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Posted on 05/15/2015 9:38:03 PM PDT by Salvation
May 16, 2015
Saturday of the Sixth Week of Easter
Reading 1 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.
Responsorial Psalm PS 47:2-3, 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.
Alleluia Jn 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.
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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Just A Minute (Listen) Some of EWTN's most popular hosts and guests in a collection of one minute inspirational messages. A different message each time you click. |
This prayer, which dates from the twelfth century, is substituted for the Angelus during Easter Season.
In Latin |
In English |
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Regina coeli, laetare, alleluia: Quia quem meruisti portare, alleluia. Resurrexit sicut dixit, alleluia. Ora pro nobis Deum, alleluia.
V. Gaude et laetare, Virgo Maria, Alleluia, R. Quia surrexit Dominus vere, alleluia.
Oremus: Deus qui per resurrectionem Filii tui, Domini nostri Iesu Christi, mundum laetificare dignatus es: praesta, quaesumus, ut per eius Genetricem Virginem Mariam, perpetuae capiamus gaudia vitae. Per eundem Christum Dominum nostrum. R. Amen. |
Queen of Heaven rejoice, alleluia: For He whom you merited to bear, alleluia, Has risen as He said, alleluia. Pray for us to God, alleluia.
V. Rejoice and be glad, O Virgin Mary, alleluia. R. Because the Lord is truly risen, alleluia.
Let us pray: O God, who by the Resurrection of Thy Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, granted joy to the whole world: grant we beseech Thee, that through the intercession of the Virgin Mary, His Mother, we may lay hold of the joys of eternal life. Through the same Christ our Lord. R. Amen. |
Feast Day: May 16
Born: 1165 in Aylesford, County Kent, England
Died: 16 May 1265 in the Carmelite monastery at Bordeaux, France
Major Shrine: Aylesford, England
Patron of: Bordeaux, France
Feast Day: May 16
Born: 1247, Tuscany, Italy
Died: February 22, 1297, Cortona, Italy
Canonized: May 16, 1728 by Pope Benedict XIII
Patron of: against temptations; falsely accused people; hoboes; homeless people; insanity; loss of parents; mental illness; mentally ill people; midwives; penitent women; people ridiculed for their piety; reformed prostitutes; sexual temptation; single laywomen; third children; tramps
St. Ubald
Feast Day: May 16
Born: 1160 :: Died: 1192
St. Ubald was born at Gubbio near Ancona, Umbria, in Italy. When both his parents died, he was raised by his uncle who was a bishop and received a good education. Ubald finished his schooling and decided not to get married as he wanted very much to become a priest.
He became Dean of the cathedral in his home town and many years later, the pope made him bishop of Gubbio, the city of his birth. St. Ubald became well known for his mild and patient nature.
Once when a worker was repairing the city wall, he badly damaged the bishop's vineyard. The saint gently pointed it out to him. The workman who must have been very tired probably did not even recognize the bishop. He shoved Bishop Ubald so hard that he fell into a pile of wet cement and was soon covered with it. Ubald silently got up, cleaned himself off and went into the house.
Some people saw the whole thing and demanded that the worker be brought to court. Bishop Ubald appeared in the courtroom and set the man free. The holy bishop loved peace and he had the courage it takes to keep it.
When the Bishop was walking down the street one day, he saw that the people of Gubbio were fighting in the streets. He threw himself between the two angry crowds, unafraid of the swords clashing and the rocks flying. Suddenly he fell to the ground. The people were shocked. They thought the bishop had been killed. But when he got up unhurt, the people thanked God, stopped fighting and went home.
Another time, Emperor Frederick Barbarossa was on his way to attack Gubbio. St. Ubald did not wait for him and his army to come to the city. He went out on the road to talk to him. No one knows what he said. All they know is that he convinced the emperor to leave Gubbio alone.
The saint suffered much pain and he was sick quite often as he got older. Yet he never complained. On the morning of Easter Sunday, he said Mass giving a beautiful sermon and blessed the people. Then he was forced to go back to bed, not able to get up ever again.
He died on May 16, 1160. All the people came to pay their respects. They cried and prayed to St. Ubald to take care of them from heaven.
