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Gospel Reading for May 19, 2026 – John 17: 1-11a
MISSION ACCOMPLISHED
Jesus raised his eyes to heaven and said, “Father, the hour has come. Give glory to your son, so that your son may glorify you, just as you gave him authority over all people, so that your son may give eternal life to all you gave him. Now this is eternal life, that they should know you, the only true God, and the one whom you sent, Jesus Christ. I glorified you on earth by accomplishing the work that you gave me to do. Now glorify me, Father, with you, with the glory that I had with you before the world began.
“I revealed your name to those whom you gave me out of the world. They belonged to you, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. Now they know that everything you gave me is from you, because the words you gave to me I have given to them, and they accepted them and truly understood that I came from you, and they have believed that you sent me. I pray for them. I do not pray for the world but for the ones you have given me, because they are yours, and everything of mine is yours and everything of yours is mine, and I have been glorified in them. And now I will no longer be in the world, but they are in the world, while I am coming to you.”
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This was Jesus’ prayer before he was arrested. He knew very well that his arrest was near. Being fully human, he experienced profound anguish, distress, and emotional suffering as he faced what was about to happen. In fact, Luke 22:44 says, “He was in such agony and he prayed so fervently that his sweat became like drops of blood falling on the ground.” Yet even in the midst of his suffering, Jesus thought of those he would leave behind, and he looked back on all that he had accomplished according to the Father’s will.
MISSION ACCOMPLISHED.
Every Christian is called to fulfill a mission in life—something entrusted to him or her according to the Father’s will. Sometimes we discover that mission gradually; at other times, it becomes clear even in the early years of our life through the circumstances we experience.
Our mission does not have to be grand or widely recognized like that of evangelists, healers, or famous figures in the Faith. For most of us, it is lived out quietly and simply, yet with great love for God: parents or surrogate parents raising children to become who God created them to be; those who lovingly care for handicapped or elderly family members; people who perform their work honestly and diligently; those who offer care and compassion to the suffering; those who uphold truth and justice; those who care for God’s creation; and those who consciously bring Christ’s presence to others by striving to live according to his teachings.
There are countless ways of fulfilling the mission God entrusts to us.
Hopefully, when we reach the point of looking back on our lives, we too will be able to say that, in our own way and according to God’s grace, our mission has been accomplished.
Let us ponder on the Prayer of St. Francis:
Lord, make me an instrument of your peace; Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
Where there is injury, pardon;
Where there is doubt, faith;
Where there is despair, hope;
Where there is darkness, light;
And where there is sadness, joy.
O Divine Master, grant that I may
not so much seek to be consoled as to console;
To be understood, as to understand;
To be loved, as to love;
For it is in giving that we receive;
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
and it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life.
