FAUSTI - "So far you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will obtain" Soon Jesus will give us His Spirit: united to Him, in His Name, we will obtain everything. Our prayer is fully answered, beyond all hope. The certain gift that our request obtains from the Father is the Spirit that makes us children. (Gal 4:6). By giving us His accomplished Love, His own Spirit, Jesus gives us the full joy of the Son, Who loves as He is loved by the Father. Soon an hour will come, which is the hour when everything is done. Then Jesus will no longer speak with similarities, but with the gift of His Flesh and His Spirit. From the signs of glory we will pass to Glory itself, which will show us the meaning of the signs. It is "that day" when "you will know that I am in the Father and you in me and I in you" (14:20). Then everything will be clear and we will no longer ask Him anything. It will be the day of the Resurrection when we will welcome the Spirit. On that day we will ask in the name of Jesus . Thanks to His "leaving". He has given us the grace of His Spirit, who cries out in us: "Abba" (Gal 4:6 - Rom 8:15). Jesus now leaves the world that hates him and kills him. But, precisely by leaving the world, He will fulfill His mission of witnessing to all the love of the Father. The meaning of His mission is to go to the Father, opening to us the way to Him. The Son is the WORD that has come out of God, who does not return to Him without accomplishing what He was sent for. He will make His Life sprout on earth (Is. 55,10) The disciples say they believe. But their trust is still blind, without understanding. But when they are dispersed and leave Him alone, they will understand that He believes in them, His brothers... They will understand after He has gone to the Father: seeing Him on the cross, they will know that He loves beyond measure. Then their faith will be enlightened and will have its content. Their faith is embryonic and incomplete: it has not yet been confronted with glory. The passion, which began at the Last Supper, is coming to an end. The labor is almost at the end: it is time to give birth. The disciples will suffer scandal. The shepherd will be beaten and the sheep dispersed, easy prey of the wolf. They will see in the cross a failure. Only the Mother of Jesus and the beloved disciple will grasp in her the fulfillment of love. Jesus predicts the defection of the disciples, as had already predicted the rejection of Peter. In His solitude Jesus will reveal Himself as the Only Begotten Who loves us with the same love as the Father. The abandonment of the disciples will be momentary. Precisely in it Jesus will reveal His Glory, faithful Love that does not abandon even those who abandon Him. The Son faces this loneliness because He loves as He is loved by the Father. It is the moment when there is the greatest harmony between the two, the hour in which the Son reveals the Father, and we finally, from the smallest to the greatest, know Who the Lord is. Then we, with Paul, can exclaim that nothing can separate us from God's love. Certainly not from what we have for Him, but from what He has for us in Christ Jesus, our Lord. He spoke of the hatred of the world and the affliction that the disciples will have to face after Him, with Him and like Him. Jesus wants us to overcome the upheaval and give us His peace. This Peace is "in me" says Jesus, it consists in being in Him, with the future of Him and His destiny. Peace will be the gift of that day when the Risen One manifests Himself and overcomes our fears. Just as "in the world" we have tribulations "in Him" we have His own Peace of Son, which is always with the Father. "But have courage, I have conquered the world. The cross is not the victory of evil, but the victory of Love. With this faith, the disciple too is born of God and conquers the world.
1 And it came to pass, while Apollo was at Corinth, that Paul having passed through the upper coasts, came to Ephesus, and found certain disciples. 2 And he said to them: Have you received the Holy Ghost since ye believed? But they said to him: We have not so much as heard whether there be a Holy Ghost. 3 And he said: In what then were you baptized? Who said: In John’s baptism. 4 Then Paul said: John baptized the people with the baptism of penance, saying: That they should believe in him who was to come after him, that is to say, in Jesus. 5 Having heard these things, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 6 And when Paul had imposed his hands on them, the Holy Ghost came upon them, and they spoke with tongues and prophesied. 7 And all the men were about twelve. 8 And entering into the synagogue, he spoke boldly for the space of three months, disputing and exhorting concerning the kingdom of God.
R. (33a) Sing to God, O kingdoms of the earth. . Alleluia.
Let God arise, and let his enemies be scattered: and let them that hate him flee from before his face. As smoke vanisheth, so let them vanish away: as wax melteth before the fire.
