Whatever you ask for

The Gospel for each day has usually come form St John. Jesus is speaking to his disciples, which means he is speaking to you and me. This morning I heard Jesus say "Whatever you ask for in my name I will do.....if you ask for anything in my name ,I will do it."
Now what do we think of that? I have been reading a book which I haven't read since 1980. It's as if I am reading it for the first time. It is a wonderful book entitled "Elected Silence" Thomas Merton's autobiography. In the chapter I read yesterday he was asking God to make sure his first novel would be published and would be a great success, all for God's glory of course. Well it was never published. God didn't want Thomas Merton to be a novelist but a Trappist monk. It is marvellous story. he says this :
                            "  When God promises to answer our prayers, he does not promise to give us exactly what we ask for. But we can always be certain that if He does not give us that, it is because He has something to give us much better instead. That is what is meant by Christ's promise that we will receive all that we ask for in His Name."

then he writes a little Latin " Quodcumque petimus adversus ultilitatem salutis , non petimus in nomine Salvatoris "

Which I think could be mistranslated as don't ask for anything which isn't good for you... God knows best