7 December 2026 · Syro-Malabar Rite
Open in the Daily Word appAlso: Latin Rite · Syro-Malankara Rite · മലയാളം
“If in my name you ask me for anything, I will do it.” John 14:14
Paul's goal for the Church is maturity: “until all of us come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ.” No longer “children, tossed to and fro”, but “speaking the truth in love, we must grow up in every way into him who is the head.”
Jesus promises that the one who believes in him will do the works he does, and even greater, and that whatever we ask in his name he will do. St Ambrose, bishop of Milan, lived this: chosen bishop while still a catechumen, he grew into a pastor of great faith who stood firm before emperors and led St Augustine to baptism.
Theme: “Grow up into Christ.”
Maturity in faith and confident prayer; St Ambrose.
“Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known.” Jeremiah 33:3
“I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If in my name you ask me for anything, I will do it.” John 14:13–14
Apply: Bring one intention to Jesus with confidence.
“Is anything too wonderful for the LORD?” Genesis 18:14
“Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these, because I am going to the Father.” John 14:12
Apply: Do one work of mercy today in Jesus' name.
“Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” Psalm 119:105
“Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; but if you do not, then believe me because of the works themselves.” John 14:11
Apply: Read one page of the Catechism this week.
Grow up into Christ.
Ask in his name, and do his works.
Take-home resolution: Pray “in the name of Jesus” with faith each day this week.
Dear friends, St Paul has a beautiful goal for the Church: that all of us may come to the unity of the faith and the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ (Ephesians 4:13). God wants us to grow up.
Paul describes spiritual childishness: being tossed to and fro and blown about by every wind of doctrine, by people's trickery (Ephesians 4:14). Today the winds blow through our phones: forwarded messages, half-truths, aggressive opinions, new teachings every day. An immature faith is pushed around by every wave.
What is the alternative? Speaking the truth in love, we must grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ (Ephesians 4:15). Mature faith is rooted in Christ and the Church's teaching, and it speaks truth always with love: not harsh, not timid.
In the Gospel Jesus promises: whoever believes in me will do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these; if in my name you ask me for anything, I will do it (John 14:12–14). Asking in Jesus' name means asking as he would ask: for the Father's glory and our true good.
Today we remember St Ambrose, bishop of Milan. He was a mature Christian leader: deeply rooted in Scripture, brave enough to correct the emperor Theodosius after a massacre, gentle enough to welcome his repentance, and wise enough to lead the young Augustine to faith.
How do we grow to maturity? By regular prayer, by knowing the Scriptures, by learning the Catechism, by receiving the sacraments, and by belonging to a community. Faith that is only emotion or only custom stays childish.
This Nombu, let us choose one way to grow: read one chapter of a Gospel each day, join a Bible study, or read the Catechism of the Catholic Church on Christmas. And let us always speak the truth in love. Amen.
Children, St Ambrose helped a young man named Augustine to love Jesus. Pray today for a friend who needs Jesus!
Lord Jesus, help me to grow up into you in truth and love. Hear the prayers I make in your name, and give your Church pastors like St Ambrose. Amen.
On the day of St Ambrose, the readings speak of growing up and of doing greater things. Ephesians wants the Church to stop being tossed about like children by “every wind of doctrine” and to grow up into Christ. In John, Jesus promises that those who believe will do even greater works than his, and that he will do what they ask in his name. Ambrose, a bishop who stood firm in a storm of false teaching and who helped to bring Augustine to Christ, shows what both mean.
Setting.
The letter comes from prison (4:1) and is traditionally by Paul; some scholars think a later disciple wrote it. Its first half (chapters 1–3) sings of God’s plan to unite all things in Christ. Its second half (chapters 4–6) describes the life that follows. Just before today’s verses, the author lists the gifts Christ has given to the Church: apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers (4:11), who are given to equip the saints “until all of us come to the unity of the faith”.
Structure.
Key words.
Verse by verse.
“until all of us come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ.” (4:13)
“All of us”: maturity is a goal for the whole Church. No one reaches it alone, and it is measured by Christ himself, not by comparison with others.
“We must no longer be children, tossed to and fro and blown about by every wind of doctrine” (4:14)
This is a sailor’s picture: a small boat with no steering. In the fourth century, Ambrose faced such a wind in Arianism, which denied the full divinity of the Son and had powerful friends at court.
“But speaking the truth in love, we must grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ,” (4:15)
Truth without love wounds, and love without truth deceives. The growth is “into him”: the Church is not growing toward some idea, but toward a person.
“from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by every ligament with which it is equipped, as each part is working properly, promotes the body’s growth in building itself up in love.” (4:16)
The sentence is long and tangled, as a body is. Every part matters, down to the least. The body’s growth comes from the head and is built up by what each member gives.
How the Church reads it.
The Catechism draws on this passage to teach that Christ, the head, provides in his Body, the Church, the gifts and helps by which we support one another on the way of salvation (CCC 794). The Council speaks of the same growth of the whole body toward its head (Lumen Gentium 7).
Setting.
This is the Last Supper in John’s Gospel. Jesus has said that he is going away, and the disciples are troubled. Philip has just said, “Lord, show us the Father”, and Jesus has replied, “Whoever has seen me has seen the Father” (14:8–9). Today’s verses continue that reply and turn it into a promise for the time after he has gone.
Structure.
Key words.
Verse by verse.
“Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; but if you do not, then believe me because of the works themselves.” (14:11)
Jesus accepts a beginning of faith. Those who cannot yet trust his word may at least look at what he has done.
“Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these, because I am going to the Father.” (14:12)
The reason given is striking: “because I am going”. His departure is not the end of his work but its widening, through the Spirit he will send (14:16).
“I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.” (14:13)
The goal of the promise is the Father’s glory. This sets the limit of the prayer, and its joy.
“If in my name you ask me for anything, I will do it.” (14:14)
A note on the text: Many ancient manuscripts have “ask me”, as the NRSV and the Malayalam POC do, and some leave out “me”. With “me”, Jesus himself receives the prayer. The Church has prayed to him from the beginning.
How the Church reads it.
St Augustine, commenting on this Gospel, says that the justification of the wicked is a greater work than the creation of heaven and earth; the Catechism quotes him (CCC 1994). The Catechism also teaches that prayer in Jesus’ name is the heart of the new prayer he gives (CCC 2614–2615), and that “There is no other way of Christian prayer than Christ” (CCC 2664).
Jesus says that he will do “whatever” we ask. Why are some prayers not answered?
The promise is for prayer “in my name”, that is, in union with him, and “so that the Father may be glorified”. It is not a way of getting what we want. The Catechism speaks of this difficulty directly: we should ask whether our prayer is that of a child who trusts, and we should remember that God’s gift is greater than what we ask (CCC 2735–2737). Jesus’ own prayer in Gethsemane is the model.
St Ambrose (c. 340–397) was a Roman governor at Milan and still a catechumen when the people acclaimed him bishop in 374. His feast falls on the anniversary of his ordination. He stood firm against Arianism, taught the people through sermons and hymns, and did not hesitate to make the Emperor Theodosius do penance after the massacre at Thessalonica. St Augustine tells in his Confessions how Ambrose’s preaching opened the Old Testament to him; Ambrose baptised him at Easter in 387. In that one baptism the “greater works” of John 14 can be seen, and every parish priest who preaches and baptises shares that work.