Gospel: 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.”
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About to complete his mission, Jesus gives pointers to his disciples as to what they will do. Jesus pictures to them a very hopeful future as he encourages them to pray in his name. This does not mean using Jesus’ name like a magic formula. To pray in Jesus’ name means to unite oneself to Jesus’ mind, heart, and will, and to plead one’s requests to the heavenly Father. When a person is totally united with Jesus, the Spirit of God descends upon the person and intercedes for the believer to God.
As the apostle Paul puts it, “The Spirit… comes to the aid of our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit itself intercedes with inexpressible groanings. And the one who searches hearts knows what is the intention of the Spirit, because it intercedes for the holy ones according to God’s will” (Rom 8:26-27).
Jesus desires that you experience complete joy. Are you willing to be totally united to Jesus for this experience?
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SOURCE: “365 Days with the Lord,” ST PAULS, 7708 St. Paul Rd., SAV, Makati City (Phils.); Tel.: 895-9701; Fax 895-7328; E-mail: [email protected]; Website: http://www.stpauls.ph.
