Saturday of the Sixth Week of Easter

(Optional Memorial for Saint Bernardine of Siena, Priest)

 
Proper readings for the Memorial of St. Bernardine of Siena
Biographical information about St. Bernardine of Siena

“The Prayer in the Garden” (detail)
by Tintoretto, 1578-81

 
Readings for Saturday of the Sixth Week of Easter [1]
 
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible [2]
 
Readings and Commentary: [3]
 
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.
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Commentary on Acts 18:23-28
 
The story in Acts introduces Apollos who, like St. Paul, continues the rapid spreading of the Gospel. He is clearly an educated Jewish convert (to the “Way”) from Alexandria. Hearing the story unfold, we learn much about him. Note he only had the “baptism of John (the Baptist).” This means that he must have been in Galilee earlier.
 
We also know that Apollos later becomes a revered leader in the Christian Community. We hear St. Paul speak of him in his First Letter to the Corinthians (1 Corinthians 1:12; 3:5-6, 3:22).
 
CCC: Acts 18:18 2102
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 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.
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Commentary on Ps 47:2-3, 8-9, 10
 
Psalm 47 is a hymn of praise. It calls all nations to acknowledge the kingship of God. The singer proclaims his belief that the God of Abraham is the creator, the one true God, who reigns over the earth. The song becomes an apologetic exhortation against idols of foreign gods.
 
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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."
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Commentary on Jn 16:23b-28
 
This selection is taken from Jesus’ farewell speech. In this passage Jesus makes a strong connection between his own identity and the Father’s (“whatever you ask the Father in my name he will give you”).
 
From a dogmatic perspective, this section of St. John’s Gospel sets the precedent as to how we are instructed to pray (e.g. to God through the Son, Jesus). He makes it clear that they are to use his name in prayer to the Father and assures them that what they ask for in his name will be given.
CCC: Jn 16:23-27 2615; Jn 16:24 2615, 2815; Jn 16:26 2815; Jn 16:28 661, 2795
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Reflection:
 
Because of the importance of the Gospel message today, we reflect upon why it is important to be a people of prayer. Jesus tells his disciples that, “Until now you have not asked anything in my name.” That statement would seem to indicate that, up to that point, like Jesus himself, they had been praying to God without the understanding that the Son and the Father are one, and “no one comes to the Father” except through the Son.
 
Today he establishes the flow of prayer, from us to God, through Christ. That concept has been faithfully passed down to us through the successors of St. Peter from the earliest times of the Church. It is clouded only slightly by our equally rich understanding of the Trinity, three persons, one God. In formula, however, we conclude our prayer with: “through Christ our Lord.” Or: “We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, God, forever and ever.” 
 
We take great pains to contrast the persons to whom our prayer is directed because, with our enormous faith tradition, we have so many intercessors. Chief among those we turn to is Mary the Mother of God and Queen of Heaven, asking her to intercede for us with her Son. Likewise, with the whole communion of saints at our disposal, we ask frequently for intercession from those holy men and women whom we believe reside in the new Jerusalem, the heavenly kingdom, with the angels and surrounding the throne of the Lamb.
 
We ask the Father for so much, don’t we? We always seek his support and guidance, his gifts of grace, and salvation. We were taught to be a people of prayer, and we must come to understand what that means if we are to follow Christ more closely. Our most common failing in prayer is forgetting to listen. We talk to God, we plead with God, and we beseech his Son to come to our aid. We ask for his intervention in events and, in our darkest despair, we ask him to undo what has been done. 
 
When do we listen? As a people who ask for God’s help through His Son, we should be doing more listening than talking. Listening is the most difficult part of prayer, that seeming silence where we strain to hear and struggle to understand if it is our voice or God’s that tries to fill the void created by the absence of our own words. 
 
Today, as we reflect upon God’s great gift of his Only Begotten Son, and how gracious he was in his promise that what we prayed for in his name would be done for us by his Father, let us spend more time watching for the fulfillment of those prayers and listening for the answers to our questions. And when answers come, let us give thanks and praise to him, something else our prayer frequently fails to do.
 
Pax
 

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[1] The picture used is “The Prayer in the Garden” (detail) by Tintoretto, 1578-81.
[2] S.S. Commemoratio
[3] The readings are taken from the New American Bible, with the exception of the psalm and its response which were developed by the International Committee for English in Liturgy (ICEL). This republication is not authorized by USCCB and is for private use only.