
Before Jesus ascended, he laid out the job description for the Christian Church. John records part of our Lord’s incredibly moving prayer to his Heavenly Father, wherein Jesus said: “As you have sent me into the world, I also have sent them into the world” (17:18; see also 20:21).
Obviously, this requires a second reading on our knees. Could he possibly mean what he said?
Friday night finds me a bit melancholy. As I’m sitting here in our apartment that opens onto a picturesque French courtyard, listening to the concierge and some friends chat over an evening aperitif, I am overcome with emotion, with an ache in the depths of my heart.