May 15^th 2016. Feast of Pentecost

GOSPEL:  John 14:15-16; 23-26

From a homily by Don Fabio Rosini broadcast on Vatican Radio

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GOSPEL:  John 14:15-16; 23-26

Jesus said to his disciples:
“If you love me, you will keep my commandments.
And I will ask the Father,
and he will give you another Advocate to be with you always.
“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.
Those who do not love me do not keep my words;
yet the word you hear is not mine
but that of the Father who sent me.
“I have told you this while I am with you.
The Advocate, the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send in my name,
will teach you everything
and remind you of all that I told you.”

THE GOSPEL OF THE LORD: Praise to you Lord Jesus Christ

Kieran’s summary . . . Jesus promises us the gift of the Holy Spirit. How are we to enter into this relationship of union with the Spirit? The Gospel tells us that we must first love Jesus, then observe his commandments. A mechanical observation of commandments does not constitute authentic love for Jesus! So our priority must be to get to know Jesus, draw close to him and fall in love with him. This will enable us to keep his commandments. Once we do that, then the Father will send us the Holy Spirit who will help us to do wonderful things. Among the actions of the Holy Spirit that Jesus mentions in the Gospel is his teaching to us of all things, and his reminding us of everything that Jesus has taught us. The Holy Spirit wishes to teach us everything, but he can only do so if we have the humble and open attitude of the disciple. The Spirit cannot teach us anything if we already think that we know everything! And, secondly, the Holy Spirit helps us with the management of our memories. God has been working in our lives and bestowing graces upon us. The Spirit aids us in putting Jesus at the centre of our memories so that we come to interpret every moment of the past in terms of the saving action that Jesus has been performing in our lives since the beginning. He aids us in eliminating the negative and useless memories that drag us down, purifying our memories so that the grace God has been bestowing on us stands out in relief.

The coming of the Holy Spirit marks a new epoch in history, an epoch that we are privileged to participate in

The first reading from Acts recounts the event of the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. This event goes beyond the Gospels, which finish with the account of the death and resurrection of Jesus. It tells of a gift which is also for us, the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in our hearts. It announces the beginning of a new epoch. The epoch of Jesus was that of the work of redemption, an epoch which followed that of the Father revealing himself to the people of Israel through his saving works. Now we are in the long and wondrous epoch of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in humanity, the Spirit of the Son of God which transforms us into alter Christus – another Christ – and makes the Church the body of Christ. This gift enables us to relate to God as his children, no longer as foreigners.

How are we to live this life of union with the Spirit? By getting to know and love Jesus

How are we to live this relationship? The Gospel says, “If you love me, observe my commandments”. Jesus does not say, “If you observe my commandments then that means you love me”. We must begin with love and devotion to Christ, and then obedience to him follows naturally. If we have this relationship, then the Father will give us this other Counsellor who will remain with us forever. Jesus is the first Counsellor but he does not remain forever in the same sense. When Jesus was anointed at Bethany he remarked that he would not be with them forever. But the Holy Spirit, by contrast, does remain, whether we are waking or sleeping. Nothing is profane any longer; everything becomes holy through the presence of the Holy Spirit. We see in the first reading how this presence can transform timid and fearful apostles into forthright proclaimers of the word, people who accomplish greater things than Christ and manage to evangelize the entire Mediterranean world and parts of India.

The Holy Spirit teaches us everything, but he can only do so if we are humble and open to him. If we think we already know everything, then he cannot operate within us.

The Holy Spirit is the “Consoler”. In moments of difficulty and tribulation, the Spirit reassures and steadies us. He also “teaches us everything”, putting into our hearts an attitude of discipleship, an attitude of openness and humility in the face of life, a recognition that we always have something to learn. Life thus becomes a constant reception of new knowledge, a deeper comprehension of the things that matter. If we believe that we already know everything then we obstruct the action of the Spirit in our lives. The Holy Spirit is humble and respectful towards us; he can only speak to those who are willing and able to listen. Certainly, he is truth, and he cannot co-exist with falsehood, deception or mediocrity, but his mode of operation is nevertheless subtle and non-coercive.

The Holy Spirit purifies and regulates our memories, assisting us to put Christ at the centre of the events of our lives, and aiding us in eliminating that which is negative and destructive

Jesus says that the Spirit will remind us of everything that has been taught to us. The Spirit aids us with the regulation of our memories – the “metabolism” of the events that we experience and the putting of Christ and his word at the centre of these events. In other words, the Holy Spirit assists us to have a memory in which everything that has happened to us is evaluated in terms of the word of Jesus. Thus, our attitude towards life is dominated by the discourse that Jesus has addressed personally to our hearts. The Holy Spirit acts by constantly refreshing the memory of the graces that God has bestowed upon us, constantly reminding us of the eternal significance of our marriage vows, of our commitments in the field of work, of our dedication to our vocation, of the fact that the heavens and earth will pass away but the word of the Lord will not pass away. The Spirit assists us in preserving our memories of that which is fruitful and stable and eliminating that which is of no use whatever. How beautiful it is to live in union with the Holy Spirit and to always have something new to learn!