SAINT QUOTE OF THE DAY : Saturday, May 23, 2020

  

Saturday - May 23, 2020

The servants of Mary are as sure of getting to Paradise as though they were already there. Who are they who are saved and who reign in Heaven? Surely those for whom the Queen of Mercy intercedes ... The clients of Mary will necessarily be saved.

-St. Alphonsus Maria Liguori

 

May 23 2020

 

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Saturday of the Sixth Week of Easter
Lectionary: 296

Reading 1ACTS 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.

Responsorial Psalm47:2-3, 8-9, 10

R.    (8a)  God is king of all the earth.
or:
R.    Alleluia.
All you peoples, clap your hands;
shout to God with cries of gladness.
For the LORD, the Most High, the awesome,
is the great king over all the earth.
R.    God is king of all the earth.
or:
R.    Alleluia.
For king of all the earth is God;
sing hymns of praise.
God reigns over the nations,
God sits upon his holy throne.
R.    God is king of all the earth.
or:
R.    Alleluia.
The princes of the peoples are gathered together
with the people of the God of Abraham.
For God’s are the guardians of the earth;
he is supreme.
R.    God is king of all the earth.
or:
R.    Alleluia.

AlleluiaJN 16:28

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
I came from the Father and have come into the world;
now I am leaving the world and going back to the Father.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

GospelJN 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.”

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The Power of Asking "In the Name of Jesus"

Is it enough to say, "Father, this we ask in the name of Jesus"? Will everything we ask "in the name of Jesus" be granted to us?

No. Not everything we ask, even if we ask in his name, will be granted. Why?

Because our prayer is not a power. It's a process. Only God has the power. We have a journey that Jesus wants to lead us through for the sake of growing in holiness.

How many times do we "run" to God to ask for his immediate help without taking the time to talk with him about the issue, to express our feelings, and above all, to listen to what he wants to tell us? He wants our prayers to become much, much more than that.

Asking "in the name of Jesus" means asking according to his heart and his will. But how do we know if what we ask for is in accordance with his heart and his will? We discover it best through a two-fold process.

One part is prayer - the meeting up of two friends (the Holy Spirit and you or me) who are in an intimate and deep relationship. We open our hearts to him and surrender all that afflicts us, worries us, saddens us, overwhelms us. By unconditionally submitting everything to him, we receive his comfort, his peace, his guidance. It is when we take time to ponder God's perspective of our prayer requests that we receive his counsel. The lesson to learn gradually unfolds. Trusting in him, we receive wisdom about what to ask and what not to ask, what to expect and what not to expect.

The other part is community - meeting with at least one Spirit-filled, Christ-centered friend or priest or spiritual director so we can receive confirmation or new insights about our prayer request. God answers prayers through community, usually. Although he can of course work miracles by himself, he prefers to work through the earthly Body of Christ.

Divine guidance for our prayer requests is not a complicated business. It is, in reality, simple. It’s always available, and God always speaks in the vernacular — he speaks our language, because he wants us to hear him.

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God Bless You.....

Rosary Family

The mother of Jesus promised St. Dominic that, “one day through the rosary & the scapular I shall save the world!”