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.”
The Word of the Lord
All : Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
REFLECTION
For the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me and have come to believe that I came from God.
As much as I thought I was ready for the goodbyes, my heart did not want to leave. Had I prepared her for all things? Had I counselled, warned, showed her what true love was? Watched over her enough? Things that I did for her, did I show her how to do herself? What if I was to become that helicopter mom or zamboni mom that would never let her experience her life without my control? Every thought had a What if?
Jesus loved His apostles. He was preparing them for a life without His physical presence, for a life that would have fear, confusion, trials, persecution, and even death. And inspite of spending three years with them, they still needed to be told and explained of His love, His purpose, and the Father's love and the joy of the Holy Spirit.
Jesus speaks to us with tenderness and confidence. He came to this world to ransom us and bring us back to God. Sin, fear and death no longer have the final word. The fear of His upcoming passion and Death is transformed into His love, directing us towards hope, prayer and trust. As we have gotten to know and love Jesus, we have grown to love His Father.
Though He is leaving, we will never be abandoned. In His Name we speak with the Father and He will give us all we need as a good father does. The closer we are to Jesus, the more our hearts will reflect His peace and joy. With the Holy Spirit we can work through obstacles, misfortunes, and dross circumstances because we are loved by God.
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