Tuesday of the Sixth Week of Easter
(Acts 16:22-34; John 16:5-11)
In today’s gospel Jesus assures his disciples that the Holy
Spirit will take his place. This, he
says, will be to their advantage.
Because physical presence limits him to one place at one time, he cannot
be with everyone. But the Spirit, who is
everywhere at once, can be with the Church wherever it goes. Reminding the disciples of Jesus, the Spirit
will help them fulfill their responsibilities.
The Spirit acts as a lawyer who defends the Church by pointing
out the shortcomings of its critics. Today
the Spirit convicts the world of individualism run awry. People want privacy guarantees so that they
can do whatever they wish without suffering loss of respect. The Spirit further convicts the world of
righteousness for ignoring the teachings of Jesus. His emphasis on selfless love has been
distorted into fulfilment of sexual desire at any cost. Finally, the Spirit condemns the world for
removing the strictures of sexual intercourse outside of marriage. Casual sex ruins family bonds that are
necessary for moral development and social cohesion.
“Has the Spirit itself likewise gone?” we may want to ask
ourselves in this post-Christian age. No,
but it may be dormant if we do not pray for it and move with its
promptings. Within two weeks we will be
celebrating the Holy Spirit. Now is the
time to offer ourselves to its control.
