Call to prayer: Eternal God, your Son has saved us by rising from the dead, so that transcending time he might free us from death. May his presence among us lead to the vision of unlimited truth and beauty. We ask this through Christ our Lord, Amen.
A reading from the holy Gospel according to John 17:11b-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.”
The gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ
Focus: As Jesus prepares to return to the Father, he asks his Father to keep his people faithful to the truth and to witness to all that Jesus has said and done.
Questions for reflection and sharing:
1. Do any words or phrases from this gospel have significance for you?
2. In what ways does the Church not “belong to the world?”
3. Who might need us to pray for them this week as Jesus prayed for his disciples?
Concluding prayer: O God, make us joyful in the Ascension of your Son Jesus Christ. May we follow him into the new creation, for his Ascension is our glory and our hope. We ask this through Christ our Lord, Amen.