Reflection: It is sometimes hard to forgive those who hurt us. We are given the grace to do this when we turn to Jesus more and ask him to help us be as meek and forgiving as he was.
| John | |||
| English: Douay-Rheims | Latin: Vulgata Clementina | Greek NT: Byzantine/Majority Text (2000) | |
| John 16 |
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| 23. | And in that day you shall not ask me any thing. Amen, amen I say to you: if you ask the Father any thing in my name, he will give it you. | Et in illo die me non rogabitis quidquam. Amen, amen dico vobis : si quid petieritis Patrem in nomine meo, dabit vobis. | και εν εκεινη τη ημερα εμε ουκ ερωτησετε ουδεν αμην αμην λεγω υμιν οτι οσα αν αιτησητε τον πατερα εν τω ονοματι μου δωσει υμιν |
| 24. | Hitherto you have not asked any thing in my name. Ask, and you shall receive; that your joy may be full. | Usque modo non petistis quidquam in nomine meo : petite, et accipietis, ut gaudium vestrum sit plenum. | εως αρτι ουκ ητησατε ουδεν εν τω ονοματι μου αιτειτε και ληψεσθε ινα η χαρα υμων η πεπληρωμενη |
| 25. | These things I have spoken to you in proverbs. The hour cometh, when I will no more speak to you in proverbs, but will shew you plainly of the Father. | Hæc in proverbiis locutus sum vobis. Venit hora cum jam non in proverbiis loquar vobis, sed palam de Patre annuntiabo vobis : | ταυτα εν παροιμιαις λελαληκα υμιν αλλ ερχεται ωρα οτε ουκετι εν παροιμιαις λαλησω υμιν αλλα παρρησια περι του πατρος αναγγελω υμιν |
| 26. | In that day you shall ask in my name; and I say not to you, that I will ask the Father for you: | in illo die in nomine meo petetis : et non dico vobis quia ego rogabo Patrem de vobis : | εν εκεινη τη ημερα εν τω ονοματι μου αιτησεσθε και ου λεγω υμιν οτι εγω ερωτησω τον πατερα περι υμων |
| 27. | For the Father himself loveth you, because you have loved me, and have believed that I came out from God. | ipse enim Pater amat vos, quia vos me amastis, et credidistis, quia ego a Deo exivi. | αυτος γαρ ο πατηρ φιλει υμας οτι υμεις εμε πεφιληκατε και πεπιστευκατε οτι εγω παρα του θεου εξηλθον |
| 28. | I came forth from the Father, and am come into the world: again I leave the world, and I go to the Father. | Exivi a Patre, et veni in mundum : iterum relinquo mundum, et vado ad Patrem. | εξηλθον παρα του πατρος και εληλυθα εις τον κοσμον παλιν αφιημι τον κοσμον και πορευομαι προς τον πατερα |
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22 And as they were eating, he took bread, and blessed, and broke it, and gave it to them, and said, "Take; this is my body." 23 And he took a chalice, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, and they all drank of it. 24 And he said to them, "This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many. 25 Truly, I say to you, I shall not drink again of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God."
26 And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives. 27 And Jesus said to them, "You will all fall away; for it is written, I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered.' 28 But after I am raised up, I will go before you to Galilee." 29 Peter said to him, "Even though they all fall away, I will not." 30 And Jesus said to him, "Truly, I say to you, this very night, before the cock crows twice, you will deny me three times." 31But he said vehemently, "If I must die with you, I will not deny you." And they all said the same.
took . . . blessed . . . broke . . . gave: Mark uses this same language to recount Jesus' multiplication of the loaves (6:41). See note on Mk 6:35-44. this is my body: Jesus identifies the unleavened bread of the Passover feast with his own flesh (Jn 6:51). This gift of his humanity in the sacrament is inseparable from his self-offering on the Cross (14:24; Heb 10:10), since together they constitute a single sacrifice in which Jesus is both the priest and sacrificial victim of the New Covenant (CCC 1363-65).
