As we are preparing to celebrate the Feast of Pentecost, the Feast of the coming of the Holy Spirit upon the Church and its members, I will be citing over the next days thoughts about the Holy Spirit and his role in our lives. I begin with this prayer from St. Augustine.
"Breathe into me, Holy Spirit, that my thoughts may all be holy.
Move in me, Holy Spirit, that my work, too, may be holy.
Attract my heart, Holy Spirit, that I may love only what is holy.
Strengthen me, Holy Spirit, that I may defend all that is holy.
Protect me, Holy Spirit, that I may always be holy."
This reflects the thoughts of St. John Paul II: "The Holy Spirit is the source of man's holiness and incessantly bings about our sanctification." If we desire to grow in holiness, seek the Holy Spirit.
“Satan fears her not only more than angels and men but in a certain sense more than God himself. This does not mean that the anger, hatred and power of God are not infinitely greater than the Blessed Virgin’s, since her attributes are limited. It simply means that Satan, being so proud, suffers infinitely more in being vanquished and punished by a lowly and humble servant of God, for her humility humiliates him more than the power of God.”(St. Louis de Montfort) How mighty and wise is our God that a simple girl/woman should cause should fear in Satan. How mighty and wise is our God that he invites us to ask for Mary's intercession in our struggle with the power of evil. We are to imitate her who kept her eyes on the Father in spite of the many difficulties and sorrows she had to endure. Her total obedience to the Father's will was something the Evil One could not change. Jesus himself gave us the example in his confrontation with the attacks of Satan. His heart was committed to the Father's will even to the death on the cross. Mary imitated Jesus. We are called to do the same.
"We often confuse unconditional love with unconditional approval. God loves us without conditions but does not approve of every human behavior. God doesn't approve of betrayal, violence, hatred, suspicion, and all other expressions of evil, because they all contradict the love God wants to instill in the human heart. Evil is the absence of God's love. Evil does not belong to God. God's unconditional love means that God continues to love us even when we say or think evil things. God continues to wait for us as a loving parent waits for the return of a lost child. It is important for us to hold on to the truth that God never gives up loving us even when God is saddened by what we do. That truth will help us to return to God's ever-present love." (Henri Nouwen) It is hard for us to comprehend God's unconditional love. We have nothing in our ordinary human interactions to compare it with. Many times we are loved conditionally by others, based on whether we do what they want us to do or not. When we don't measure up to their expectations, we do not receive their love. So it is not easy for us to compare God's love with other's conditional love. But the truth is he loves us unconditionally because this is his nature. Once we can begin to accept this reality without fully understanding it, then we can receive his love as he freely gives it to us.
In the scriptures, Jesus says that he will give us a gift of peace. What is this peace? It is more than a mere greeting. It is the desire of the Lord to give us a gift that will make a difference in our lives. When Jesus appeared to the Apostles on Easter, he said: "Peace be with you." The first thing he was doing was reassuring them of his mercy and forgiveness for their lack of faith and their cowardly response at his arrest and death. He was also saying to them, that because of his death and resurrection, he had won for them the gift of salvation. This gift of salvation included a sharing in his own divine life. Further, in this peace of Christ they would have the inner strength in the face of the upcoming persecutions they will face because of him. What would motivate them from then on is what motivated Jesus: a love of the Father that seeks to do his will even in the face of suffering and death. Jesus offers us this gift of real, enduring peace in opposition to the short-lived peace of the world. We can choose the peace that we want.
Jesus said to his 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.
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There are four things Jesus is reminding us of: 1) He loves us first; 2) Love is responded to by doing what the
other has asked us to do; 3) As we act thus on the word of Jesus, we will experience the Father’s
love for us in response; 4) this is experienced by the indwelling presence of
God, which is a sharing in his own divine life.
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Does our life at this point reflect this teaching of Jesus? If not, what
will we do to love him more by keeping his word?
Whoever does not love me does not keep
my words; yet the word you hear is not mine but that of the Father who sent me.
