Cycle C - Year I:

26 May 2019: Sixth Sunday of Easter

(Liturgical Color: White)

Readings:

First Reading: Acts 15:1-2, 22-29

Second Reading: Revelation 21:10-14, 22-23

Gospel: Please Read John 14:23-29

The Advocate is coming....

Everything in our world is temporary. And yet when it is time to say goodbye it is tough and really sad. But it is consoling when you know that those you'd be leaving behind are in good hands, so to speak.

In this Sunday's Gospel narrative, Jesus is preparing His disciples for His impending departure. Because a week from now we will celebrate the Lord's Ascension.

Now our Lord has given the disciples a new commandment: "Love one another, as I have loved you." Because by a life of love the world will know that they are His disciples.

And now Jesus challenges us to commit ourselves deeper in a life of love. He said to the disciples: "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."

Thus, Jesus urges His disciples to keep His word or His teaching as a concrete expression of their love for Jesus. Because His word, as Jesus Himself explains, is not His own but is from the Father.

Now the phrase "keep my word" means that we remain faithful to the totality of the message of Jesus, as handed down to us through traditions and the teaching of His Church. This is a timely message today when people call themselves His followers and yet question the validity of His teaching, or interpret them according to what pleases them.

Although He is leaving soon, Jesus promises that He is coming back. And while waiting for that time, "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." (Jn 14:26)

Now it is clear that the presence of the Holy Spirit in the Church is our assurance that her missionary work is not simply a human endeavor but in reality the continuation of our Lord Jesus' saving mission, and so therefore the work of God Himself.

The Holy Spirit never leaves the Church and our community of believers. That is why, when we sometimes feel overwhelmed by personal trials, like when we struggle to pray because of so many distractions, or at times when we want to pray but seem not to have the words to express ourselves, it is the Holy Spirit that links us to God and interprets our desire for Him. In the words of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, "It is the Holy Spirit who helps our inability, who enlightens our minds and warms our hearts, guiding us as we turn to God."

And so, our Lord Jesus Christ Himself promises to send the Holy Spirit to us as we are, meaning in our own weaknesses and imperfections, to help form us into God's children in our hearts.

In the Eucharist at Mass, let us commit our love for Jesus by keeping His word and witnessing His teaching through our authentic Christian living. So that as Jesus Himself promised, the Father and the Son will abide within us, and the Holy Spirit will make us understand Jesus' teaching through His Church.

A blessed Sunday to us all. And thank you for a moment with God.

Ad Jesum per Mariam!