-- Allegorically (St. Bede, In Marcum): Jesus' actions signify the mystery of his Passion. In breaking the bread, Christ pre-enacts the breaking of his body on the Cross. Likewise as Jesus gives himself voluntarily in the Last Supper, so his Crucifixion will be a death he freely accepts, not the end result of hostile forces beyond his control.
Fatima, Mary and the ___________________.
Saturday, May 16
Liturgical Color: White
St. Simon Stock died on this day in 1265. At
the age of 82 he was elected the general of
the Carmelite order. Under his direction the
order spread across Europe opening new
houses in England, France and Spain.
Daily Readings for:May 16, 2015
(Readings on USCCB website)
Collect: O God, whose Son, at his Ascension to the heavens, was pleased to promise the Holy Spirit to the Apostles, grant, we pray, that, just as they received manifold gifts of heavenly teaching, so on us, too, you may bestow spiritual gifts. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
RECIPES
ACTIVITIES
o Marian Hymn: ’Tis Said of Our Dear Lady
o Marian Hymn: Bring Flowers of the Fairest
PRAYERS
o Regina Coeli (Queen of Heaven)
o Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Litany of Loretto)
o Prayers for the Easter Season
LIBRARY
o An Explanation of the Sabbatine Privilege | Rev. Eamon R. Carroll O. Carm., S.T.D.
o Different Kinds of Scapulars | Fr. William Saunders
o The Scapular Devotion | Christian P. Ceroke O. Carm.
o The Scapular Medal | Holy Office
o The Value Of Sacramentals | Paul Kokoski
· Easter: May 16th
· Saturday of the Sixth Week of Easter
Old Calendar: St. Ubaldus, bishop and confessor; St. Simon Stock, religious (Hist); St. Brendan (Hist)
According to the 1962 Missal of St. John XXIII the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite, today is the feast of St. Ubaldus, Bishop of Gubbio. He is remembered in central Italy as a Bishop who was entirely devoted to the duties of his office. He led a life of exceptional austerity. He belonged to the Order of Canons Regular of St. Augustine. He died on May 16, 1160.
Historically today is the feast of St. Simon Stock, a hermit who became a member of the Carmelite order. He received a vision of the Blessed Mother promising salvation to all those who wore the brown scapular which she showed him — a vision that led to the widespread devotion to Mary over the next centuries of wearing this scapular in her honor. It is also the feast of St. Brendan called "the Navigator", "the Voyager", or "the Bold". He is one of the early Irish monastic saints and chiefly renowned for his legendary quest to the "Isle of the Blessed," also called Saint Brendan's Island. He was one of the Twelve Apostles of Ireland.
St. Ubaldus
The saint was born in Gubbio, Italy, was ordained a priest, and made a canon. Against his own wishes but upon the request of Pope Honorius II, he became the bishop of his native city in 1128. In this capacity he was a model of apostolic simplicity, pastoral zeal, and personal holiness. His aid is popularly invoked against evil spirits. To this day his body remains incorrupt.
The power St. Ubaldus possessed against evil spirits was evident. The Church moves in a spirit world--good angels are all about, while constant vigilance is exercised against Satan and his devils. The liturgy contains a considerable number of exorcisms and adjurations. Then there are a series of sacramentals directed against the power of evil spirits; for example, holy water, palms, candles. Hold these sacramentals in highest esteem.
— Excerpted from The Church's Year of Grace, Pius Parsch
St. Simon Stock
Little is known of his early life. Legend says that at age twelve he began to live as a hermit in a hollow oak tree. The name Stock is believed to be derived from the old English for tree trunk. He was an itinerant preacher and a pilgrim to the Holy Lands, but he left when invading Muslims chased out Christians. He joined the Carmelite Order soon after its arrival in England.
He lived and studied for several years in Rome and Mount Carmel. He was elected sixth general of the Carmelites in 1247 around age 82. He helped the Order spread through England, southern and western Europe. He founded houses in Cambridge, England in 1248, Oxford in 1253, Paris in 1260, and Bologna in 1260. He revised the Rule of the Order to make them mendicant friars instead of hermits.
