Saturday of the Sixth Week of Easter Time [English]

The Return of the Prodigal Son (1668) by Rembrandt

 

The End of Orphanhood: Inhabiting the Father's Direct Love

Mass Readings: Acts 18:23-28; Psalm 47; Jn 16:23b-28

We are reaching the end of this sixth week of Easter, and it is time to let the Word decant into the depths of our existence. Last Sunday, we received a promise that is the foundation of everything we live: "I will not leave you orphans." Jesus spoke to us about the Spirit of Truth who dwells in us, and He explained that the proof of our love is not in emotion, but in keeping His Word. All this week, we have tried to understand how to "inhabit" this path. Today, the liturgy takes us a step further, almost a disconcerting one: it announces that the time of images and mediations is giving way to a direct and transparent relationship with the Father; this is the ultimate goal of our baptism.

First Point: Apollos or the Necessity of an Interior Adjustment

In the first reading, we meet a fascinating character: Apollos. He is a brilliant man, eloquent, an expert in the Scriptures. The text says he was "fervent." One might think he has everything going for him, and yet, he lacks the essential: he only knew the baptism of John. This means he remained at the stage of preparation, of morality, of human effort to make himself "worthy" of God. One can be very religious, speak magnificently about Jesus, and yet not yet have entered the reality of the Holy Spirit.

A remarkable aspect is the humility of this great intellectual: he allows himself to be taken aside by a lay couple, Priscilla and Aquila. They do not give him a theology lecture; they explain to him "the Way of God with greater precision." And what is this adjustment? It is to move from a knowledge about God to a life in God. Apollos had to understand that Christianity is not a demonstration of oratory strength, but an experience of vulnerability where one allows oneself to be inhabited by Another, the Defender, the Spirit of Truth whom we met last Sunday. Faith, then, is not a performance but a relationship that refines itself.

And here is a beautiful lesson for us. Sometimes, we are like Apollos: we have much fervor, but our "way" lacks precision; we still think everything rests on our shoulders, on our eloquence, or on our ability to convince. But indeed, we must understand that the true service we can render to others is that of Apollos after his adjustment: to demonstrate that Christ is alive, not through brilliant words, but through a life that has been touched by grace. To witness to the Way, one must first accept being "rerouted" by the Spirit, who "blows where he wills."

Second Point: Asking in His Name: The Identity of the Son

In the Gospel, Jesus says a phrase that we have often heard as a magic formula: "Whatever you ask the Father in my name, he will give it to you." Indeed, we often end our prayers with this phrase, sometimes mechanically. But what does it mean to ask "in the Name of Jesus"? In biblical culture, the name is the person. To ask in the Name of Jesus is to ask "inside" the relationship that Jesus has with His Father. It is to pray not as a client asking for a service, but as a son who shares the interests of his father.

Jesus provokes the disciples by saying, "Until now you have not asked anything in my name." If we look at ourselves, we often spend our days asking for things: health, work, peace, solutions to our problems... and Jesus tells us: "you have asked for nothing." But what does that mean? It happens that we often ask for objects and results, whereas He wants to give us Joy: perfect joy does not consist in getting what we want, but in receiving who God is. To ask in His Name is to ask for what the Holy Spirit (the Defender promised on Sunday) whispers within us: the thirst for the Father.

This is where prayer becomes a place of truth: if I ask for something that separates me from God or feeds my ego, I am not asking in the Name of Jesus. To pray in His Name is to say: "Father, look at me through Your Son, and give me what He Himself desires for me." Joy becomes perfect when our desire and God's desire become one. It is the end of the frustration of the orphan who always fears lacking something; the son, however, asks with the assurance that everything belonging to the Father is already his.

Third Point: The Direct Love of the Father and the End of Fear

Here is the heart of today's revelation: "The Father himself loves you, because you have loved me." Jesus breaks an image of God that is still very rooted in our time: that of a God who must be coaxed, calmed, or persuaded; or of a Jesus who must act as a shield between us and a harsh Father. Jesus is not a mediator who "convinces" God to love us; He is the proof that God already loved us.

"I do not say to you that I will pray to the Father for you." Jesus tells us that we have direct access, and this is the ultimate goal of this entire Easter season: to bring us into the freedom of the children of God. If last Sunday He promised not to leave us orphans, it is because He is restoring our place at the Father's table. God's love for you is not a reward for your merits; it is a recognition of your belonging: because you love the Son, the Father recognizes you as His own child.

And finally, the movement of Jesus is our own itinerary: "I came from the Father and have come into the world; now I am leaving the world and going to the Father." This is the trajectory of every human life. We are not products of chance thrown into an absurd world: we come from Love and we return to Love; understanding this is the end of anxiety! The world is no longer a place of exile, but the ground where we learn to love so that we can, one day, speak "openly" with the Father. The Defender, the Spirit of Truth, is the one who helps us carry this reality: we are already loved, now, totally, without condition.

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Conclusion and Application for Our Day

This Saturday’s meditation invites us to unify our lives under the gaze of a Father who awaits us.

• First, learn the humility of Apollos. Do not be afraid to let yourself be corrected or adjusted by others, even by those who seem "less qualified" than you in religion, because God often works through fraternal and daily relationships to show us that our "Way" lacks precision. Ask yourself: what is the Spirit trying to rectify in my way of loving or praying today?

• Next, change your way of asking. Do not make a grocery list for God anymore. Try to pray "in the Name of Jesus." Before asking for anything, say: "Lord, what would You ask for me in this situation?" Then you will see that your prayer will simplify and your joy will begin to grow, for you are no longer seeking only a solution, but a Presence.

• Finally, rest in the direct love of the Father. Take two minutes today, in the noise or in the silence, to close your eyes and simply say to yourself: "The Father Himself loves me." Not because I worked hard, not because I didn't sin, but because I am His child. Let this truth burn away your fears and your sense of inferiority: we are no longer orphans; we are home.

Prayer

Lord Jesus, I thank You for revealing to me the face of Your Father. Thank You for teaching me that I do not need to be perfect to be loved, but that it is enough for me to remain in You.

Forgive my Apollos-like pride when I think I know everything, and give me the humility to let myself be led on the Way by those You place on my path. Come and adjust my faith so that it becomes a true friendship.

Father, I throw myself into Your arms. I believe that You love me directly. Remove from my heart every trace of servile fear. Teach me to ask You for Your own Spirit, so that my joy may be perfect. May I live this day in the certainty that I come from You and I return to You, and that nothing, absolutely nothing, can separate me from Your love. Amen.