THE WORLD NEEDS THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH - 05/25/22 (Wednesday of the Sixth Week of Easter)

John 16:12-14

Jesus said to His disciples: “I have much more to tell you, but you cannot bear it now. But when He comes, the Spirit of truth, He will guide you to all truth. He will not speak on His own, but He will speak what He hears, and will declare to you the things that are coming. He will glorify Me, because He will take from what is mine and declare it to you. 

For the full readings, click here: 

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/052522.cfm

For more information on the Optional Memorial of St. Bede the Venerable, click here:

https://mycatholic.life/saints/saints-of-the-liturgical-year/may-25-saint-bede-the-venerable-priest-and-doctor/

Blessed Wednesday! Jesus calls the Holy Spirit as the Spirit of Truth. When the apostles were proclaiming the gospel to many nations, the Holy Spirit was guiding them and bringing conversion to both Jews and Gentiles. For the most part, the apostles were facing the obstacle of teaching the truths of Christianity in nations that were full of idolatry. Today, we no longer see widespread paganism but secularism replaces it. Instead of the pagan gods, the self autonomy or the consent of the individual becomes the priority to the point of minimizing and neglecting the importance of God in our lives. 

Our Lord Jesus told His disciples that He had many things to say, but they would not bear it. At the time, they would be unable to understand and accept the truths that Jesus wanted to share to them. In the same way, it's difficult to follow the commandments and believe the teachings of Christ if we make ourselves the center of our lives instead of God. Our pride may hinder us from accepting the truth from Him. Unfortunately, many people in our world no longer believe in God's truth. The dignity and the right to life of all human beings, especially the unborn children, were considered as common sense before. Now, there are many who think it's a right for a woman to have an abortion which ends the lives of innocent children. Even the lives of elderly, the sick and others are no longer respected due to the promotion of euthanasia and assisted suicide as "medical options."

The world needs the Spirit of Truth. We all need the Holy Spirit in our lives. The darkness in our secular world should lead us to believe that on our own, we cannot accept and bear the truth of Christ. This was the reason why Jesus promised His disciples that He would send the Holy Spirit. We should humble and open ourselves to the guidance of the Holy Spirit who will lead us into all truth. The Holy Spirit glorifies Jesus by revealing to us His teachings. Christianity became widespread because many people listened to the apostles, the early leaders of the Catholic Church. If we truly want to have an assurance of following God's will and truth, we should trust that the Holy Spirit is guiding the Catholic Church even today. 

The lack of trust that we see in this world results to the rejection of God in the lives of many. Besides practicing our Catholic faith, we can submit ourselves to the will of the Holy Spirit through our prayers. God is inviting us to seek His guidance as we discern His will on how we can share the truth to many people. At the moment when we are tempted to doubt or deny our faith, it is through prayer that the Holy Spirit enlightens us of all truth by not entertaining such temptations. The promise that the Spirit will guide people to the truth is not just exclusive to us, but even to people who seem to be so hardened and cannot see the presence of God. May we never cease to pray for the conversion of sinners and for them to be enlightened by the Spirit of Truth. As the Holy Spirit, our Merciful God, sees that we beg for graces from Him, He will be moved by His compassion and strengthen us by His power. 

Amen +

Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, be with us always until the hour of our death. Amen. +

 

May the Lord + bless us, protect us from all evil and bring us to everlasting life. Amen. +  

Reflection by: Dominic