Regardless of these successes, the Order was oppressed on all sides, including by the clergy and other orders. The friars took their woes to their patroness, the Virgin Mary. Tradition says that in answer, she appeared to Simon bringing him the brown scapular of the Carmelites. "This shall be the privilege for you and for all the Carmelites," she told him, "that anyone dying in this habit shall be saved." On 13 January 1252 the Order received a letter of protection from Pope Innocent IV, protecting them from harassment.
— Excerpted from SQPN.com
Patron: Bordeaux, France
Symbols: Carmelite friar holding a scapular; Carmelite friar receiving the scapular from the Blessed Virgin; Carmelite friar surrounded by and praying for souls in purgatory; elderly man in a Carmelite habit in prayer
Things to Do:
St. Brendan
Brendan was born in Tralee in what would one day be known as Country Kerry, Ireland, about the year 484 (just ten years after the death of St. Patrick). What we know about his life comes to us through a tract known as Navigate Sancti Brendani Abbatis, (The Voyages of St. Brendan the Abbot), written about three centuries after his death. This recounts how Brendan founded the monastery of Clonfert near the center of Ireland. There he served for many years as abbot of a community of over 3000 monks (a number which historians tell us was common for sixth century Ireland). Fervent in zeal, Brendan was filled with desire to bring to other lands the faith which had only recently transformed his own homeland.
One day an itinerant monk named Barrind visited Clonfert and shared with Brendan and his brothers how he and a hermit named Mernoc had undertaken a voyage to the Promised Land of the Saints. Barrind described sailing to a land in the west, where they walked about for fifteen days without needing to eat or drink. Reaching a river, they met a man who told them many things about this strange Land, which, he said, had been there since the creation of the world. He instructed the two travelers to return home, and escorted them back to their boat, whereupon they set sail and returned to Mernoc's monastery.
Enthralled with Berrind's tale, Brendan selected fourteen monks from his own community and confided to them his desire to visit the Promised Land of the Saints. After praying and fasting, Brendan and his companions set out for Inishmore of the Aran Islands to seek the blessing of St. Edna. Near a small creek under a mountain now called Brendan's Seat, they pitched camp and built a small wood-framed boat, covered in oxhides tanned with oak bark, and smeared the joints with animal fat to seal them. In the boat they placed supplies for forty days and other equipment. As they prepared to set sail, three strange monks approached them, asking to be taken along. Brendan agreed, but warned that two of them would endure a hideous end, and that the third would not return from the voyage.
Brendan and his companions sailed westward for fifteen days until they lost their bearings and drifted to an island which looked like a huge rock tower with streams cascading down its cliffs. Finding a small harbor, they landed, and were greeted by a dog which led them to a hall where they found food set out for them. They stayed for several days, and the whole time they were on the island they saw no one, yet always found meals set out for them. After three days, as they boarded the boat to leave, one of the three monks who had joined them went into a fit. A demon leaped from his breast, and he died. It was then discovered that he had tried to steal a silver platter from the hall.
Their journey next took them to a large island called the Island of Sheep because of the numerous flocks which roamed its hills. They stayed there from Holy Thursday through Holy Saturday. While there, a man known as the Steward provided for them, and gave them fresh meat to take with them. He instructed them to travel to another island to celebrate Easter. Soon after leaving the Island of Sheep, they found a small barren island and landed there. But when they lit the fire to roast some of the meat they had been given, the island began to shake and move, and the monks scrambled back into their boat. They watched as the island moved away, their fire still burning. Brendan informed his monks that the "island" was in fact Jasconius, the largest whale in the ocean. Across a channel from the Island of Sheep the travelers found the Paradise of Birds, with a river leading inland. A mile upstream they discovered a huge tree covered with white birds. At vespers and at other times the birds burst into hymns and verses. One of the flock flew down to the boat and began speaking to Brendan, informing him that he and his companions would search seven years before reaching the Promised Land of the Saints. Throughout their stay on the Paradise of Birds, the Steward brought them food and water and provided for all their needs. When the Feast of Pentecost came, the Steward instructed them to set sail once again.
