Tag: Holy Spirit

Wednesday of the Sixth Week of Easter

A reading from the holy Gospel according to John

Jesus said to his disciples: “But when he comes, the Spirit of truth, he will guide you to all truth.”

Jesus tells his disciples that he has much more to say to them, but they cannot bear it now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide them to all truth. The Spirit will not speak on his own but what he hears from the Father, what is yet to come. The Spirit will glorify Jesus by taking what is Jesus’ and making it known to the disciples. Jesus says to them: “Everything that the Father has is mine; for this reason I told you that he will take from what is mine and declare it to you.” Doing perfectly the will of the Father, Jesus is able to proclaim his unity with him through the Holy Spirit. Through the same Holy Spirit, how can I be attentive to the will of the Father?

God, help me understand the truth of your word. Grant me the grace to see that the Holy Spirit is truth itself, showing me how to live in accordance with your will. Thank you, Father, for the Spirit of truth that constantly teaches me to know and do your will and learn of your unending love for me.

From the responsorial psalm: “I will ask the Father and he will give you another Advocate to be with you always.”

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Tuesday of the Sixth Week of Easter

A reading from the holy Gospel according to John

Jesus said to his disciples: “But I tell you the truth, it is better for you that I go. For if I do not go, the Advocate will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you.”

In today’s Gospel, Jesus tells his disciples that he is going away to the Father but that it is to their advantage. He explains that the Holy Spirit will come to them and convict the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment. The Holy Spirit will show the world that they are sinners, that he is the only way to righteousness, and that judgment has come upon the world because of sin. The Holy Spirit will also guide the disciples into all truth and teach them everything they need to know. Jesus’ departure is not a cause for grief but instead a cause for joy because it means that the Holy Spirit will come and be with them.

God, when the Holy Spirit comes, help me remember that as Jesus says, “he will convict the world in regard to sin and righteousness and condemnation.” Because he has gone to you, I no longer can see Jesus but can now receive the Holy Spirit that he sent. Help me understand, Lord, that in the Holy Spirit nothing of Jesus is diminished. Instead, as the Son went to you, the fulfillment of his work on earth was accomplished. Grant me the grace to welcome the Holy Spirit as the one sent by your Son.

“I will send to you the Spirit of truth, says the Lord; he will guide you to all truth.” Help me today be guided by the Spirit of truth.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Monday of the Sixth Week of Easter

A reading from the holy Gospel according to John

Jesus said to his disciples: “I have told you this so that you may not fall away. They will expel you from the synagogues; in fact, the hour is coming when everyone who kills you will think he is offering worship to God.”

Jesus tells his disciples that he will send the Holy Spirit, the Advocate, to them. The Holy Spirit will testify about Jesus and help the disciples to be witnesses of Jesus’ life and teachings. Jesus also tells his disciples that they will be persecuted for their faith, but he tells them this to take courage in the help of the Advocate “so that,” as he says, “you may not fall away.” The Holy Spirit will be with them so that when their hour comes they may remember that he told them. As Jesus’ followers, we can expect to face persecution, but the Advocate is always with us to guide us and strengthen us through every challenge.

God, help me accept the full meaning of Jesus’ words “the hour is coming when everyone who kills you will think he is offering worship to God.” The words leave little room for interpretation, and I don’t think he spoke these words only for them to be softened or taken euphemistically. Because of faith in Christ your Son, faithful witnesses of the Church have been and will be persecuted and killed. Keep me in your care, God, and through the Holy Spirit help me have the courage to profess my faith in love at whatever cost.

From the responsorial psalm: “The Spirit of truth will testify to me, says the Lord, and you also will testify.”

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Sixth Sunday of Easter

A reading from the holy Gospel according to John

Jesus said to his disciples: “I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you. In a little while the world will no longer see me, but you will see me, because I live and you will live. On that day you will realize that I am in my Father and you are in me and I in you.”

In today’s Gospel, Jesus tells the disciples about the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, who will come to remain with them. The action of the Holy Spirit, who will remain with them always, allows Jesus to say to them: “you will see me, because I live and you will live.” Through his invitation to love him, Jesus invites the disciples into the same relationship he has with the Father who loves the Son.

God, as your Son prepared the disciples for his departure from them and ultimately his ascension into heaven, he gave them the hope of the Advocate. It seems odd at first glance that Jesus would send an invisible force to replace his physical presence. Yet, the Holy Spirit, he reveals to the disciples, is the love between you and your Son. As Jesus says, “On that day you will realize that I am in my Father and you are in me and I in you.” Through baptism, I participate in the death and resurrection of your Son. For that reason, I have in me through the Holy Spirit the same hope and joy of the resurrection. What Saint Paul says of Christ, I can also share in as I keep your word: “Put to death in the flesh, he was brought to life in the Spirit.”

Stay with me today, Lord! As the responsorial psalm says: “Whoever loves me will keep my word, says the Lord, and my Father will love him and we will come to him.”