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Jesus shows us the consequences of not acting on his word in love. It
amounts to rejecting him and the Father.
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Thus his word needs to be taken seriously.
“I have told you this while I am with
you. 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.
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This is the second time during the Last Supper that Jesus speaks about the
Holy Spirit to the Apostles.
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Again, he calls the Holy Spirit an Advocate. Jesus is our first advocate in
the sense that he intercedes for us before the throne of the Father. Later on
in John the Holy Spirit is a teacher, a witness to Jesus, and a prosecutor of
the world.
Peace I leave with you; my peace I
give to you. Not as the world gives do I give it to you.
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This peace is more than a greeting. It is a gift of salvation leading to
right relationship with God.
Do not let your hearts be troubled or
afraid. You heard me tell you, ‘I am going away and I will come back to you.’
If you loved me, you would rejoice that I am going to the Father; for the
Father is greater than I. And now I have told you this before it happens, so that when it happens you may believe.”
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Later, he will explain that his going will be
for their benefit. First, he must go in order to send the Holy Spirit upon them.
Second, he goes to prepare a place for them.
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His first going away is his death on the cross;
his return is the resurrection. The second going away is his Ascension; he will
return in his second coming.
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When Jesus says that the Father is greater than
him, he is referring to his humanity not his divinity. Because he says in other
places that the Father and he were one.
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Again, a key theme in John’s Gospel is the need
to believe in Jesus as the one sent by the Father as our Lord and Savior. To
believe him is to embrace his word as the truth which will lead to eternal
life.
"Words, words, words. Our society is full of words: on billboards, on television screens, in newspapers and books. Words whispered, shouted, and sung. Words that move, dance, and change in size and color. Words that say, 'Taste me, smell me, eat me, drink me, sleep with me,' but most of all, 'buy me.' With so many words around us, we quickly say: 'Well, they're just words.' Thus, words have lost much of their power. Still, the word has the power to create. When God speaks, God creates. When God says, 'Let there be light' (Genesis 1:3), light is. God speaks light. For God, speaking and creating are the same. It is this creative power of the word we need to reclaim. What we say is very important. When we say, 'I love you,' and say it from the heart, we can give another person new life, new hope, new courage. When we say, 'I hate you, we can destroy another person. Let's watch our words." (Henri Nouwen) Words are cheap and words are precious. Words can build up or destroy. Words can be meaningless or strengthening. How conscious are we of the many words we utter every day? Words that are said in love will make more of a difference than those said with anger or with very little thoughtfulness of the other. The words that flow from our mouths can never be recaptured; the effects of those words may be long lasting. Choose your words wisely; say them in love. Remember there will be a time of accountability for those words one day.
"I do not try, Lord, to attain Your lofty heights because my understanding is in no way equal to it. But I do desire to understand Your truth a little, that truth that my heart believes and loves. I do not seek to understand that I may believe; but I believe so that I may understand. For I believe this also, that unless I believe, I shall not understand." (St. Anselm of Canterbury) There is so much about God and his plan for us that we do not fully understand. To understand fully would make us equal to God. So, there will always be a gap in our understanding of God. But to believe in God before understanding will enable us to better understand the God we believe in. Mystery? Paradox? Reality?
“There are two criteria, which will help us to distinguish the true love,
from that which is not true. The first criterion is that love is more in deeds
than in words. In other words, true love
is real; it is in the works it does; it is a constant love. It is not a mere
enthusiasm. Also, many times, love is a painful thing: the love we think of
Jesus carrying the Cross…. The second criterion of love is that it communicates,
it does not remain isolated. Love gives itself and receives, it is the
communication between the Father and the Son, a communication that is the Holy
Spirit. Thus, to abide in the love of Jesus means doing things, it is an
ability to communicate, to dialogue, both with the Lord and with our brothers
and sisters.” (Pope Francis) How often does our love reflect these two criteria? How often our love may be in words devoid of deeds? How often our love is selfish rather than other? How often do we allow the communication of our love to reveal our vulnerabilities? How often is our love a true reflection of the love of the triune Persons for one another? Lord, give me the grace to love this way.
