SATURDAY OF THE SIXTH WEEK OF EASTER - (Jn 16:23b-28) - THE WORD OF GOD FOR EVERYONE

"Amen, amen, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in My name He will give you" (Jn 16:23)

READING OF THE DAY

A reading from the Acts of the Apostles

Acts 18:23-28

After staying in Antioch some time,

Paul left and traveled in orderly sequence

through the Galatian country and Phrygia,

bringing strength to all the disciples.

A Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria,

an eloquent speaker, arrived in Ephesus.

He was an authority on the Scriptures.

He had been instructed in the Way of the Lord and,

with ardent spirit, spoke and taught accurately about Jesus,

although he knew only the baptism of John.

He began to speak boldly in the synagogue;

but when Priscilla and Aquila heard him,

they took him aside

and explained to him the Way of God more accurately.

And when he wanted to cross to Achaia,

the brothers encouraged him

and wrote to the disciples there to welcome him.

After his arrival he gave great assistance

to those who had come to believe through grace.

He vigorously refuted the Jews in public,

establishing from the Scriptures that the Christ is Jesus.

GOSPEL OF THE DAY

From the Gospel according to John

Jn 16:23b-28

Jesus said to his disciples:

“Amen, amen, I say to you,

whatever you ask the Father in my name he will give you.

Until now you have not asked anything in my name;

ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be complete.

“I have told you this in figures of speech.

The hour is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figures

but I will tell you clearly about the Father.

On that day you will ask in my name,

and I do not tell you that I will ask the Father for you.

For the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me

and have come to believe that I came from God.

I came from the Father and have come into the world.

Now I am leaving the world and going back to the Father.”

SATURDAY OF THE SIXTH WEEK OF EASTER - (Jn 16:23b-28)

THE WORD OF GOD FOR EVERYONE

Dear People of God,

The words Jesus spoke to His disciples were: "For the Father himself loves you because you have loved me and have come to believe that I came from God."

God the Father loves His disciples. The love of God the Father and Jesus Christ is one. The Holy Trinity is one God, a God of love. The Holy Trinity never separates from one another in their love for humanity.

Because of love, He taught and reminded His disciples to pray to God the Father as follows: "In the name of Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God," then He will accept our prayers. When Jesus was still alive and with His disciples, He told them in advance that He would be going back to God the Father, where He came from before coming to earth to be with humans.

God the Father is the only eternal and living God. Only in Him can there be absolute joy and happiness that people are always longing for, waiting for, and looking forward to. Therefore, before Jesus returned to God the Father, He advised His disciples to pray to God the Father and He would answer, because He always loves His disciples. The reason God the Father loves the disciples is because the disciples also love Jesus Christ; that God the Father and Jesus Christ are one God.

In the love of God the Father and God the Son have for humans, there is always the presence of God the Holy Spirit. God shows people that if they want to return to God the Father, everyone should pray to God the Father as follows: "May I be with You forever." And that prayer must have the power of God the Holy Spirit.

Jesus loved His disciples. He teaches them, as well as everyone: to pray to the Holy Trinity, as follows: "In the name of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, may I be in Your Kingdom forever"

Thanks be to God. Amen.