What does "see my glory" promise our loved one?

The vision of Christ as he truly is — the beatific vision, which the Church names as heaven's essence. Jesus asks it for his own as a gift he explicitly wills them to have.

Why choose an overheard prayer instead of a teaching or a miracle?

Because at a funeral the Church is not primarily learning or marveling but praying — and this Gospel lets Jesus lead the prayer. Many families find that more consoling than any narrative.

Gospel Reading

John 17:24-26

"I desire that they also may be with me where I am"

Planning a Catholic funeral? Weeve builds a free, print-ready program with these readings plus your music, prayers, and photos. Build yours →

Scripture text (World English Bible)

Jesus lifted up his eyes to heaven and prayed: “Father, I desire that they also whom you have given me be with me where I am, that they may see my glory, which you have given me, for you loved me before the foundation of the world. Righteous Father, the world hasn’t known you, but I knew you; and these knew that you sent me. I made known to them your name, and will make it known; that the love with which you loved me may be in them, and I in them.”

Themes

that they may be with me
beholding Christ's glory
loved before the foundation of the world
Jesus prays for us
the priestly prayer

Reflection

On the night before he died, Jesus prayed for his disciples — and in these verses, the last of that prayer, he tells the Father exactly what he wants for them: "Father, I desire that they also whom you have given me be with me where I am, that they may see my glory."

The Church reads this at funerals because it is, in the most literal sense, Jesus praying for the deceased. Every baptized person belongs to "those whom you have given me." What the funeral congregation asks tentatively — let her be with you; let him see your glory — Jesus has already asked absolutely, as his dying wish. A funeral could be defined as the Church saying amen to this prayer.

The reading reaches back before creation: "you loved me before the foundation of the world." The love into which the deceased has been welcomed is older than the universe and was never improvised. And it reaches forward into the mourners' own lives: "that the love with which you loved me may be in them, and I in them." The same love that now holds their beloved is offered to the ones left holding each other.

This is among the shortest Gospel options, and among the most intimate — overheard prayer rather than public teaching. It suits a liturgy that wants quiet depth at its center.

Best for

·Families consoled by knowing Jesus himself prayed for their beloved
·A deceased with a deep interior life of prayer
·Small, intimate funerals where quiet intensity fits the room
·Pairing with readings about seeing God face to face

In the liturgy

Part of Jesus' high-priestly prayer (John 17); a homilist can hardly do better than to point out whose prayer the funeral is answering. Its brevity invites a slower, prayer-like proclamation.

Pairs well with

Frequently asked questions

What does "see my glory" promise our loved one?: The vision of Christ as he truly is — the beatific vision, which the Church names as heaven's essence. Jesus asks it for his own as a gift he explicitly wills them to have.
Why choose an overheard prayer instead of a teaching or a miracle?: Because at a funeral the Church is not primarily learning or marveling but praying — and this Gospel lets Jesus lead the prayer. Many families find that more consoling than any narrative.

Build a free Catholic funeral program

Add John 17:24-26 plus your music, prayers, and photos, then download a print-ready PDF — free with an account.

Start building →