Ukrainian Catholic ChurchAustralia, New Zealand and Oceania
The Missionary Decade. Third Day — “The family is called to be among those for whom Christ prays”
May 17, 2026
We encourage everyone to respond to His Beatitude Sviatoslav’s invitation to prepare properly for the feast of Pentecost. Over the next few days, we will reflect on passages from the Gospel of John in the context of married and family life. Together, we will seek answers to important questions: how to preserve love in times of trial, how to learn unity, forgiveness, self-sacrifice, and mutual support, and how to build a family centered on God.
Sunday, May 17
A reading of the Holy Gospel according to John 17:1–13
The passage from Sacred Scripture which the Church appoints for today is the beginning of the so-called High Priestly Prayer of Jesus, found in the Gospel of John. To a certain extent, it is a theological summary of the entire life and mission of Christ before His Passion. The particular significance of this prayer lies in the fact that a large part of it is devoted to His disciples: “I pray for them; I do not pray for the world but for those whom You have given Me, for they are Yours” (Jn 17:9). In these words, the exceptional intercession of Jesus for those who have believed in Him is revealed. When He says, “I do not pray for the world,” this does not mean that God does not love the world, for in the Gospel of John the “world” often signifies that reality which is closed to God and rejects Him. Therefore, Jesus prays прежде всего for those who have opened themselves to the Word of God, who have accepted Him and become part of the community of believers, so that they may be preserved in truth and in unity with the Father.
How important it is that every Christian family today should not be ‘part of that world’ which closes itself to God, but rather be among those for whom Christ prays. According to God’s plan, the family is called to be a “domestic church”, a place where the presence of God dwells. The strength of the family lies not in human feelings, but in the fact that it lives by the Word of God and belongs to the community of believers.
What does it mean in practice to be a “domestic church”? First of all, it means that a Christian family is called to make its daily life a place of encounter with God: through common prayer, through reading the Word of God, and through participation in the Holy Mysteries. At the same time, by its very nature, the family is called to become the first school of faith, for it is within the family that a child should first come to know God through the living witness of his or her own parents. At times, it is very difficult for priests to pass on the foundations of the Christian faith to children and young people when this work is not supported within the family itself. Without such cooperation, the words of the priest often remain only a theory that finds no confirmation in real life. On the other hand, when a family lives by faith, even the simple word of a priest bears fruit in the life of a child.
To be a domestic church also means becoming a place of genuine love — perhaps not perfect, but living and real. Love within the family must be built according to the example of Christ’s love; that is, it must be sacrificial, faithful, patient, and capable of forgiving and serving. It is here that true and profound unity is born and grows — the unity to which marriage and the entire family are called. This unity is a gift of God, and it reflects the deep unity for which Christ prays in the Gospel of John (cf. Jn 17).
Finally, the domestic church does not close itself off from others but remains open to them. Such a family knows how to welcome, to share, to help, and to become a witness of faith in the world through hospitality, support for those in need, and a sincere and living Christian life.
Therefore, let us open our families to the Word of God and make them true “domestic churches”, so that by living in prayer, love, and unity, we may be among those for whom Christ prays in the Gospel of John and through whom His presence becomes visible in the world.
Mission Tasks:
1. Personal Level: Let us find a few minutes today for personal prayer and ask God to help our family become a true “domestic church”.
2. Parish Level: Let us resolve, if this is not already the case, to support the work of the priest in the Christian formation of children through the example of our own faith.
3. Missionary Level: Let us show hospitality or help another family — through a word of encouragement, attention, or a good deed — so that through us people may experience the love of God.
