Amen, amen, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in my name he will give you.

 

Scripture readings can be found at Friday of the Sixth Week of Easter | USCCB

In our gospel for today we are assured by the Lord that we can turn to him in all our needs. Being a follower of Jesus Christ is not always easy since most people we know may not understand our love and devotion to Jesus Christ. Being a follower of Jesus Christ has always been counter cultural. We are attempting to live out the love of God as taught by Jesus Christ. We are called as Christians to put Jesus as the center of all who we are and to live a life dedicated to the love of God and love of neighbor. This has never been easy. But it’s our call as Christians to do so.

There will always be some suffering associated with being a Christian due to others not understanding our motives in following Jesus Christ. But the inner peace we receive because of being His follower is the gift we receive from Him. The Lord mentions in the gospel today of the world rejoicing while we weep and mourn. The reason for this is that the way of the world is that of sinfulness and self-centeredness. They have no concept of who Jesus is. They are only interested in their own self-satisfaction and personal pleasures.

We, as Catholic Christians, see the world in a more spiritual way. Those who live by worldly desires are only interested in the here and now. But we are called to live out our lives with our eyes towards heaven as our final reward. We, as Christians, are called to love God with our whole mind, heart and soul, and love others as we love ourselves. By doing so, we will move beyond whatever pain or hurt that we may be struggling with in this world and receive the peace that can come only from the Lord Jesus.

In our first reading from Acts, we hear the Lord tell Paul, "Do not be afraid. Go on speaking, and do not be silent, for I am with you.” As we go through our days, let us continue to speak of God’s love for all people, for He is always with us.