Thursday of the Fifth Week of Easter
Intention: For all youth, that they might receive the love and accompaniment that they need to discover and embrace their best, truest selves.
Today’s Gospel | John 15:9-11
Jesus said to his disciples: “As the Father loves me, so I also love you. Remain in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and remain in his love.
“I have told you this so that my joy might be in you and your joy might be complete.”
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.
Prayer
Eternal Father, just as it was hard for Jesus’ disciples to see him go, it is hard for us when we realize that we have wandered far away from you. Strengthen us to hold closely the gift of our faith in you, knowing that you always are with us, that you never will abandon us, and that your time and your ways can always be trusted. Help us to be worthy guides for those that you have entrusted to our care, especially those most in need. We ask this of you who lives and reigns with your Son and the Holy Spirit, one God for ever and ever. Amen.