Saturday May 28, 2022

Saturday of 6th Week in Easter

 

Praying in Jesus’ Name God’s Will

            When we pray, what do we want God to do? Do we want to transform God with our prayers and bend him to do our own will, or do we seek his will? Do we have time in the dialogue of prayer to listen to him? Do we realize that he speaks to us in his word, in Christ, in the Gospel? And that he speaks to us in our personal history, the events of life, in people around us? If we pray in the name of Christ, it should be with Christ’s attitude of openness to God and his will.

 

First Reading: Acts 18:23-28 

After spending a considerable time with the Antioch Christians, Paul set off again for Galatia and Phrygia, retracing his old tracks, one town after another, putting fresh heart into the disciples.

A man named Apollos came to Ephesus. He was a Jew, born in Alexandria, Egypt, and a terrific speaker, eloquent and powerful in his preaching of the Scriptures. He was well-educated in the way of the Master and fiery in his enthusiasm. Apollos was accurate in everything he taught about Jesus up to a point, but he only went as far as the baptism of John. He preached with power in the meeting place. When Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and told him the rest of the story.

When Apollos decided to go on to Achaia province, his Ephesian friends gave their blessing and wrote a letter of recommendation for him, urging the disciples there to welcome him with open arms. The welcome paid off: Apollos turned out to be a great help to those who had become believers through God’s immense generosity. He was particularly effective in public debate with the Jews as he brought out proof after convincing proof from the Scriptures that Jesus was in fact God’s Messiah.

 

Gospel: John 16:23-28 

“When a woman gives birth, she has a hard time, there’s no getting around it. But when the baby is born, there is joy in the birth. This new life in the world wipes out memory of the pain. The sadness you have right now is similar to that pain, but the coming joy is also similar. When I see you again, you’ll be full of joy, and it will be a joy no one can rob from you. You’ll no longer be so full of questions.

 “This is what I want you to do: Ask the Father for whatever is in keeping with the things I’ve revealed to you. Ask in my name, according to my will, and he’ll most certainly give it to you. Your joy will be a river overflowing its banks!

 “I’ve used figures of speech in telling you these things. Soon I’ll drop the figures and tell you about the Father in plain language. Then you can make your requests directly to him in relation to this life I’ve revealed to you. I won’t continue making requests of the Father on your behalf. I won’t need to. Because you’ve gone out on a limb, committed yourselves to love and trust in me, believing I came directly from the Father, the Father loves you directly. First, I left the Father and arrived in the world; now I leave the world and travel to the Father.”

 

Prayer

Lord, our God,
when we pray to you
in the name of Jesus, your Son,
give us also his attitude.
May we not seek ourselves in prayer
nor try to force you to do our will,
so that we can enjoy our self-made islands of peace.
Make us restless to seek your will
and to commit ourselves into your hands,
as Jesus your Son did,
who lives with you and the Holy Spirit,
forever and ever. Amen.

 

Reflection:

28 May 2022
Jn 16:23-28
In My Name…
Today Jesus makes a solemn promise that whatever his disciples ask the Father in Jesus’ name will be given to them. What does “in my name” mean? It is a new element which Jesus reveals at the Ascension. Pope Francis reflects that, “Jesus, as he moves to his Father, left the door open. Not because he forgot to close it, but because he himself is the door to the Father. He is our mediator and so he says: “in my name”. In our prayers let us ask the Father in Jesus’ name: “Father, look at your Son and do this for me!” Up to the time of the ascension, Jesus was still with them and so the disciples have not been praying to God through Jesus. But then it will became the normal way for the Church to pray to the Father. In the liturgy, we conclude all our prayers, saying, “We make this prayer, through Christ our Lord.”
But it is also true that despite our prayers, we have no answers! Sometimes we ask for good health for a loved one, blessings in the life of a neighbour or a friend or family member. We pray with all the strength and with all the faith because we feel absolutely helpless and from the bottom of our hearts we pray: “Lord, help us / help me”.

But our experience tells us that many times, our prayers seem unattended. Despite our faith-filled prayers, nothing happens! Is it because God does not listen to our prayers? In today’s Gospel Jesus promises that he himself will ask the Father for us and that we will receive an answer … But still, our prayers go unanswered!

Here we enter the realms of faith, of trust. We believe that we are in the hands of the good father who loves us. And we believe that despite all the pains, physical limitations, illnesses, God loves us, in a strange way, but he loves us. “The Father already loves you, because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God.”

Our Father already knows all our needs and he wants to satisfy them for us in his love. When we are united in love and faith with the Father, He provides us with what is the best for us. Our prayer through Jesus is not to tell God something he does not know already. Rather it is to help ourselves become better aware of what our real needs are, and to go to Him who provides us with all our needs.

 

Video available on Youtube: In My Name…