"When we are spiritually free, we do not have to worry about what to say or do in unexpected, difficult circumstances. When we are not concerned about what others think of us or what we will get for what we do, the right words and actions will emerge from the center of our beings because the Spirit of God, who makes us children of God and sets us free, will speak and act through us." (Henri Nouwen) What does it mean to be spiritually free? To me it means that our focus is not ourselves, but the Lord. Paul was expressing his spiritual freedom when he said whether he had or did not have, he knew that God would provide for his needs. As a result, when the Spirit would put on his heart to say or do something he was free to trust and respond, no matter how others thought or reacted. As we are preparing to celebrate the Feast of Pentecost, even now, let us pray for a greater outpouring of the Holy Spirit into our hearts, so that we can be more free to be who we truly are in the Lord.
When Judas had left them, Jesus said, "Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in him.
If God is glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself, and God will glorify him at once.
Why does Jesus wait until the departure of Judas to betray him before Jesus speaks of his glorifying the Father?
What is the glorification that Jesus is referring to? His embracing of the will of the Father, even to the death of the cross. This is his glory and he does this so that the Father may be glorified. As Jesus gave glory to the Father by doing his will even to the death on the cross for our salvation, the Father in turn glorified Jesus by raising him up from the dead and seated him at his right hand in heaven.
What can we do to give glory to the Father?
What has God promised us that in turn will bring us glory?
My children, I will be with you only a little while longer.
Jesus is referring to his upcoming death as well as his return to the Father at the Ascension.
What do you think the Apostles felt on hearing these words? What would have been your feelings?
I give you a new commandment: love one another. As I have loved you, so you also should love one another. This is how all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another."
Why would Jesus make love at the heart of his relationship with us and our relationship with each other?
Jesus literally gave his life so that we may have life. Does our love for others reflect Christ’s love for us?
Is our love concrete and evident or is it theoretical and intentional?
Lord, it begins with an encounter with you. But how many people had this initial encounter with you to no avail? That is why you invited people not just to encounter you but to learn from you as a disciple. You then formed them to seek and desire to do the will of the Father, no matter the cost; to totally surrender to you as the Lord of their lives; to follow the lead of the Spirit as missionary disciples, witnessing to others the love of the Father by their sincere, authentic love. Even with this grace formation, some of the disciples have turned away from the hard revelation of the truth. But with Peter, help me to say "Lord, to whom shall we go. You are the Way, the Truth and the Life." Help me to continue to encounter you in a deeper manner each day, as you lead me onward to be possessed by you eternally.
Lord, you show me agape love, which is unconditional, freely given, holding nothing back of yourself. What do I offer you in return? A love that, at most, is a friendship love, which is not the total gift of myself, but limited by my selfishness and my fear to totally surrender myself into your hands. Even so, you continue to grace me and call me to unshackle my love, so that it can become more reflective of true agape love than limited friendship love. This transformation doesn't happen without cost. It is the cost of the cross, which I am called to embrace in each decision I make. By your grace help me to begin to choose to love in the way you love me.
"Dying, Jesus said 'yes' to the Father obeying him to death; raising him, the Father said 'yes' to the Son making him Lord." (Fr.. Raniero Cantalamessa) Jesus' "yes" has brought us redemption and eternal life. The Father's yes" is his promise to bring us into eternal glory as long as our "yes" is to live under the Lordship of Jesus. In the words of St. Paul: "For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was proclaimed to you by us, Silvanus and Timothy and me, was not 'yes' and 'no,' but 'yes' has been in him. For however many are the promises of God, their Yes is in him; therefore, the Amen from us also goes through him to God for glory." (2 Cor 1:19-20) Today, let our "yes" be to the Father through the Lord Jesus in the power of the Holy Spirit. Like Jesus, let our "yes" be a sign of our total trust in the Father's love and promise in this and every moment of our lives. YES means Yield Everything to the Savior.
