Daily Catholic Lectio
Sat, 16 May 2026
Sixth Week of Easter
Ac 18:23-28. Jn 16:23-28
I Go to the Father
Tomorrow the Church celebrates the Ascension of the Lord. Today’s Gospel prepares our hearts for that mystery through the words of Jesus: “I came from the Father and have come into the world; now I am leaving the world and going to the Father.” These words summarize the whole mission of Christ. Jesus comes from the Father, enters our human world, shares our life, reveals God’s love, and then returns to the Father. The descent and ascent of Jesus belong together. The One who came down from heaven now goes back to heaven.
The Incarnation and the Ascension are therefore not opposite events, but two movements of the same mystery. Jesus came down as “God with us.” He now ascends as “God for us.” He entered our human condition so that humanity might enter into the life of God. In Christ, human nature itself is lifted up into the presence of the Father.
In the Gospel, Jesus also speaks about the world. In Saint John’s Gospel, the “world” has two meanings. It is the place loved by God, the place where God acts and saves. Yet it can also become a reality opposed to God, closed to truth and love. Jesus entered this world to transform it from within. He came not to condemn the world, but to reveal the Father’s love within it.
Before returning to the Father, Jesus leaves behind one beautiful assurance: “The Father himself loves you.” This is the heart of the Gospel. Christianity is not first a law, a fear, or an obligation. It begins with the certainty that the Father loves us. Jesus came into the world to reveal this love. And having revealed it, He returns to the Father.
A person who experiences the love of the Father cannot remain unchanged. That love becomes mission. This is what we see in the first reading through Apollos. He is described as eloquent, learned in the Scriptures, fervent in spirit, and courageous in proclaiming Christ. Encouraged and guided by the believers, he becomes a powerful witness to the Gospel. The mission of Jesus continues through ordinary men and women who allow themselves to be transformed by God’s love.
This is also our Christian vocation. Jesus ascends to the Father, but His work continues through us. Every time we bring hope where there is discouragement, truth where there is confusion, reconciliation where there is division, and compassion where there is suffering, we continue the mission of Christ in the world.
Fr. Yesu Karunanidhi
Archdiocese of Madurai
A ‘Yesni Prays’ Initiative
Yesu Karunanidhi 
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