Have you noticed that each time during Mass when we raise our prayers of petition to God (prayers of the faithful or general intersessions), the priest concludes them with something like: we ask this through Christ Our Lord, and then the congregation responds -- Amen. Actually, most prayers end up in a similar way -- we bring our prayers to you, God, through your Son our Lord, or, we ask this in Jesus’ name. Have you ever wondered why we do that? The answer can be found in the Gospel reading that we have for today. In the conclusion of this Gospel today Jesus said to His disciples: “Amen, amen, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in my name he will give you.” Not the church, not the bishops, nor the priests made that up, but Jesus Himself promises us that when we ask God in Jesus’ name, He will provide for us.
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