I wish that where I am they also may be with me,
that they may see my glory that you gave me

Ok, so where is Jesus. He prayed fervently for us to be one with each other, and one with Him. He prayed that we would be with Him, that we would see His glory.

Do you see it? Do you see Him?

That is the question that lurks in our minds. Where is Jesus? Why can’t I see Him? Why isn’t He pulling my bacon out of the fire?

St. Stephen knew and saw Jesus:

Stephen, filled with the Holy Spirit,
looked up intently to heaven and saw the glory of God
and Jesus standing at the right hand of God

…and he told the Chief Priest and the Sanhedrin all about it:

and Stephen said, —Behold, I see the heavens opened
and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.—

I wonder if Stephen was thinking about his bacon? I wonder if Stephen was concerned for himself as:

they cried out in a loud voice,
covered their ears, and rushed upon him together.
They threw him out of the city, and began to stone him.

Jesus was certainly with Stephen and gave him a glimpse of the heavenly truth. It is a truth that surpasses all knowledge, a truth that can only be revealed by the light of faith.

The thing that Stephen knew, by light of his profound faith in Christ, is that Jesus is omnipresent. He is real in every aspect of our lives. He comes to us in our dreams and in our work. He sits with us in our loneliness, and at our parties. He loves you and me, through and through, with such a complete love that the saints who pondered it were devastated by its totality.

We are here, in this church, to profess that faith. The statement we make when we say I believe is recognition of the totality of God in all its revealed truth. God the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, present in the world and revealed in glory and power. God among us, living through His Holy Church —“ not an institution of bricks and mortar, but a living body —“ consisting of its parts, you and me, and standing before Jesus Christ as His bride.

St. Stephen knew and saw Jesus. St. John learned from Jesus and recounted Christ’s glorious revelation to His Church. The countless multitudes of saints and martyrs, whom we commemorate, attest to the fact that where Jesus is, we are. They attest to the fact that Jesus’ glory is ours to behold.

When you are afraid, fear not. When the fires of the world are going after your bacon, fear not. When you are put on the spot, and the crowd asks, ‘For what reason are you fearless,’ you can rightfully attest:

—Behold, I see the heavens opened
and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.—

You and I have the glorious reassurance of Jesus’ prayer for us. We, the Christian faithful, stand together in attesting to His revelation. We stand as His bride, ready to bring Him into the streets, into homes, into hospitals and nursing homes, into the places where darkness, addiction, betrayal, and abuse live.

We are His children, the light of His glory. What comes bursting forth from us, His Holy Church, His bride, will bring redemption to all who live in darkness and pain. Redemption by baptism and the power of the Holy Spirit.

Do you see His glory? Do you see Jesus?

Yes, my friends, we do. You and I, we are called to do this thing. Jesus’ prayer is not an unanswered prayer. Jesus’ petition to the Father is being brought to fulfillment in us in each prayer, in each Holy Mass, in each rising, in each day of work, in every marriage, in every household.

We are His witnesses.

The Holy Spirit is alive in us. His Holy Church is His bride.

The Spirit and the bride say, —Come.—
Let the hearer say, —Come.—

Let the one who thirsts come forward,
and the one who wants it receive the gift of life-giving water.

The one who gives this testimony says, —Yes, I am coming soon.—
Amen! Come, Lord Jesus!