R. Sing to God, O kingdoms of the earth. . Alleluia. 4 And let the just feast, and rejoice before God: and be delighted with gladness. 5acd Sing ye to God, sing a psalm to his name, make a way for him who ascendeth upon the west: the Lord is his name. R. Sing to God, O kingdoms of the earth. 6 Who is the father of orphans, and the judge of widows. God in his holy place: 7ab God who maketh men of one manner to dwell in a house: Who bringeth out them that were bound in strength.
R. Sing to God, O kingdoms of the earth.
R. Alleluia. Alleluia: Colossians 3: ,1 R. Alleluia, alleluia.
1 If then you were raised with Christ, seek what is above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.
. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel: John 16: 29-33 29 His disciples say to him: Behold, now thou speakest plainly, and speakest no proverb.
30 Now we know that thou knowest all things, and thou needest not that any man should ask thee. By this we believe that thou camest forth from God.
31 Jesus answered them: Do you now believe?
32 Behold, the hour cometh, and it is now come, that you shall be scattered every man to his own, and shall leave me alone; and yet I am not alone, because the Father is with me.
33 These things I have spoken to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you shall have distress: but have confidence, I have overcome the world.
Words of the Popes We believe that Jesus has definitively defeated Satan and has thus freed us from fear of him. (…) If the evil one was defeated in Jesus, his victory must nevertheless be freely accepted by each of us, until evil is completely eliminated. The fight against evil therefore requires commitment and constant vigilance. Definitive liberation is glimpsed only in an eschatological perspective (see Rev 21:4).
Beyond our efforts and even our failures, this consoling word of Christ remains: “In the world you will have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world” (Jn 16:33). (Saint John Paul II - General Audience, Wednesday, 18 August 1999) - ...Prayer to the Father in the name of Jesus takes us out of ourselves. The prayer that bores us is always within ourselves, it is like a thought that comes and goes. But true prayer, going out of ourselves toward the Father in the name of Jesus, is an Exodus from ourselves. If we are unable to go out of ourselves toward our needy brother, toward the sick, the ignorant, the poor, the exploited, if we are unable to make this exit from ourselves toward those wounds, we will never learn the freedom that leads us to the other exit from ourselves toward the wounds of Jesus. There are two exits from ourselves: one toward the wounds of Jesus, the other toward the wounds of our brothers and sisters. And this is the path that Jesus wants in our prayer. (Pope Francis Homily Santa Marta, 11 May 2013) He prays for us before the Father. I have always liked this. Jesus, in his resurrection, had a beautiful body: the wounds of the flagellation, of the thorns, have disappeared, all of them. The bruises of the blows, have disappeared. But He always wanted to have the wounds, and the wounds are precisely his prayer of intercession to the Father: 'But ... look ... this one asks you in my name, look!'. This is the new thing that Jesus tells us. He tells us this new thing: to have faith in his passion, to have faith in his victory over death, to have faith in his wounds. He is the priest and this is the sacrifice: his wounds. And this gives us faith, eh? It gives us the courage to pray." (Pope Francis Santa Marta, 11 May 2013)
HUv Balthasar - Nobody has seen the hour of Your Victory - Nobody is witness to a cosmogenesis. Nobody knows how the Saturday night turned into the Easter morning light. All of us were carried asleep on our wings above the abyss, asleep we received the grace of Easter. And no one knows how it happened to him. Nobody knows which hand marked him on his cheek so that all of a sudden the pale world sparkled with color and he had to smile at them unwittingly at the miracle that was taking place about him. Who can describe what it means that the Lord is Spirit? Spirit is the invisible reality that for a moment shows itself as the whole visible. The Spirit is the invisible perfume of Heaven that has arisen among us. Spirito is the great invisible wing that recognizes itself in the breath of air and in the sudden joy that overwhelms us when even one of its feathers touches us. Spirit is the Paraclete, the Comforter, to whose sweetness the word of repentance silences unspoken, as if absorbed in a drop of dew in the light of the sun ...
FAUSTI - "So far you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will obtain" Soon Jesus will give us His Spirit: united to Him, in His Name, we will obtain everything.