"Trees that grow tall have deep roots. Great height without great depth is dangerous. The great leaders of this world - like St. Francis, Gandhi, and Martin Luther King, Jr., - were all people who could live with public notoriety, influence, and power in a humble way because of their deep spiritual rootedness. Without deep roots we easily let others determine who we are. But as we cling to our popularity, we may lose our true sense of self. Our clinging to the opinion of others reveals how superficial we are. We have little to stand on. We have to be kept alive by adulation and praise. Those who are deeply rooted in the love of God can enjoy human praise without being attached to it." (Henri Nouwen) To be rooted in the love of God for us is to know and embrace our true self. But to be rooted in others is to live the lie of the false self, which is clinging and dependent, unsure and fearful. St. Paul aptly said it: "So, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, walk in him, be
rooted in him and built upon him and established in the faith as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving." (Col 2:7) Stand tall in Christ.
Jesus said: "My sheep hear my voice; I know them, and they follow me.
Sheep become accustom to the voice of the shepherd and respond to his call. They don’t respond to the voice of a stranger. How in tune are we to the voice of Jesus within us? Can we distinguish his voice from that of others? I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish. Jesus desires to share his life with us. How desirous are we of that life? How protective are we of that life? No one can take them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one can take them out of the Father’s hand. There is one thing that can separate us from God. That is sin. Sin is not something from the outside but from within. It is our choice to sin or not to sin.
The evil one can tempt us, but doesn’t snatch us away from the hand of God. We choose to remain with God or choose to separate ourselves through sin.
Jesus gives us life. It is up to us to remain in that life with him or to squander the gift for something much lesser and lasting only for a short moment. The Father and I are one."
As long as we follow the voice of the Shepherd, as long as we live in his life, we will be one with the Father and the Son. This is the will of God. What is our will?
Be attentive this week to the way you listen to the voice of Jesus. Be conscious of the divine life within you and resist the attempts to draw you away from the Lord.
Lord, many of the people in your day continually demanded signs from you to prove who you were. The many signs and wonders you performed to reflect the Father's love and plan never were enough. After feeding the multitude with the multiplication of a few loaves and fish, they were still not satisfied. You used that sign to foreshadow the greater sign: the changing of bread and wine into your very Body and Blood. This very sign today is taken for granted by many. Many receive you as if it was merely bread and wine. They lack the deeper faith awareness and seem unmoved by the miracle and love offered. Lord, deepen in me the wonder and awe of your Eucharistic presence. May the union you draw me into impact my daily words and actions. This oneness with you through a sharing of your life stays with me. Help me to be conscious of this with gratitude
"I want eternity. I was born for greater things." (St Stanislaus Kostka) What an attitude! Sometimes we can forget our destiny and purpose in life. Sometimes we get caught up in the mundane of existence and fail to recognize the sublime reality of our life. We were meant not for a few years of human life in time but for a resurrected human life for eternity. What we do here in time will impact our eternal existence, either with God or alienated from God. As Paul reminds us, we must keep our eyes fixed on the prize, which is being with God for all eternity. Like Paul, we are running to embrace what God has already offered to us freely. It is ours, if only we hold on to it tenaciously at all cost.
"Our most painful suffering often comes from those who love us and those we love. The relationships between husband and wife, parents and children, brothers and sisters, teachers and students, pastors and parishioners - these are where our deepest wounds occur. Even late in life, yes, even after those who wounded us have long since died, we might still need help to sort out what happened in these relationships. The great temptation is to keep blaming those who were closest to us for our present, condition saying: "You made me who I am now, and I hate who I am." The great challenge is to acknowledge our hurts and claim our true selves as being more than the result of what other people do to us. Only when we can claim our God-made selves as the true source of our being will we be free to forgive those who have wounded us." (Henri Nouwen) On the cross Jesus knew he was the beloved Son of God. What people were doing to him or saying about him, did not changed the truth of his identity. Rather than blaming his detractors and persecutors, he chose to act from his true identity and to forgive them from his heart. Once we can embrace our true God-given identity as the son or daughter of God, once we can embrace the cross with Jesus and choose to forgive rather than blame, we will be set free to be more fully who we are.
