Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Homily for Friday of the 6th Week of Easter




St. Athanasius, pray for us!

Mary, Queen of Vocations, pray for us!


Whatever you ask the Father in my name, He will give you. This statement of Jesus at the end of today's Gospel is contingent upon a prior statement of Jesus Himself; namely, that 'I have given you everything I received from my Father.' Throughout the Gospel of John the mystery of the Trinity is being re-presented over and over again from different viewpoints. The viewpoint of today's Gospel is an explanation by our Lord to his disciples of why they may feel as if they are in anguish. It would have been enough, I think, for our Lord, to say that anything worth achieving requires suffering and is worth the suffering required for its achievement. The drama introduced by the dawn of human freedom requires this. The hope Jesus asks his disciples to have during their pilgrimage of suffering for the sake of the Gospel, however, is supported not only by the hope of what is to come, but also by the knowledge that He has already handed on to them in His paschal mystery everything He received from His Father. The Lord has already demonstrated His love for them in laying down His life while they were yet sinners, so there is no need for them to question Him now, let alone in the future. This is the proper response of one who consistently places his hope in the sacrificial love of Christ to those who would rather question whether or not God is good. The paschal mystery reveals the Lord to be the Good Shepherd who lays down His life out of love for His sheep, not a master who treats his creation as slaves.

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