GOSPEL, John (16: 12-15)
Gospel of Our Lord Jesus Christ according to Saint John
The Work of the Spirit
12 “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. 13 When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own, but will speak whatever he hears, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. 14 He will glorify me, because he will take what is mine and declare it to you. 15 All that the Father has is mine. For this reason, I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.
The Gospel of the Lord
REFLECTION
The Holy Spirit has a teaching mission towards the disciples, as Jesus says today:
“I have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them for now”
Jesus, obeying the Father, passed on the teachings to the disciples, but they still needed to deepen his teachings and fully understand them.
We too, in time guided by the Spirit, will reach the full and complete truth, of the mystery of the person of Christ and of God.
In the ecclesial community, the Spirit continues the work of Christ: to guide Christians of all eras to a profound knowledge of what the unfathomable mystery of Christ means for humanity in every age, whose centre is his saving death and resurrection. Thus, the Spirit reveals to the believers “what is to come”, that is, he interprets the present at every moment.
The Church, a community of the Spirit, has a duty to accompany the disciples in the absence of Jesus and to remind them of Jesus’ words.
Unfortunately, we recognize the difficulty of speaking of the Holy Spirit to a world empty of spirit, materialistic and unbelieving.
The Spirit of God works outside the Church, but in the community of faith it is the natural place for his presence and action, as we heard from Jesus and in the book of Acts, a historical-theological essay of the nascent Church, although the theology of the Spirit is the most fitting. This is taught to Christians through the sacraments, so that, starting with Baptism; our whole Christian life is marked by the action of the Spirit.
We need to be aware of this and often ask the Holy Spirit for the courage that is indispensable for us to be Christians today, that is, to confess Christ as the master of our lives.
PRAYER
Send your Spirit, Lord, to renew the face of the earth!
Come, divine Spirit, send your light from heaven.
Loving father of the poor; splendid gift of your gifts; light that penetrates souls; source of the greatest consolation.
Come, sweet guest of the soul, our rest from toil, a breeze in the hours of light, a caress that wipes away tears and comforts afflictions.
Enter into the depths of the soul, divine light and enrich us.
Send your Spirit, Lord, to renew the face of the earth! Amen.