. For our Lord to speak in this way He must be the only-begotten and co-equal Son of God.
Jesus Christ our Mediator. The chapter we have just read shows us that our Lord gave His life for love of us; that it is only through Him that we can come to the Father; that He prepares a place for us in the House of His Father; that He gives everlasting life to His followers; that the Holy Ghost is sent in His name; and that whoever prays in His name will be heard. It follows from all these passages that Jesus Christ is our Mediator with the Father; that through Him we are reconciled to God; and that it is only through Him that we can obtain grace and glory.
The Holy Ghost is the Third Person of the Blessed Trinity. Our Lord calls Him “another Paraclete”, who would, in His own stead, enlighten, sanctify, strengthen and comfort the apostles and those who came after them, till the end of all things. This shows us that the Holy Ghost must be a Divine Person, distinct from the Father and from the Son. We have just read our Lord’s words: “The Father will send Him in My Name”; and in another passage He speaks of “the Paraclete, the Spirit of Truth, whom I will send you from the Father”. The Holy Ghost is, therefore, the Spirit of the Father and the Son, who proceeds from all eternity from the Father and the Son, and who in time was sent by the Father and the Son.
The Infallibility of the Church. Our Lord knew well that the apostles did not fully understand what He taught them, and He knew moreover that, owing to the weakness of human nature, much that He had taught them would, in the course of time, be forgotten, without the aid of a higher and supernatural assistance. He therefore promised to send the Holy Ghost, the Spirit of Truth, to abide with
- ↑ With Me. In the glory of heaven.
- ↑ The Hymn. This hymn consisted of the six psalms of praise (112 — 1 1 7 ). the first two of which were sung before, and the others after the paschal feast. The head of the family, and therefore, in this case, our Lord, said or sang each verse, and the rest responded : ‘‘Alleluia”. (Hence this is called the great Hallel.)
