May 16, 2026
Saturday of the Sixth Week of Easter
Gospel: John 16:23b-28

Today is Saturday of the Sixth Week of Easter. The passage from the Holy Gospel according to Saint John continues Our Lord’s discourse—His Farewell Discourse—delivered to His disciples before His Passion.

At times, we become timid and may even fall into despair. This often occurs because we frequently present our petitions to God yet seem to receive nothing, or we fail to perceive His presence. In such moments, we may feel abandoned by God, or even presume that He does not exist; consequently, our faith grows tepid. This inclination is rooted in the dispositions of the flesh, which drive us away from God and gradually lead us toward perdition.

In the Gospel, Jesus often speaks to us in parables concerning the Father who sent Him into this world (cf. John 14:24). However, when we adhere to the Savior’s instructions, embrace His teachings, and present our prayers to the Father in a manner pleasing to Him (cf. Matt 6:7-13; Luke 11:1-4), following always the guidance of the Holy Spirit whom the Father sends in the name of Christ (cf. John 14:26), and relying on the Holy Ghost to mortify the deeds of the flesh—only then can we become true children of God (cf. Rom 8:13-14). Thus are we enabled to understand the Sacred Will of God and to put into practice all that Christ has commanded us in our daily lives.

In these final days of the Easter season, I invite everyone to recall: the Risen Lord Christ “came forth from the Father and came into the world” (cf. John 16:28a) to “do the will of Him who sent [Him]” (cf. John 6:38), guiding us into all life and peace. When He offered Himself on the Cross, sacrificing Himself that the world might have life, He vanquished the ruler of this world and his minions by His death, thereby destroying death for us and opening wide the gates of Heaven. When He “leaves the world and goes to the Father” (cf. John 16:28b)—”to prepare a place for us”—He promises to return and take us to Himself, that where He is, we may be also (cf. John 14:3). Thus shall we truly come to understand all that Christ teaches us and, with the aid of His grace, attain the blessedness of eternal life.

Constantly shape our minds, we pray, O Lord,
by the practice of good works,
that, trying always for what is better,
we may strive to hold ever fast to the Paschal Mystery.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever

©Totus Tuus 2026
Cum Approbatione Ecclesiastica