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Thursday of the Third Week of Easter

A reading from the holy Gospel according to John

Jesus said to the crowds: “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draw him, and I will raise him on the last day. It is written in the prophets: They shall all be taught by God. Everyone who listens to my Father and learns from him comes to me. Not that anyone has seen the Father except the one who is from God; he has seen the Father. Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life.”

As Jesus speaks to the crowds, he makes clear that no one can come to him unless God draws the soul to him. Modeling his relationship with the Father, Jesus expresses that being taught by God means listening to the Father and learning from him. Since no one has seen the Father but Jesus, belief is the means to eternal life through eating the living bread that Jesus gives through his sacrifice in the Eucharist. “And the bread that I will give,” Jesus tells the crowds, “is my Flesh for the life of the world.” In today’s Gospel, Jesus powerfully declares his unity with the Father and that belief in him as the Son of God is the source of eternal life.

God, knowing that Jesus your Son speaks to me through today’s Gospel reading, how do I respond to the words “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draw him”? In the darkness of sin, there is a clear powerlessness in seeking you that must first be accepted before being drawn by the light of your love. Give me the grace to recognize the action of the Holy Spirit in accomplishing this, that the love between you and your Son draws me to you. In the first reading, just as Philip instructed the eunuch who was reading Isaiah, teach me to see Jesus through the scriptures and in the living bread of the Eucharist, the body and blood of Christ.

Lord, be with me today; help me desire to be drawn to you. With the words from an ancient Eucharistic liturgy, I pray: “We give you thanks, O Christ, our God, because you have deigned to share with us your Body and your Blood, O Savior; you have drawn to yourself our hearts.”

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Wednesday of the Third Week of Easter

A reading from the holy Gospel according to John

Jesus said to the crowds: “For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in him may have eternal life, and I shall raise him on the last day.”

In today’s Gospel, Jesus declares himself to be the bread of life. He says that whoever comes to him will never go hungry and whoever believes in him will never be thirsty. By doing his Father’s will, Jesus rejects no one who comes to him. In that is the promise of eternal life to those who see the Son and believe in him. What is the food I go for time after time that leaves me hungry?

God, help me come to you confident that you will supply me with daily bread in this world and the bread of life for the world to come. Jesus models the holiness of a will obedient to yours as he says, “because I came down from heaven not to do my own will but the will of the one who sent me.” Give me the grace, then, to follow Jesus by knowing and doing your will. Help me be receptive to your grace just as Jesus was so that I do not lose anything of what you give me.

Jesus Christ, Bread of Life, let me come to you. You said to the crowds: “But I told you that although you have seen me, you do not believe.” Help me believe you without seeing you, Lord, the same yesterday, today, and forever.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Feast of Saint Mark, evangelist

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Mark

Then the Lord Jesus, after he spoke to them, was taken up into heaven and took his seat at the right hand of God. But they went forth and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the word through accompanying signs.

Today’s Gospel passage is taken from the last chapter of Saint Mark’s account of the Gospel. Honored today by the Church, Saint Mark tells us that Jesus speaks to the Eleven, telling them: “Go into the whole world and proclaim the Gospel to every creature. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved; whoever does not believe will be condemned. These signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will drive out demons, they will speak new languages. They will pick up serpents with their hands, and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not harm them. They will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.” After commissioning the Eleven to go out and preach the Gospel to all creation, Jesus then ascends into heaven and takes his seat at the right hand of God. From these Eleven Apostles, the Church has grown to what it is today. As Mark tells us, the Lord worked with them and confirmed the word of God through their actions. By extension, Jesus’ words are universal, and he speaks to me as he did to the disciples. What small part do I play in this great drama whose glorious story still unfolds?

God, before ascending into heaven, Jesus said to the Eleven Apostles: “Go into the whole world and proclaim the Gospel to every creature. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved; whoever does not believe will be condemned.” These words of Jesus in today’s Gospel are not to be taken lightly. Help me see the still-unfolding relevance in today’s world of your Son’s commissioning of the Eleven. What small part do you have in mind for me in proclaiming the Gospel? In the final words of Saint Mark’s Gospel, he says of the Eleven, “But they went forth and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the word through accompanying signs.” Work with me today, Lord, so that I understand your word and do your will. In few words, the Gospel acclamation makes the task clear to me: “We proclaim Christ crucified: he is the power of God and the wisdom of God.”

Lord, stay with me as I strive to bring you into today’s inevitable conflicts and uncertainties in the people and situations I encounter. Give me courage to proclaim the Gospel and the grace of ever-greater faith in your kindness and mercy.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2W-KSOPWWBY

Monday of the Third Week of Easter

A reading from the holy Gospel according to John

Jesus answered them and said, “Amen, amen, I say to you, you are looking for me not because you saw signs but because you ate the loaves and were filled. Do not work for food that perishes but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on him the Father, God, has set his seal.” So they said to him, “What can we do to accomplish the works of God?” Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in the one he sent.”

