Saturday, May 12, 2018 6th Week of Easter 1st Reading: Acts 18:23-28 Gospel: John 16:23-28
Jesus said to his disciples, “When that day comes you will not ask me anything. Truly, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in my Name, he will give you. So far you have not asked in my Name; ask and receive that your joy may be full.
“I taught you all this in veiled language, but the time is coming when I shall no longer speak in veiled language, but will tell you plainly of the Father.
“When that day comes, you will ask in my Name and it will not be for me to ask the Father for you, for the Father himself loves you because you have loved me and you believe that I came from the Father.
As I came from the Father and have come into the world, so I am leaving the world and going to the Father.”
D@iGITAL-EXPERIENCE
(Daily Gospel in the
Assimilated Life
Experience)
Most of the prayers of the early Christians revolved around the Breaking of the Bread. Since this altar fellowship is in remembrance of Jesus who commanded, “Do this in remembrance of me,” such frequent commemoration might have led to the tradition of praying in Jesus’ name.
Today, we continue to pray in Jesus’ name. Most of our community prayers conclude with “We ask you this through Christ our Lord. Amen.” Why do we have many prayers left unanswered? Didn’t Jesus himself say that whatever we ask the Father in his name will be granted? We have had several prayers unheard even though these were done in the name of Jesus. What could be the reason behind this apparent contradiction?
To answer this question, we must take note that every prayer concluded in Jesus’ name is not automatically genuine. To be genuine, it must be a proclamation that the heart of the person praying is configured to the heart of Christ.
When Jesus said in today’s Gospel reading that we haven’t really asked in his name he was saying that we haven’t really configured our hearts to his heart. Many times our prayer rarely seeks the fulfillment of the Father’s Will in our lives. We have even turned prayer into a tug-o-war between our will and the Will of the Father. This manner of praying is not configured to the manner of praying of Jesus who always concluded his prayer with “not my will but yours be done.”
To configure our hearts to the heart of Christ we need to develop close relationship with him. The Blessed Virgin Mary stands as best example. A person so intimately related to Jesus as the Blessed Virgin was will no longer have the appetite for things that are outside Jesus’ priorities. In this kind of intimate alliance we are assured that the Father will grant whatever we ask for. – (Atty.) Rev. Fr. Dan Domingo P. delos Angeles, Jr., D.M.
May comment ka ba sa column ni Father Dan? May tanong ka ba sa kanya?
I-type ang BANDERA REACT
Disclaimer: The comments uploaded on this site do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of management and owner of Bandera. We reserve the right to exclude comments that we deem to be inconsistent with our editorial standards.