The Lord will hold us accountable

Jesus looked toward the heavens and said: “I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me. Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world. O righteous Father, even though the world does not know you, I know you, and these know that you have sent me. I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.” (John 17: 20-26)

Jesus in asking His Father to watch over His disciples also extends this request to those who, in time, will believe what was taught and witnessed by His first messengers, the apostles, and by their successors, the bishops. Jesus, therefore, saves “mankind through mankind” and continues to proclaim the Gospel to all people throughout history by way of those who are faithful to Him. Let us be careful not to shy away from opportunities to evangelise in the places we frequent, but also where priests cannot be present because people have shut themselves off from hearing the Gospel. Otherwise, the Lord will hold us accountable for this.