RispondiEliminaOur prayer is fully answered, beyond all hope.
The certain gift that our request obtains from the Father is the Spirit that makes us children. (Gal 4:6).
By giving us His accomplished Love, His own Spirit, Jesus gives us the full joy of the Son, Who loves as He is loved by the Father. Soon an hour will come, which is the hour when everything is done.
Then Jesus will no longer speak with similarities, but with the gift of His Flesh and His Spirit.
From the signs of glory we will pass to Glory itself, which will show us the meaning of the signs.
It is "that day" when "you will know that I am in the Father and you in me and I in you" (14:20).
Then everything will be clear and we will no longer ask Him anything.
It will be the day of the Resurrection when we will welcome the Spirit.
On that day we will ask in the name of Jesus . Thanks to His "leaving". He has given us the grace of His Spirit, who cries out in us: "Abba" (Gal 4:6 - Rom 8:15). Jesus now leaves the world that hates him and kills him. But, precisely by leaving the world, He will fulfill His mission of witnessing to all the love of the Father.
The meaning of His mission is to go to the Father, opening to us the way to Him.
The Son is the WORD that has come out of God, who does not return to Him without accomplishing what He was sent for.
He will make His Life sprout on earth (Is. 55,10)
The disciples say they believe. But their trust is still blind, without understanding. But when they are dispersed and leave Him alone, they will understand that He believes in them, His brothers...
They will understand after He has gone to the Father: seeing Him on the cross, they will know that He loves beyond measure.
Then their faith will be enlightened and will have its content.
Their faith is embryonic and incomplete: it has not yet been confronted with glory.
The passion, which began at the Last Supper, is coming to an end. The labor is almost at the end: it is time to give birth.
The disciples will suffer scandal. The shepherd will be beaten and the sheep dispersed, easy prey of the wolf.
They will see in the cross a failure.
Only the Mother of Jesus and the beloved disciple will grasp in her the fulfillment of love.
Jesus predicts the defection of the disciples, as had already predicted the rejection of Peter.
In His solitude Jesus will reveal Himself as the Only Begotten Who loves us with the same love as the Father.
The abandonment of the disciples will be momentary.
Precisely in it Jesus will reveal His Glory, faithful Love that does not abandon even those who abandon Him. The Son faces this loneliness because He loves as He is loved by the Father.
It is the moment when there is the greatest harmony between the two, the hour in which the Son reveals the Father, and we finally, from the smallest to the greatest, know Who the Lord is. Then we, with Paul, can exclaim that nothing can separate us from God's love. Certainly not from what we have for Him, but from what He has for us in Christ Jesus, our Lord.
He spoke of the hatred of the world and the affliction that the disciples will have to face after Him, with Him and like Him.
Jesus wants us to overcome the upheaval and give us His peace.
This Peace is "in me" says Jesus, it consists in being in Him, with the future of Him and His destiny.
Peace will be the gift of that day when the Risen One manifests Himself and overcomes our fears.
Just as "in the world" we have tribulations "in Him" we have His own Peace of Son, which is always with the Father.
"But have courage, I have conquered the world.
The cross is not the victory of evil, but the victory of Love.
With this faith, the disciple too is born of God and conquers the world.
First Reading: Acts 19: 1-8
RispondiElimina1 And it came to pass, while Apollo was at Corinth, that Paul having passed through the upper coasts, came to Ephesus, and found certain disciples.
2 And he said to them: Have you received the Holy Ghost since ye believed? But they said to him: We have not so much as heard whether there be a Holy Ghost.
3 And he said: In what then were you baptized? Who said: In John’s baptism.
4 Then Paul said: John baptized the people with the baptism of penance, saying: That they should believe in him who was to come after him, that is to say, in Jesus.
5 Having heard these things, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.
6 And when Paul had imposed his hands on them, the Holy Ghost came upon them, and they spoke with tongues and prophesied.
7 And all the men were about twelve.
8 And entering into the synagogue, he spoke boldly for the space of three months, disputing and exhorting concerning the kingdom of God.
Responsorial Psalm: Psalms 68: 2-3ab, 4-5acd, 6-7ab
R. (33a) Sing to God, O kingdoms of the earth.
. Alleluia.
