The Seventh Sunday of Easter [A]
Acts 1:12-14  +  1 Peter 4:13-16  +  John 17:1-11

Jesus raised his eyes to heaven and said, “Father, the hour has come.”

To see life from the Christian point of view, one must view events from at least two perspectives simultaneously.  Sometimes, the Church in her Sacred Liturgy asks us to view events from more than two perspectives.  During Advent, for example, there are three distinct perspectives that the Christian must reflect upon:  the historical coming of Jesus at Bethlehem into the world, the present coming of Jesus through the sacraments into the Christian’s soul, and the future coming of Jesus at the end of time to judge mankind.  Each of these three sheds light upon the other two.  All three together reveal the depth of the Christian life.

In the latter weeks of Eastertide, there are two distinct perspectives that the Christian must keep in mind at the same time.  This Sunday we hear one perspective from the Gospel Reading.  The Second emerges from the very day within Eastertide that the Church celebrates today.