Fr.
Joseph Pham Quoc Van, O.P.
My dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
We
are at the end period of Easter Season. The Gospel Reading of today from St.
John continues the Farewell Discourse of Jesus. The reading tells us Jesus’
promise of the Holy Spirit. Truly, in the gospel passage, 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”.
The Bible
assigns several different names to the Holy Spirit - the Consoler, the
Advocate, the Sanctifier, and the Paraclete. The bible tells us that the Holy
Spirit protects and defends us against our Ancient Enemy. In the Gospel Reading Jesus calls him the Advocate, the
Spirit of truth who will live in the hearts of Christians to console and to
guide them. The Holy Spirit is our Advocate, the One who stands with us. When
Jesus promised an Advocate to his disciples, he was telling them that he would
be with them in this Spirit just like he had been with them in Palestine.
The disciples need not be troubled or afraid because they
will never be alone. The Holy Spirit, the Advocate, will always be with them to
defend them, to intercede for them, and to comfort them.
Today, while
we trust Jesus for our salvation, it is the Holy Spirit who is our ever present
help, comfort and counsellor in the same way Jesus was to the disciples two
thousand years ago. Therefore, we should look for the gifts of the Holy Spirit
to work within us. We need the Holy Spirit because He assures us we belong to
God; we need the Holy Spirit because Jesus promised He would come; we need the
Holy Spirit to illuminate and help us to understand Scripture; we need the Holy
Spirit because He makes us more Christ-like through the sanctification process;
and we need the Holy Spirit because He equips us for service.
The most
important consequence of the presence of Holy Spirit in our lives is what St.
Paul tells us when he writes, “God has
sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, ‘Abba! Father!” (Gal
4:6). The Holy Spirit is our advocate, our counsel, in order that we might
defend ourselves. He tells us that even when we have sinned we can repent and
be forgiven. We are, He reminds us, being redeemed sinners because God loves
us; we have been adopted into the family of God, we are children of God, we are
called to love God.
My dear
brothers and sisters,
Jesus said
to us: “Whoever loves me will be loved by
my Father, and I will love him and reveal myself to him.” We are reminded
today that we are called to love Jesus; that is part of the Christian calling.
Those who keep Christ's commandments will, he promises, receive the Holy
Spirit. By the power of the Holy Spirit, Jesus was raised from the dead into
new life; and now, by the power of that same Holy Spirit we also can be raised
into a new, better, and higher life. In all these ways, when we have a powerful
divine Spirit, who will stand with us to advise and protect us, we are never
alone, even at the darkest moments. Amen.
