HOMILY FOR SATURDAY OF THE 6TH WEEK OF EASTER
THEME: I tell you most solemnly, anything you ask for from the Father he will grant in my name.
BY: Fr. Diotacious Chikontwe SMA
HOMILY FOR SATURDAY MAY 28 2022
*READINGS OF THE DAY*
Acts 18:23-28
Psalm 46:2-3,8-10
John 16:23-28
*FROM OUR FIRST READING*
In our first reading today, we heard in particular the story of Apollos, also known as St. Apollos, who was a Jewish convert to the Christian faith that came from the region of Egypt. He came from Alexandria in Egypt to Ephesus, where there had been a growing community of early Christians like in Alexandria. He came to Ephesus and began to preach to the people, based on his understanding of the faith. He was known to be very eloquent and wise, but at the same time, according to the Acts of the Apostles, he was still lacking the full knowledge of the teachings of Christ.
*FROM THE GOSPEL READING*
In today’s gospel Jesus says: “Whatever you ask the Father in my name He will give you,”. He is saying that our prayer should be addressed to the Father, but ‘in my name’, that is, in the presence of Jesus and through Him. In the Liturgical celebration this is the pattern of prayer. The Eucharistic prayer is invariably addressed to the Father, ‘through Him (Jesus), with Him and in Him, in the unity of the Holy Spirit.’ All our prayer has the pattern of the Trinity stamped on it.
*CONCLUSION*
It is as though Jesus were begging us to ask him to grant our hearts’ deepest longings. His heart longs to give to us. He has created us capable of a relationship with him, and it is his greatest joy that we should choose this relationship. He loves to see his children finding and choosing the greatest source of joy that our hearts could ever find. He opens his heart wide and cries to us, “seek, beg, ask… and you will receive.” Our asking is the way we respond to God’s love, our heart’s reaching out in faith and trust, our conscious decision to rely on God rather than ourselves. And when we open our hearts in this way, asking God to lead us to the fulfillment of our deepest desires, we can be sure that he will lead us to the fullness of joy in him.
I wish you A Blessed Weekend!
Fr. Diotacious Chikontwe SMA