May 15
Saturday of the Sixth Week of Easter
Give a Mass Offering
Mass Intentions
9:00 AM – Shirley Lonobile / The Sansones
Prayer for Spiritual Communion
My Jesus, I believe that you are present in the most Blessed Sacrament. I love You above all things and I desire to receive You into my soul. Since I cannot now receive You sacramentally, come at least spiritually into my heart. I embrace You as if You were already there, and unite myself wholly to You. Never permit me to be separated from You. Amen.
Readings
First Reading
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
Psalms 47:2-3, 8-9, 10
R. (8a) God is king of all the earth.
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.
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.
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.
Gospel Acclamation
John 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
John 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.”
“God is king of all the earth.”
Reflection
Today, as a reflection, let us look at what God has given us. Do the gifts that we have received meet our needs? Remember, we are talking about needs, not wants and desires. Does what we have received from God meet our needs?
As we ponder this question may we remember that Jesus tells his disciples, “Amen, amen, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in my name he will give you.” Often, I believe, our confusion with this statement of Jesus is that we desire to ask for things to which we have no right. When we ask for the things we desire and not truly need, we become disgruntled with God for his “failure” to answer our requests.
Fortunately, God know better than we do what we need in this life. The greatest gift we can possess is the gift of faith in God. That gift of faith should cause us to accept that God will never abandon us.
Peace,
Fr. John Kurgan
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