Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
“Jesus looked up to heaven and said: ‘Father the hour has come!’ “(Jn 17:1)
When “his hour” came, Jesus prayed to the Father. (Cf. Jn 17.) His prayer, the longest transmitted by the Gospel, embraces the whole economy of creation and salvation, as well as his death and Resurrection. The prayer of the Hour of Jesus always remains his own, just as his Passover “once for all” remains ever present in the liturgy of his Church. (CCC 2746)
Christian Tradition rightly calls this prayer the “priestly” prayer of Jesus. It is the prayer of our high priest, inseparable from his sacrifice, from his passing over (Passover) to the Father to whom he is wholly “consecrated.” (Cf. Jn 17:11,13,19.) (CCC 2747)
In this Paschal and sacrificial prayer, everything is recapitulated in Christ: (Cf. Eph 1:10.) God and the world; the Word and the flesh; eternal life and time; the love that hands itself over and the sin that betrays it; the disciples present and those who believe in him by their word; humiliation and glory. It is the prayer of unity. (CCC 2748)
Jesus fulfilled the work of the Father completely; his prayer, like his sacrifice, extends until the end of time. The prayer of this hour fills the end-times and carries them toward their consummation. Jesus, the Son to whom the Father has given all things, has given himself wholly back to the Father, yet expresses himself with a sovereign freedom (Cf. Jn 17:11,13,19,24.) by virtue of the power the Father has given him over all flesh. The Son, who made himself Servant, is Lord, the Pantocrator. Our high priest who prays for us is also the one who prays in us and the God who hears our prayer. (CCC 2749.)
By entering into the holy name of the Lord Jesus we can accept, from within, the prayer he teaches us: “Our Father!” His priestly prayer fulfills, from within, the great petitions of the Lord’s Prayer: concern for the Father’s name; (Cf. Jn 17:6,11,12,26.) passionate zeal for his kingdom (glory); (Cf. Jn 17:1,5,10,22,23-26.) the accomplishment of the will of the Father, of his plan of salvation; (Cf. Jn 17:2,4,6,9,11,12,24.) and deliverance from evil. (Cf. Jn 17:15.)
Finally, in this prayer Jesus reveals and gives to us the “knowledge,” inseparably one, of the Father and of the Son, (Cf. Jn 17:3,6-10,25.) which is the very mystery of the life of prayer. (CCC 2751)