Words Made Flesh: The Presence of the Spirit

Broken heart filled with Spirit

"In John's Gospel, the sense of loss among the apostles is palpable as Jesus prepares to take leave of them. Peter asks: 'Lord where are you going?' (John 13:36) and 'Lord, why can I not follow you now?' (John 13:37). To this poignant longing Jesus responds: 'If you love me you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father and he will give you another Advocate to be with you forever' (John 14:15). Then Jesus identifies the new Advocate (Gk paracletos) as the Spirit of truth, unknown to the world but an abiding presence within the disciples (John 14:17). This then is the foundation of our trust in the guidance of the Spirit.

"...The new Advocate is not a kind of a proxy sent to replace the absent Lord: on the contrary, it assures his presence as well as the Father's. They will 'come to' the one who remains faithful to Jesus' word, and they will dwell 'with' him."

Biblical Reflection for 6th Sunday of Easter

For Fr. Rosica's commentary on the other readings from this Sunday, click here.

Fr. Thomas Rosica, CSB is CEO of the Salt and Light Catholic Media Foundation and Television Network in Canada. He is a consultor to the Pontifical Council for Social Communications and writes a weekly commentary on the Sunday readings for Zenit.

*ZENIT is a non-profit international news agency comprising a team of professionals and volunteers who are convinced of the extraordinary richness of the Catholic Church's message, particularly its social doctrine. The ZENIT team sees this message as a light for understanding today's world.