💖 HOMILY - MAY 17 💖

First Reading - Acts 17:15, 22 - 18:1

Gospel - John 16:12-15

The words of the gospel are enigmatic and profound. They are not mere sentences but sentences with profound depth. Therefore, we need the Holy Spirit to guide us to understand the depth of the meaning of the words of Jesus. The readings of today invite us to seek the guidance of the Holy Spirit to understand the words of Jesus and touch the lives of people through them.

Today's first reading presents a well selected speech of Paul in Athens, among the well educated people. Paul prudently selects the sentences for the speech and quotes the well known poems of the time to get his message to the hearts of his audience. However, when it comes to the belief in the resurrection the audience of Paul become skeptic about everything of Paul and many become disenchanted with Paul's speech. The whole scene of the preparation of Paul to preach among the people of Athens points to the fact that initially he trusted in himself more to proclaim the gospel rather than seek the assistance of the Spirit in the work of preaching and he failed badly. However, hereafter he gives himself to the Spirit for the work of preaching and many are led to faith.

In Today’s Gospel passage, Jesus instructs his disciples on the role of the Holy Spirit and His relationship with Jesus and God the Father.

1) First, as the Spirit of Truth, the Holy Spirit is the Gift of God Who is the Possessor and the Giver of all truth. It is the Spirit’s role to make the disciples fully understand the truths revealed by Christ. Vatican II teaches that Our Lord “completed and perfected Revelation and confirmed it…finally by sending the Spirit of Truth” (Vatican II, Dei Verbum 4).

2) By bringing to their minds and clarifying everything Jesus has taught that the Holy Spirit will also enable the disciples to render glory to God by glorifying His Son Jesus.

Second, Jesus also reveals the mystery of the Blessed Trinity in today’s Gospel passage, saying that the Three Divine Persons have the same nature: “everything that the Father has belongs to the Son, and everything the Son has belongs to the Father” (John 17:10), and that the Spirit also shares the same Divine Essence with the Father and the Son.

Dear friends, we need the daily guidance and strengthening of the Holy Spirit in our mission of bearing witness. We should remember that Faith is a gift. Hence, we do not gain converts by argument or eloquence, but by praying for them and by radiating, through our living, the Good News that Jesus has died for our sins, has risen for our justification, and offers us a share in his glory. 

We need to pray to the Holy Spirit for the enlightenment of the message of the gospel. As Jesus promises us that it's the Holy Spirit that can unfold the messages of the gospel and help us understand them. Therefore, our reading of the Bible should be always accompanied by the invocation of the Holy Spirit to guide and enlighten us. The Holy Spirit is our true teacher to learn the message of the Scriptures.

Let's pray that the Holy Spirit God may always accompany and guide us in our works and understanding.