Like the Apostles before the Jewish religious leaders after the resurrection, Lord, I pray for the grace to boldly witness my faith in you through the Holy Spirit. Like them, let me obey you rather than fear men, what they may do to me or think about me. I cannot deny the truth: you have saved me and I belong to you both in life and in death. You are True God and True Man. My witness may not make a difference in the other's life, but it will make a difference in mine, a difference that has eternal consequences. For you said, that if we acknowledge you before others, you will acknowledge us before your Father. But if we did not, out of fear, you will not acknowledge us before your Father.
Internally, as Triune God there is a mutual, eternal self-giving between the three persons, which we call love. That self-giving manifested itself also externally in many ways. Creation is a reflection of this, especially in God creating man in his own image and likeness and culminating this gift with a share in the divine life. But man did not respond through self-gift but through self-focus. Yet, God's self-gift was not thwarted. God so loved the world that he gave us his only-begotten Son, who emptied himself of his divinity and became like us in all things but sin. In his humanity, Jesus gave of himself to the Father by doing the Father's will even to the death on the cross. In this act he gave of himself to us in total self-emptying love, so that we may once more become the adopted sons and daughters of the Father. What should our response be? In imitation of Jesus, we are called to be self-giving to God, embracing his will out of love and to be self-giving to others in love.
Internally, as Triune God there is a mutual, eternal self-giving between the three persons, which we call love. That self-giving manifested itself also externally in many ways. Creation is a reflection of this, especially in God creating man in his own image and likeness and culminating this gift with a share in the divine life. But man did not respond through self-gift but through self-focus. Yet, God's self-gift was not thwarted. God so loved the world that he gave us his only-begotten Son, who emptied himself of his divinity and became like us in all things but sin. In his humanity, Jesus gave of himself to the Father by doing the Father's will even to the death on the cross. In this act he gave of himself to us in total self-emptying love, so that we may once more become the adopted sons and daughters of the Father. What should our response be? In imitation of Jesus, we are called to be self-giving to God, embracing his will out of love and to be self-giving to others in love.
Internally, as Triune God there is a mutual, eternal self-giving between the three persons, which we call love. That self-giving manifested itself also externally in many ways. Creation is a reflection of this, especially in God creating man in his own image and likeness and culminating this gift with a share in the divine life. But man did not respond through self-gift but through self-focus. Yet, God's self-gift was not thwarted. God so loved the world that he gave us his only-begotten Son, who emptied himself of his divinity and became like us in all things but sin. In his humanity, Jesus gave of himself to the Father by doing the Father's will even to the death on the cross. In this act he gave of himself to us in total self-emptying love, so that we may once more become the adopted sons and daughters of the Father. What should our response be? In imitation of Jesus, we are called to be self-giving to God, embracing his will out of love and to be self-giving to others in love.
At that time, Jesus revealed himself again to his disciples at the Sea of Tiberias.
This is another name for the Sea of Galilee.
This would be the third recorded Easter appearance of Jesus to the Apostles according to John. The first two were in Jerusalem. This is in Galilee just as Jesus had told the women to tell the disciples. But if we combined all the Easter appearances found in the four Gospels, we will see there were more than three.
He revealed himself in this way. Together were Simon Peter, Thomas called Didymus, Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, Zebedee’s sons, and two others of his disciples. Simon Peter said to them, "I am going fishing." They said to him, "We also will come with you." So they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing. When it was already dawn, Jesus was standing on the shore; but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus.
Notice again the similarity of a previous time the disciples fished all night and had caught nothing until Jesus joined them. Can we relate to this in our own lives?
