Wednesday of the Sixth Week of Easter
Intention: For the young people of our world, that all adults may accept the sacred responsibility of loving and caring for our children and for the lives that we inspire and guide them to live.
Today’s Gospel | John 16:12-15
Jesus said to his disciples: “I have much more to tell you, but you cannot bear it now. But when he comes, the Spirit of truth, he will guide you to all truth. He will not speak on his own, but he will speak what he hears, and will declare to you the things that are coming. He will glorify me, because he will take from what is mine and declare it to you. Everything that the Father has is mine; for this reason I told you that he will take from what is mine and declare it to you.”
From the Third Meditation for the Time of Retreat | Saint John Baptist de La Salle
Because you are ambassadors and ministers of Jesus Christ in the work that you do, you must act as representing Jesus Christ. He wants your disciples to see him in you and to receive your instructions as if he were instructing them. They must be convinced that your instructions are the truth of Jesus Christ, who speaks with your mouth, that it is only in his name that you teach, and that he has given you authority over them.
They must also be convinced that they are a letter that Jesus Christ dictates to you, which you write each day in their heart, not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God, who acts in you and by you through the power of Jesus Christ. He helps you triumph over all the obstacles that oppose the salvation of these children, enlightening them in the person of Jesus Christ to make them avoid all that could be displeasing to him.
To fulfill this duty with as much perfection and exactness as God requires of you, frequently appeal to the Spirit of our Lord to make you act in your work only under his influence, so that your mind may have no part in it. This Holy Spirit, then, will come upon them generously, so that they will be able to possess the Christian spirit fully.
Prayer
Eternal Father, even when your Son had to leave this world, he remained with us by sending to us your Holy Spirit. Open our ears and our hearts, that the Spirit can teach us to understand your words and to live your will. Open our mouths to speak your words and to give voice to your saving truth, especially for the sake of the young and of those most in need of your good news. We pray that the Holy Spirit will strengthen our hearts to desire only what is good and right and to live our lives as you want us to live them. We ask this of you who lives and reigns with your Son and the Holy Spirit, one God for ever and ever. Amen.