For many months they traveled westward and saw no sign of island or coast. Finally, just before Christmas, they spotted an island. When they reached the shore they found a white-haired elder who led them to the nearby Monastery of St. Ailbe. At the door of the monastery they were greeted in silence by eleven monks. The abbot washed their feet and led them to a meal of roots and bread. The abbot broke the silence to explain that no cooked food was ever eaten at the monastery, that the bread was miraculously provided, that their lamps never burned out, and that the monks never grew older. They had been on the island for eighty years, never speaking a word. After the other monks had gone to sleep, the abbot led Brendan to the chapel, where they watched as a fiery arrow sped through a window, touched the lamps at the altar to replenish their oil, and sped out again. When Epiphany came, Brendan and his companions left the Monastery of St. Ailbe and set sail again. They sailed until Lent, without sight of any land, their food and water depleted. After three days without water, they came upon an island where they found a well. But after drinking the water, the monks fell into a deep sleep, some for three days, some for two, some for one. Once they all awoke, Brendan ordered that they leave the island immediately.
Sailing toward the north, they hit a calm and their boat drifted aimlessly for twenty-five days. Finally a wind sped them eastward, returning them to the Island of Sheep on Holy Thursday. The Steward greeted them there, providing them with shelter and fresh clothing. Having observed Holy Saturday, he instructed them to sail off again to observe Easter on the back of Jasconius, the whale, then to proceed to the Paradise of Birds. They did as the Steward said. Again the Steward provided the travelers with food and water while they stayed on the Paradise of Birds. He instructed Brendan that they would repeat the cycle for several years-spending Holy Thursday on the Island of Sheep, Easter on the whale. Easter to Pentecost on the Paradise of Birds, and Christmas to Epiphany with the monks of the monastery of St. Ailbe. The times spent sailing between these islands would bring many adventures.
And so it happened. During one of these times the monks saw speeding toward their boat a huge beast spewing foam from his snout, looking as though it will devour them. The monks cried out in fear, but just as it drew next to the boat a second beast came from the west and attacked the first beast, cutting it into three pieces. Then the second beast swam back the way it had come. On another occasion a flying griffin attacked their boat, but before it could strike, a large bird dove out of the sky and killed the griffin. One day the companions came upon an island on which they found three choirs–one of boys, one of youth and one of elders. Throughout the day they sang the praises of God. A cloud of extraordinary brightness covered the island from dusk till dawn. When the travelers were ready to leave, the choirs invited one of the three monks who had joined Brendan's company to stay with them on the island. With Brendan's blessing, the monk remained. After this the wind blew them to a rocky, barren island from which came the sounds of hammer and anvil. Filled with apprehension, Brendan and his companions made a valiant effort to row away, but an islander appeared from out of a forge and threw a huge piece of slag at them. It flew over their heads, and when it fell into the sea, the water boiled and hissed. Other islanders rushed to the shore, likewise hurling slag at the boat. The water all around the Island of Smiths steamed like a furnace, and a horrible stench arose. Brendan informed his companions that they were on the edges of Hell.
Soon they were run aground at an island at the base of a huge black cliff. The third of the monks who had joined the band jumped off the boat and began walking towards the cliff, saying he was powerless to turn back. As he reached the cliff, demons carried him off and set him ablaze. Another time they saw a man chained to a pillar of rock, the wind and waves flailing against him. Brendan called out to him, and was told that he was Judas, upon whom the Lord showed mercy by freeing him from his torments in Hell to sit on this rock on Sundays and holy days.
Finally the travelers reached an island where Brendan found an ancient monk sitting at the entrance to a cave. The ancient one told Brendan he had been a companion of St. Patrick and had been a hermit on the island for ninety years since Patrick's death. The hermit instructed Brendan to return once more to the Island of Sheep and once again to the Paradise of Birds, and after that he would be led to the Promised land of the Saints. There he and his companions would stay for forty days, and then be brought safely home to Ireland. After receiving the ancient monk's blessing, the companions sailed off and came to the Island of Sheep where they were once again attended to by the Steward. This time when they prepared to leave the Steward joined them in their boat. Next they met Jasconius who brought them on his back to the Paradise of Birds. After filling their water vessels, they companions set sail with the Steward as their guide, for, he said, without him they would never find the Promised Land of the Saints.
