Word to the Wise
Monday, May 16, 2022 - 5th Week of Easter - Mon
[Acts 14:5-18 and John 14:21-26]"Whoever loves me will keep my word, and my Father will love him and we will come to him and make our dwelling with him.....I have told you this while I am with you. The Advocate, the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send in my name - he will teach you everything and remind you of all that I told you." [John]
When the Dominican General Chapter (our international legislative assembly that meets every three years) met in Providence, RI, Pope St. John Paul II, wrote a letter of greeting in which he had a line in which he lamented that so many people did not truly know Christ but consigned him to "a distant past or a distant heaven." The Gospel According to John assures us that Christ is present NOW and HERE in each one of us and in all who believe.
The gospel passage today from the Gospel According to John is taken from the "Last Supper discourse" in which Jesus is preparing the disciples for what would take place later. In his post-resurrection appearance to them [John 20:19-23} he "breathed on them and said to them: 'Receive the Holy Spirit..." (The circumstances differ from Acts 2:1-15, but the message is the same.) It is that same Holy Spirit that is the expression of the presence of Christ in our midst and in each of us. St. Thomas Aquinas tells us that the "New Law is first and foremost the gracious gift of the Holy Spirit to those who believe in Christ." [I-II, Q. 106 a, 1]
The liturgical celebration of Pentecost is still ahead of us, but the everyday life of a Christian can be lived in the assurance of God's presence in the gift of the Spirit. Our recognition of this can really enhance our lives. AMEN