In today’s Gospel, the people who follow Jesus are from the same crowd that shared in the Miracle of the Loaves and Fishes, the feeding of the five thousand. Jesus tells them that they are only seeking him because he provided them with food, not because they believe in him as the Son of God. Jesus says earlier in John’s Gospel: “My food is to do the will of the one who sent me and to finish his work.” So when the crowd asks Jesus what they can do to accomplish the works of God, Jesus tells them to believe in him, the Son of God. As sung in the responsorial psalm, to be a disciple is to know the law of the Lord: “I declared my ways, and you answered me; teach me your statutes. Make me understand the way of your precepts, and I will meditate on your wondrous deeds.”

God, just as the crowd followed Jesus because he had fed them, I go looking at times for you without understanding what it is I need. As your Son was fed by doing your will, give me the grace to understand that the imperishable food Jesus speaks of is the food that endures for eternal life. The Gospel acclamation from today’s readings is explicit: “One does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes forth from the mouth of God.” Yet, what is the ultimate word that comes forth from the mouth of God? It is the Word Incarnate, Jesus your Son—body, blood, soul, and divinity—under the appearances of bread and wine. God, thank you for the gift that sustains me in this life and is at the same time the food that endures for the life to come.

“Blessed are they who follow the law of the Lord!” God the Father, make your presence known to me today; strengthen my faith in you and in the one you sent.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Third Sunday of Easter

A reading from the holy Gospel according to John

And he said to them, “Oh, how foolish you are! How slow of heart to believe all that the prophets spoke! Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?” Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them what referred to him in all the Scriptures.

On the day of Jesus’ resurrection, two of his disciples were walking to the village of Emmaus. They were talking sadly about everything that had happened to Jesus in the past few days. As they were walking, Jesus himself came up and walked with them, but they did not recognize him. He asked them what they were talking about, and they told him about all the things that had happened. Jesus listened to them and then began to explain the Scriptures to them. At the end of the day’s journey, the disciples urged Jesus to stay with them and have dinner. And as Jesus broke the bread, their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and then he disappeared. The disciples immediately ran back to Jerusalem to tell the other disciples that they had seen Jesus, saying, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he spoke to us on the way and opened the Scriptures to us?” The story of the Emmaus encounter is a reminder that even when we don’t recognize him, Jesus is always with us. He is always willing to listen to us and to help us understand his love for us through his death and resurrection and in the Eucharistic memorial.

God, help me see what is relevant in today’s Gospel reading. Jesus your Son says to the disciples of his passion, death, and the glory of his resurrection: “How slow of heart to believe all that the prophets spoke.” Although walking with your Son and hearing him speak, they do not recognize him in their downcast state. Not until they see him break bread before them at dinner and look back over what he said to them were their eyes opened. And then, John tells us, he vanishes from their sight. There is no accident in the disappearance of Jesus immediately after the disciples recognize him. Their hearts burning within them transform their despondency into joy, and their setting out at once to the eleven replaces their slowness of heart, telling the others: “The Lord has truly been raised and has appeared to Simon!” Just as your Son was present to the disciples on the road to Emmaus, he is the risen Christ alive today. God, strengthen my faith today in the real presence of Jesus, alive in the Eucharist.

Lord Jesus, open the Scriptures to me today; make my heart burn while you speak to me. Stay with me, Lord.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Saturday of the Second Week of Easter

A reading from the holy Gospel according to John

In the middle of the Sea of Galilee when the day had already grown dark, the disciples are crossing the sea to get to Capernaum. John, the disciple whom Jesus loved, tells us in this passage something worth a second look. He says, speaking of himself and the disciples: “It had already grown dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them.” What he meant by that, some Bible commentaries suggest, is that John expected Jesus to appear to them in some way. The crossing of the sea takes place after Jesus had performed the Miracle of the Loaves and Fishes, and the people wanted to make him king, so he withdrew alone to the mountain. What John meant by saying Jesus had not yet come expresses a longing to see him and desire to be at ease in his presence. When Jesus did appear, walking on the sea toward them, they began to be afraid. Jesus said to them, “It is I. Do not be afraid.” Before the disciples could take Jesus into the boat with them, they arrived immediately to their destination on the shore. How clearly the message of the Gospel translates into the many trials I face in daily life and its routine storms.

God, help me see the level of longing for Jesus and trust in him that John had and what it can teach me about discipleship. Help me grasp the richness of symbolism and meaning in today’s Gospel passage. The disciples are in the middle of the sea at night as storms begin to brew. John waits with certainty and hope for Jesus to return despite the apparent impossibility of his appearing to them from out of nowhere. Yet, he did appear, and the impossible became possible. At his words, “Do not be afraid,” another impossibility was brought into being by Jesus’ bringing the disciples to their destination across the sea immediately. Lord, as close as the disciples were to your Son, still they became afraid of his supernatural power even over the forces of nature. Give me the grace today to hear your voice in the midst of the day and know that you have mastery over it: “It is I. Do not be afraid.”

Lord, let your mercy be on us, as we place our trust in you. Thank you, Lord, for meeting me throughout the day, especially in those places where I am most fearful; let me look out for your coming.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2W-KSOPWWBY