On the fortieth day a great fog swallowed up their boat. The Steward told them that the fog always surrounded the land for which they had been searching these seven years. An hour later a brilliant light shone forth, and the boat touched shore. The monks disembarked and found a beautiful land filled with fruit-laden trees. They explored the land for forty days, never coming to the end of it. But on the fortieth day they discovered a wide river, which Brendan said they should not cross. A young man approached and greeted each of them by name. He explained that God had delayed them in finding the Promised Land of the Saints so that they might discover many things along the way. He instructed them to gather up fruit and supplies and to set sail for, he said, Brendan's last days were near. The Promised Land, he assured them, would be made known to Brendan's successors at a time when Christians were being persecuted, so that they might find a new home in peace. Brendan and his companions gathered up fruit and, taking their leave of the Steward, sailed out into the fog. They came again to the island of the ancient hermit, and stayed there with him for three days. Then they set sail once again and returned safely to Ireland. The monastery at Clonfert greeted him with great joy, and he recounted to them everything which they had encountered on their journey. Finally he told them of his approaching death, as foretold by the young man. After making everything ready, Brendan received the sacraments, and soon thereafter died among his companions in about the year 570.
While the story of The Voyage of Brendan is filled with fanciful images, many modern scholars believe it has an historical foundation. Some claim that Brendan's voyage brought him to the shores of North America, making him and his companions the first Europeans to reach the continent–nearly a thousand years before Columbus. In 1977 a modern navigator built a replica of Brendan's boat and retraced his route across the Atlantic to Newfoundland, proving that such a journey was indeed possible.
Whether or not Brendan's voyage is historically factual, the story speaks to us throughout the centuries. We, too, are on a journey. Our God has invited us to travel with our companions, and to invite others to journey with us along the way. We are cared for by the Steward and often make the journey through the years from Epiphany to Holy Thursday to Easter. We encounter many strange and wonderful things along the way. And, in the end, we, too, are promised that we will be brought safely home.
Excerpted from St. Brendan's Catholic Church and School
Things to Do:
6th Week of Easter
Ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be complete. (John 16:24)
To a large extent, the way we petition God depends on our concept of who he is. Advocates of the “prosperity gospel” approach God like a benevolent benefactor—the Great Provider in the sky. They ask for wealth, position, success, and all the other things they think will ensure a happy life. At the other end of the spectrum are those who feel too sinful or unworthy of God’s favor. If they ask for anything at all, it is for forgiveness—usually over and over again.
Both approaches miss the mark. God doesn’t want us to be selfish in our petitions, nor does he want us to avoid asking because we feel undeserving. He does, however, want us to ask. His answer may surprise us, and it may not always be what we expect, but we can be sure that he will give us the best possible response to our requests.
King Solomon is a good example. God told him, “Whatever you ask I shall give you” (1 Kings 3:5). Solomon could have asked for anything—a long life, riches, or the death of his enemies. Instead, Solomon asked for “a listening heart to judge your people and to distinguish between good and evil.” This request was so pleasing to God that he not only gave Solomon what he requested, but riches, glory, and a long life as well (3:13-14).
Jesus told his disciples, “Until now you have not asked anything in my name; ask and you will receive” (John 16:24). Jesus receives our requests as a friend because he wants us to have a joyful, abundant life. When he tells us to ask, he doesn’t impose any limits—so long as our asking is in line with the nature of his love. We can ask for as much wisdom as Solomon had. We can ask for a life as productive as St. Paul’s. We can ask to love as fully as Mary did.
So aim high. Believe that if you keep on knocking on heaven’s door, your prayers will be answered with the wisdom and generosity that come from a loving, gracious God.
“Come, Holy Spirit, and open my eyes to the wonders of Jesus’ love. Help me to believe that he wants to give me everything I need, so that my joy might be complete.”
Acts 18:23-28; Psalm 47:2-3, 8-10
Daily Marriage Tip for May 16, 2015:
(Reader’s Tip) Pray together daily, listen to each other and wait to respond until the other is finished speaking.
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