Like other Easter appearances Jesus is not recognized because the risen body is different. Jesus said to them, "Children, have you caught anything to eat?" They answered him, "No." So he said to them, "Cast the net over the right side of the boat and you will find something." So they cast it, and were not able to pull it in because of the number of fish. So the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, "It is the Lord."
Notice the change of address for Jesus after the resurrection. "It is the Lord." Why do you think they so address Jesus?
Recall that this was the same direction Jesus had given them at their initial encounter. When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he tucked in his garment, for he was lightly clad, and jumped into the sea.
What is the significance of Peter’s reaction?
At the first miraculous catch, Peter fell on his knees, acknowledging that he was
a sinner. Now he can’t wait to be with the Lord. The other disciples came in the boat, for they were not far from shore, only about a hundred yards, dragging the net with the fish. When they climbed out on shore, they saw a charcoal fire with fish on it and bread. Jesus said to them, "Bring some of the fish you just caught." So Simon Peter went over and dragged the net ashore full of one hundred fifty-three large fish. Even though there were so many, the net was not torn. Jesus said to them, "Come, have breakfast." And none of the disciples dared to ask him, "Who are you?" because they realized it was the Lord.
The risen Lord’s appearance is different from the previous ways they had known him. But they recognize the voice and the actions. In faith they knew it was Jesus. Jesus came over and took the bread and gave it to them, and in like manner the fish. This was now the third time Jesus was revealed to his disciples after being raised from the dead. When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?" Simon Peter answered him, "Yes, Lord, you know that I love you." Jesus said to him, "Feed my lambs." He then said to Simon Peter a second time, "Simon, son of John, do you love me?" Simon Peter answered him, "Yes, Lord, you know that I love you." Jesus said to him, "Tend my sheep." Jesus said to him the third time, "Simon, son of John, do you love me?" Peter was distressed that Jesus had said to him a third time, "Do you love me?" and he said to him, "Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you." Jesus said to him, "Feed my sheep.
Why did Jesus ask Peter the same question three times? Do you think it has anything to do with the triple denial of Jesus by Peter during the arrest scene?
Imagine yourself in Peter’s place and listen in your heart to the same three questions to you by Jesus. What is your response? Amen, amen, I say to you, when you were younger, you used to dress yourself and go where you wanted; but when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go." He said this signifying by what kind of death he would glorify God. And when he had said this, he said to him, "Follow me."
According to tradition, Peter was crucified upside down in Rome.
This was the second time Jesus told Peter to follow him. The first was at the same Sea when Jesus first encountered Peter and invited him to become a fisher of men. Peter followed but was not yet ready to give himself totally to Jesus. Is the same thing true in our lives? We have heard an initial call and followed Jesus but now we are fully ready to follow him no matter what. This is the response Jesus is looking for.
"If you truly want to help the soul of your neighbor, you should approach God first with all your heart. Ask him simply to fill you with charity, the greatest of all virtues; with it you can accomplish what you desire." (St. Vincent Ferrer) How is it that we miss the basics of daily living? We try to solve the problems of others from a human perspective. That is not our call. What we are called to do is to love the other person. Love opens the heart to change. Love frees the other to be fully other. Love helps the other person to see their true worth and identity as one loved by God. Is not that at the core of everyone's desires?
Today, the Solemnity of the Annunciation, Pope Francis called for the renewal of our "yes" to the Lord. Mary said "yes" to God's invitation to become the Mother of God. Jesus said "yes" to the Father's to become man and he continued to say "yes" as he embrace the Father's will even to the cross. Here are the Pope's words: "It is God's 'yes' that sanctifies us, that lets us go forth in Jesus Christ. This is why today is the right day to thank the Lord and ask ourselves: am I a man or woman of 'yes' or a man or woman of 'no'? Or am I a man or woman who looks away, so as not to respond?" Lord, I renew my "yes" to follow your will, uttered many times over the years. May my "yes" be a continual surrendering to you even to my last "yes."
