GOSPEL
Jerusalem Bible © 1966 by Darton, Longman & Todd Ltd and Doubleday & Company Inc.
Jesus said to his disciples:
‘If you love me you will keep my commandments.
I shall ask the Father,
and he will give you another Advocate
to be with you for ever,
that Spirit of truth
whom the world can never receive
since it neither sees nor knows him;
but you know him,
because he is with you, he is in you.
I will not leave you orphans;
I will come back to you.
In a short time the world will no longer see me;
but you will see me,
because I live and you will live.
On that day you will understand that I am in my Father
and you in me and I in you.
Anybody who receives my commandments and keeps them
will be one who loves me;
and anybody who loves me will be loved by my Father,
and I shall love him and show myself to him.’
(John 14:15–21)
DID YOU KNOW?
Points of interest and Catholic lore
- The word advocate means ‘called to the side of’ and thus is often used to describe a mediator or assistant in a lawsuit.
- Some translations of the Bible use the word paraclete instead of advocate; others use the word counsellor or comforter.
- In John’s Gospel, the Holy Spirit continues the work of Jesus himself (14:17, 26), recalling things the earthly Jesus taught or revealing things he was unable to convey. In John’s view, this spiritual knowledge or insight, unavailable until after Jesus’ death and resurrection, makes Christian faith and understanding fully possible.
EXPLORING THE WORD
This text again alerts the disciples to that time when Jesus will no longer be with them. His departure will be a severe challenge to their faith, and Jesus gives voice to the challenge: ‘If you love me you will keep my commandments.’ This challenging call to follow the commandments of Jesus is accompanied by a gift—the gift of someone else, the Advocate, who will be by their side during that interim period between the two comings. Jesus does promise to return, and in the meantime, his presence and that of the Father live on in the love that is to be the way of life of the Christian. The Holy Spirit is not a thing apart from God and Jesus but the bond of love between them, and the believer is drawn into this love and becomes a part of it through living the way of Christ. Through the Spirit, Jesus remains forever present to the Church, and all Christians are brought into the very life of God.
Contemplate the ways you experience the life and love of the Spirit of God in the world:
- in nature and human relationships
- in society
- in personal prayer
- in the Church and its liturgy.
MAKING CONNECTIONS
Opportunities for group discussion and personal prayer
- When have you felt abandoned or left behind?
- What, for you, are the key commandments of Jesus?
- Who have been those people who have helped you through difficult times?
- Recall an experience of being supported by someone in a time of critical need. Share your memories of what form that support took and the impact it had on you.
- Be ‘life-giving’ to someone this week. Be an advocate, a counselor or comforter to someone in need.
- Pray to the Holy Spirit this week:
Come Holy Spirit, renew me with your gifts.
Heal my brokenness, pour down your wisdom.
Instill your peace within me, inspire my every need.
Amen.
SHARING THE TRADITION
A closer look at the Scripture of the day, to see how it makes more explicit God’s word to us through the teachings of Jesus Christ
The knowledge of faith is possible only in the Holy Spirit: to be in touch with Christ, we must first have been touched by the Holy Spirit … By virtue of our Baptism, the first sacrament of the faith, the Holy Spirit in the Church communicates to us, intimately and personally, the life that originates in the Father and is offered to us in the Son.
(CCC, §683)
The Holy Spirit, as the third person of the Trinity, is central to our understanding of God and to our faith in Christ. It is clear from many of the formulations of faith in the New Testament that the very first Christians had a keen sense of Jesus living on with them through his gift of the Spirit.
- The Catechism of the Catholic Church has a very good section on the titles and symbols of the Holy Spirit (CCC, §§691–701). Explore these and take particular note of any relationships to the sacraments that have recently been received by the newly baptised.
- Discuss ways in which the Holy Spirit is seen to live on in the Church and its action in the world.
SYMBOLS AND IMAGES
One of the often repeated themes in John’s Gospel is that of life. Life in abundance (John 10:10) is available to all who believe in Jesus and live his way. How do you understand that abundance of life that is now yours through baptism?
LIVING THE WORD
Practical ideas for group leaders to employ in connecting Scripture and daily life, with suggestions for music and environment
- In what ways does your community serve the world and cooperate with the movement of the Spirit to the conversion of the world? Encourage the newly baptised to take an active role in a ministry that serves the movement of the Spirit.
- Use a selection of symbols of the Holy Spirit as a focus for prayer (for example, water, oil, fire, the colour red, a dove). Pray for each other that the Spirit of Christ will remain with you as you near completion of the period of mystagogy. A suitable song could be ‘Spirit-friend’ (GA 184) or ‘The Spirit of God’ (GA 185). Conclude with the prayer of the laying on of hands used in celebration of confirmation in the RCIA at §228.