Let God arise, and let his enemies be scattered: and let them that hate him flee from before his face.
As smoke vanisheth, so let them vanish away: as wax melteth before the fire.
R. Sing to God, O kingdoms of the earth.
. Alleluia.
4 And let the just feast, and rejoice before God: and be delighted with gladness.
5acd Sing ye to God, sing a psalm to his name, make a way for him who ascendeth upon the west: the Lord is his name.
R. Sing to God, O kingdoms of the earth.
6 Who is the father of orphans, and the judge of widows. God in his holy place:
7ab God who maketh men of one manner to dwell in a house: Who bringeth out them that were bound in strength.
R. Sing to God, O kingdoms of the earth.
R. Alleluia. Alleluia: Colossians 3: ,1
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
1 If then you were raised with Christ, seek what is above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.
. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel: John 16: 29-33
29 His disciples say to him: Behold, now thou speakest plainly, and speakest no proverb.
30 Now we know that thou knowest all things, and thou needest not that any man should ask thee. By this we believe that thou camest forth from God.
31 Jesus answered them: Do you now believe?
32 Behold, the hour cometh, and it is now come, that you shall be scattered every man to his own, and shall leave me alone; and yet I am not alone, because the Father is with me.
33 These things I have spoken to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you shall have distress: but have confidence, I have overcome the world.
Words of the Popes
EliminaWe believe that Jesus has definitively defeated Satan and has thus freed us from fear of him. (…) If the evil one was defeated in Jesus, his victory must nevertheless be freely accepted by each of us, until evil is completely eliminated. The fight against evil therefore requires commitment and constant vigilance. Definitive liberation is glimpsed only in an eschatological perspective (see Rev 21:4).
Beyond our efforts and even our failures, this consoling word of Christ remains: “In the world you will have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world” (Jn 16:33).
(Saint John Paul II - General Audience, Wednesday, 18 August 1999)
- ...Prayer to the Father in the name of Jesus takes us out of ourselves. The prayer that bores us is always within ourselves, it is like a thought that comes and goes. But true prayer, going out of ourselves toward the Father in the name of Jesus, is an Exodus from ourselves. If we are unable to go out of ourselves toward our needy brother, toward the sick, the ignorant, the poor, the exploited, if we are unable to make this exit from ourselves toward those wounds, we will never learn the freedom that leads us to the other exit from ourselves toward the wounds of Jesus. There are two exits from ourselves: one toward the wounds of Jesus, the other toward the wounds of our brothers and sisters. And this is the path that Jesus wants in our prayer.
(Pope Francis Homily Santa Marta, 11 May 2013)
He prays for us before the Father. I have always liked this. Jesus, in his resurrection, had a beautiful body: the wounds of the flagellation, of the thorns, have disappeared, all of them. The bruises of the blows, have disappeared. But He always wanted to have the wounds, and the wounds are precisely his prayer of intercession to the Father: 'But ... look ... this one asks you in my name, look!'. This is the new thing that Jesus tells us. He tells us this new thing: to have faith in his passion, to have faith in his victory over death, to have faith in his wounds. He is the priest and this is the sacrifice: his wounds. And this gives us faith, eh? It gives us the courage to pray." (Pope Francis Santa Marta, 11 May 2013)
HUv Balthasar - Nobody has seen the hour of Your Victory - Nobody is witness to a cosmogenesis. Nobody knows how the Saturday night turned into the Easter morning light. All of us were carried asleep on our wings above the abyss, asleep we received the grace of Easter. And no one knows how it happened to him.
RispondiEliminaNobody knows which hand marked him on his cheek so that all of a sudden the pale world sparkled with color and he had to smile at them unwittingly at the miracle that was taking place about him.
Who can describe what it means that the Lord is Spirit?
Spirit is the invisible reality that for a moment shows itself as the whole visible.
The Spirit is the invisible perfume of Heaven that has arisen among us.
Spirito is the great invisible wing that recognizes itself in the breath of air and in the sudden joy that overwhelms us when even one of its feathers touches us.
Spirit is the Paraclete, the Comforter, to whose sweetness the word of repentance silences unspoken, as if absorbed in a drop of dew in the light of the sun ...