So I Send Them
Wednesday of the Seventh Week of Easter
Read this Gospel passage aloud to the family
John 17:11-19 – Lifting up his eyes to heaven, Jesus prayed, saying: “Holy Father, keep them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one just as we are one. When I was with them I protected them in your name that you gave me, and I guarded them, and none of them was lost except the son of destruction, in order that the Scripture might be fulfilled. But now I am coming to you. I speak this in the world so that they may share my joy completely. I gave them your word, and the world hated them, because they do not belong to the world any more than I belong to the world. I do not ask that you take them out of the world but that you keep them from the Evil One. They do not belong to the world any more than I belong to the world. Consecrate them in the truth. Your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, so I sent them into the world. And I consecrate myself for them, so that they also may be consecrated in truth.”
(Parent) Reread this part a few times aloud
“As you sent me into the world, so I sent them into the world.”
(Parent) Read this meditation aloud to the family
Why did Jesus come into the world? The Scriptures say many things about this, and a few of these statements are from the mouth of Jesus Himself. Essentially, they all revolve around the same thing. Jesus Christ comes into the world to reconcile mankind with God through the forgiveness of sin. This is why He is sent into the world.
In this spoken prayer to His Father, Jesus says that He sends the apostles into the world with the same mission. The Apostolic Ministry is one of bringing mankind into communion with God through the forgiveness of sin. St. Paul (“The Apostle”) calls this ministry the “ministry of reconciliation” (2 Corinthians). We should be very thankful for our bishops and our priests who share in this mission, because they bring to us the mission of Christ in the world. They are helping to bring us back to full union with God.
As a family, pray a portion of the Rosary together (very short if children are young) reflecting on the Scripture passage above. (Optional: allow a brief time for discussion or questions from children concerning their thoughts and prayer.)
Reminder for Parents: Pier is just meant to be a jumping off point. The real goal is that you pray & eventually use the fruits of your personal prayer as the content of your family’s prayer. Duc in altum.
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