Dear Brothers and Sisters,
There is a question that one apostle ask just before the words of the gospel that we hear today (John 14: 23-29) which makes the gospel much more accessible. He asks the Lord, why are you showing yourself to us and not to the rest of the world? And Jesus responds that he comes to those who love him, who believe in him, who listen to his word and put it into practice. We heard something similar last week when we saw that Christ was glorified by the Father because he obeyed. God is not asking us to do a long list of impossible things, but to love him and listen to him. It is not easy, but it is simple, and doable.
He will not come to those who do not love him or keep his word. Those who obey him, who open the door to his knock; he will abide in them and stay with them. And he will send his Holy Spirit to remind them of the many things that he taught to the apostles and also to us. How many wonderful things we hear each week and yet we need an Advocate to remind us of them and how to live them in our everyday life. Jesus Christ ascends this coming Thursday and then the whole Church awaits the coming of the Holy Spirit in ten days time.
The Holy Spirit comes to give us peace, which also means salvation at the time of Jesus Christ. It is not just an absence of fighting, or a leave-me-alone mentality, but a true peace, even in the midst of tribulations. It reminded me St. Ignatius of Loyola, the founder of the Jesuits, who read the lives of the saints while he was recovering from his wound in a battle in northern Spain. He found that after he read this book or the life of Christ that he experienced a peace that stayed with him for days. When he read secular stories the peace left him almost immediately after reading. This was a great discovery that he then taught to those who followed him in his Spiritual Exercises which are still very used today.
This peace that comes from the Holy Spirit shows that we have a true friendship with Christ. We can speak in a very personal way and even complain to him like Martha did after her brother Lazarus died. What she said showed that there was true friendship. It was a strong complaint. She said, if you had come sooner my brother would not have died. Is our friendship deep enough that we can speak to Jesus Christ in this way? Not to say that we are always complaining, but that we say with freedom what is important to us. God can really help you in your marriage, or with your kids or with your parents. He is not just a bystander. He really cares for you and wants to help you.
This peace also means that you and I can remain calm and tranquil in the face of difficulties and temptations. General Ulysses Grant in the midst of the most ferocious battles was exceptionally calm. Bullets were flying and he had no fear or worries. The more dangerous the battle the calmer he was.
Lastly, this peace of the Holy Spirit gives us true fellowship in our dealing with others; we see them as true brothers and sisters in the Lord. Some spiritual writer was saying recently that we lost the skill of dancing ‘with’ another. He was not talking so much about music but in learning how to be with the other one and how to do something beautiful with them or for them.
Finally, the reading from Revelation states that with the coming of Christ there is no more Temple. It is not necessary to go there to offer our sacrifices anymore. True worship, true praise of God takes place in the community, in the Body of Christ, in this new city that we are constructing. That is what a Christian/Catholic parish ought to be and one that always has to be recreated in each generation. Going to the church helps us to be praying in all the situations we find ourselves in during the week, and helping us to live as a Christian in those moments.
Let us pray that the Holy Spirit come during this time before Pentecost and give us and everyone this kind of peace, which the world cannot give.