Tuesday
of the Sixth Week of Easter
(Acts
16:11-15; John 16:5-11)
Today’s
first reading may provide a model for understanding its notoriously difficult
gospel. St. Paul and Silas are released
from their chains by an unexplained earthquake.
Since the Holy Spirit is the prime mover throughout Acts, we should
consider Him the real shaker of the earth.
This event will lead to the vindication of the Christian preachers and
the condemnation of their persecutors.
The Holy
Spirit Advocate acts like a wise master who will convince his students that the
world is wrong. Because the world was
wrong in abusing and imprisoning Paul and Silas, the Spirit has set them free. Because it was wrong about Jesus’ righteousness,
the jailkeeper now wants to follow him.
Finally, because the world was wrong in condemning Jesus, the Holy Spirit
is converting the whole world from Satan’s darkness.
Satan, the “prince of the world,” tries to win us to his side. He will tempt us to doubt the validity of such fundamentals as the Son’s incarnation and his resurrection from the dead. Likewise, he wants us to believe that the sexual mores of the Church need an overhaul. We must resist these allurements by keeping faith in the Church’s teachings.
