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
May 15, 2026 Friday of the Sixth Week of Easter Gospel: John 16:20–23
Today is Friday of the Sixth Week of Easter. The passage from the Gospel of Saint John continues our Lord Jesus Christ’s farewell discourse to His disciples before His Passion.
Before we receive the Baptism of our Lord Jesus Christ and the anointing of the Holy Spirit, original sin and actual sin leave our souls numb to spiritual sorrow. Our flesh finds satisfaction in the fleeting joys of the world, while our souls, estranged from God, endure the anguish of separation—this is sin. Sin draws us away from God and closer to the devil. As Saint Peter the Apostle warns: “Your opponent the devil is prowling around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour” (cf. 1 Pet 5:8). Especially when we resolve to receive Baptism and the anointing of the Holy Spirit, they persist in tempting us, causing us to experience a labor pain akin to that of childbirth.
We encounter this birthing pain because we are to be reborn in Christ. I prefer to call this pain of rebirth a unique grace bestowed by God upon each of us. For it is through this singular grace that we choose to renounce the worldviews, life perspectives, and values imposed on us by the devil, and instead, under the illumination and guidance of the Holy Spirit, embrace the worldview, life vision, and values taught by the Word of God. This rupture is the distinctive grace God grants us.
Beloved brothers and sisters! When, within the boundless charity of Christ, we are cleansed from original sin in the water flowing from His sacred side through the Baptism of Christ, we are set free from sin and death. Whenever we are in Christ and receive the Holy Spirit—the “Advocate” promised by Christ to His disciples after His Ascension (cf. John 14:25–26), the “Spirit of truth” (cf. John 15:26–27)—then “in Him dwells the whole fullness of the deity bodily, and [we] have been brought to fullness in Him” (cf. Col 2:9). Thus, together with all who have received the Spirit, we share in Christ’s divinity and partake in His royal, priestly, and prophetic offices. Consequently, we are called to proclaim the Gospel to the world, so that through all we do, others may see the infinite mercy God reveals in them. In this way, we are filled with the joy God gives us. Then, whatever we ask the Father in Jesus’ name, He will grant us, for He is faithful to His promises.
Hear our prayers, O Lord, so that what was promised by the sanctifying power of your Word may everywhere be accomplished through the working of the Gospel and that all your adopted children may attain what the testimony of truth has foretold. 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
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