EASTER VI [A]: Acts 8:5-8, 14-17, I Pt 3:15-18, Jn 14:15-21

In the second half of Eastertide we are encouraged to turn towards the season’s culmination in Pentecost by thinking of the Holy Spirit. This coming Sunday we celebrate the Ascension and the following Sunday the Pentecost. In today’s gospel John uses the term Paraclete for Holy Spirit, meanings that include such as Counsellor, Advocate, Mediator, Helper, or Comforter. In other words, a friend that we could all do with right now.

Jesus’ promised friend is like him: he is to be ‘another paraclete and in fact John refers to Jesus as a paraclete in his first letter (1 Jn 2:1). This Spirit is to be another friend, just as Jesus has been.
‘You are my friends if you do what I command you. I do not call you servants any longer, because the servant does not know what the master is doing; but I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my Father’ (Jn 15:14-15).

The Spirit is a most needed friend and also one who allows the teaching and saving Lordship of Jesus to remain with his followers.

The Spirit’s presence allows all of us to see and know Jesus and experience his love and friendship. ‘Those who love me will be loved by my Father, and I will love them and reveal myself to them.’ (14:21)

The risen Jesus’ continued presence in us and in the Church through the Holy Spirit gives meaning and purpose to all we are and all we do in his Name. As the Divine Advocate, the Holy Spirit will instruct us in Jesus’ doctrines and illumine our minds to receive deeper knowledge of our Faith. In addition, the Divine Advocate will enable us to defend our Faith powerfully and will guide us properly in our practice of true Christian love.

In this moment, when we need a light in the darkness and a friend when we cannot reach out and hold our loved ones, remember that the Spirit who ‘remains with and in you’ (Jn 14:17) is comforter, counsellor, and friend.

We need to be open to the Holy Spirit, our Paraclete. The purpose of the indwelling Holy Spirit is to help us grow towards maturity and wholeness. God, the Holy Spirit, helps us see the truth about ourselves, to discern the blocks that inhibit our growth, and to allow Him to transform us.  Like the Good Counselor He is, the Spirit enabling us to become stronger.  The Holy Spirit also comes to our aid and gives us the strength to make difficult and painful decisions.  The Holy Spirit actually lives in us, and we hear His voice counseling and guiding us in the way of truth.  Let us open the ears of our minds to hear Him and to obey His promptings.