By: Rev. Fr. Orly Mendoza
Among the three persons of the Holy Trinity, the Holy Spirit is the least known. We know God the Father who is the first person of the Holy Trinity as He has been known since the Old Testament times. Even until now, our liturgical prayers are usually addressed to God the Father. We also know very well our Lord Jesus Christ who is the second person of the Holy Trinity. He is our Savior and to Him, we usually address our personal prayers.
The Holy Spirit is the least one among the Holy Trinity that we communicate. But we have to be aware that it is through the power of the Holy Spirit that Jesus Christ is able to continue the works of salvation in the Holy Catholic Church. We are now in the time of the Holy Spirit because it is through the power of the Holy Spirit that we live our lives as Christians. We cannot have faith and we cannot profess our faith without the help of the Holy Spirit. It is the Holy Spirit that makes our Church alive and that makes Jesus Christ present to us. It is the Holy Spirit that inspires us to do good things and to continue following Jesus amidst the difficulties in life. And it is the Holy Spirit that enlightens us and teaches us the way to God.
In the gospel for this Sunday, Jesus Christ promises us the Holy Spirit by saying: “But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you” (Jn 14:26). Jesus promises to send the Holy Spirit as He is about to ascend into heaven and He would like that His works would be continued. This Holy Spirit is a teacher. He will teach us all things about Jesus Christ and He will make us understand the teachings and deeds of Jesus Christ. For this reason, we must always invite the Holy Spirit to come into our lives and enlighten and strengthen us in our Christian life.
Being a pure spirit, the Holy Spirit will not teach us the way an ordinary teacher in a classroom or an online teacher in a Google classroom will teach us. He will rather teach us through prayer and meditation. We only need to pray and give time to reflect on the Words of God and on the teachings of the Holy Catholic Church. Most especially, we need to be submissive to the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Of course, the Holy Spirit will only guide us to think, say, and do good things. All bad things do not come from the Holy Spirit and we must therefore shun them. On the other hand, all good things come from Him and we must therefore fulfill them.
There are a lot of good things that come to our mind that we must do as inspired by the Holy Spirit. The problem is, we do not usually fulfill them but rather we ignore them for one reason or another. Usually, we are a little bit shy to do those good things as we are not accustomed to doing them. Or we are busy doing other things and we ignore those inspirations since we are not used to them. But then, that is how the Holy Spirit works in us: by inspiring us to do good things. If we do not fulfill those inspirations, then we ignore the Holy Spirit. Let us not be afraid to do good, for this reason, we are Christians. Let us ask the Holy Spirit to strengthen us and help us fulfill our task of loving God and serving our neighbors. Amen!
SIXTH SUNDAY OF EASTER
(White) Cycle C/Year II (May 22, 2022)
Acts 15:1-2, 22-29/Rv 21:10-14, 22-23/Jn 14:23-29
