Wednesday, May 13, 2026

 Wednesday of the Sixth Week of Easter

 (Acts 7:15.22-18.1; John 16:12-15)

 No doctrine of the Church is harder to grasp than the Holy Trinity.  How the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are both three and one almost defies explanation.  They are not three individuals making up a collective like a three-person volleyball team.  The three persons have but one mind and one will.  The Son, of course, has taken on a human nature, which involves his body in his heavenly presence.  But this extrinsic quality does not explain the real difference among the three.  They differ only by their relationships – one is Father; one is Son; and one is the life or Spirit among them.  In today’s gospel Jesus reassures his disciples with reference to the unique triad and unity of the Holy Trinity.

Jesus underscores the unity of the Trinity when he says that the Spirit will teach only what it receives from him.  In turn Jesus passes on only what he has received from the Father.  One might ask whether only the Spirit would be present to Jesus’ disciples or to Christians today.  No, Jesus has said in this same discourse that all three are present to his disciples.  The Church would formulate the Trinity’s presence in this way: “The Father is present to us through the Son and in the Holy Spirit.”

Although they are one, we can develop a relationship with each of the three divine persons.  To do this daily we can make an examination of conscience with the three in mind.  We can say, “Thank you” to the Father, the source of all things, for any good that we have experienced during the day.  We can say, “Forgive me,” to the Son who died because of our sins for any sins we committed.  And we can say, “Please…” to the Holy Spirit who is sent to help us for any special need we have tomorrow.

Wednesday, May 17, 2023

Wednesday of the Sixth Week of Easter

(Acts 17:15.22-18:1; John 16:12-15)

Many Catholics are clamoring for changes in Church teaching regarding morals.  They believe that its doctrine on homosexuality especially needs to be updated.  It seems that they do now realize if the Church changes its teachings, it would not be Christ’s Church.  The permanency of Church teaching is indicated in today’s gospel reading.

Jesus is telling his disciples that the Holy Spirit will come to “bear all truth.” He takes care in saying that the Spirit will not speak for itself but will declare only what the Father and the Son say.  He may develop what Jesus has already taught but will not add anything new.

In speaking of homosexuality we must be careful not to condemn those who have the condition.  In fact, we should feel compassion for their indisposition to have their own child naturally.  But this is no reason to undermine the truth that sexual intimacy is designed for procreation and support of a family.

Wednesday, May 29, 2019

Wednesday of the Sixth Week of Easter

(Acts 7:15.22-18.1; John 16:12-15)

No doctrine of the Church is harder to grasp than the Holy Trinity.  How the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are both three and one almost defies explanation.  They are not three individuals making up a collective like a three-person volleyball team.  The three persons have but one mind and one will.  The Son, of course, has taken on a human nature, and his body is part of his heavenly presence.  But this extrinsic quality does not explain the real difference among the three.  They differ only by their relationships – one is Father; one is Son; and one is the life or Spirit among them.  In today’s gospel Jesus reassures his disciples with reference to the unique triad and unity of the Holy Trinity.

Jesus underscores the unity of the Trinity when he says that the Spirit will teach only what it receives from him.  In turn Jesus passes on only what he has received from the Father.  One might ask whether only the Spirit would be present to Jesus’ disciples or to Christians today.  No, Jesus has said in this same discourse that all three are present to his disciples.  The Church would formulate the Trinity’s presence in this way: “The Father is present to us through the Son and in the Holy Spirit.”

Although they are one, we can develop a relationship with each of the three divine persons.  To do this daily we can make an examination of conscience with the three in mind.  We can say, “Thank you” to the Father, the source of all things, for any good that we have experienced during the day.  We can say, “Forgive me,” to the Son who died because of our sins for any sins we committed.  And we can say, “Please…” to the Holy Spirit who is sent to help us for any special need we have tomorrow.

Wednesday, May 24, 2017

Wednesday of the Sixth Week of Easter

(Acts 7:15.22-18.1; John 16:12-15)

No doctrine of the Church is harder to explain than the Holy Trinity.  How the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are both three and one almost defies explanation.  It is not that they are three entities that make up a collective like the Three Musketeers, but each one makes of the fullness of the divine nature.  How do they differ then?  They differ only by their relationships – one is Father; one is Son; and one is the life or Spirit among them.  In today’s gospel Jesus reassures his disciples with reference to the unique triad and unity of the Holy Trinity.

Jesus underscores the unity of the Trinity when he says that the Spirit will teach only what it receives from him.  In turn he passes on only what he has received from the Father.  One might ask whether only the Spirit would be present to Jesus’ disciples or to Christians today.  No, Jesus has said in this same discourse (last Sunday’s gospel reading) that all three are present to his disciples.

Although we have difficulty understanding exactly the nature of the Trinity, we can see it as a model for Church life.  The Church like the Trinity is a community of love.  Like the Trinity where the Father has a certain priority so in the Church the Bishop of Rome as well as local bishops have a kind of priority. We cannot be one exactly like the Trinity is one, but we should strive for at least a unity of mind and heart.

Wednesday, May 28, 2014

Wednesday of the Sixth Week of Easter

(Acts 17:15.22-18.1; John 16:12-15)

“Nature and Nature's laws lay hid in night: God said, ’Let Newton be!’ and all was light.”  With these words Alexander Pope honored Isaac Newton, the renowned English physicist.  Newton’s Principia Mathematica described the laws of motion in the seventeenth century.  The work was considered infallible until Einstein reformulated the laws in terms of relativity.  It cannot be said that Newton actually discovered the laws, which are more or less self-evident.  But he did explain them so that the world might understand their dynamics.  His work may be compared to how Jesus describes the role of the Spirit in today’s gospel.

When Jesus says that the Spirit “will declare to you the things that are coming,” he is referring to his death and resurrection.  Because the significance of this paschal event is beyond human intelligence, they need an interpreter.  Jesus cannot explain them because the disciples have not yet experienced them.  He has already declared himself to be “the truth.”  Now he says the Spirit will guide the disciples to “all truth”; that is, the full meaning of himself.

The Spirit must be active in our lives if we are experience the effects of Jesus’ redemption.  The Spirit moves us from attachment to the superficial delights of creation, sets our hearts on eternal life, and propels us to give of ourselves in love so that we may achieve our heart’s desire.  The Spirit is an unimaginable, completely gratuitous gift that the Father sends us through Jesus.

Wednesday, May 8, 2013

Wednesday, May 8, 2013

(Acts 17:15.22-18:1; John 16:12-15)

In its Pastoral Constitution on the Church, Vatican II wrestles with the question of atheism.  It says that many shut God out of their hearts out of refusal to acknowledge the dictates of their consciences.  But it also implicates Christians in the sin of disbelief because we often fail to give testimony to the presence of God by genuinely caring for one another.  With this kind of critical reasoning Vatican II exemplifies what Jesus means in today’s gospel.

Jesus tells his disciples that the Spirit Advocate will tell them the things that are coming.  Jesus does not mean that there will be a new revelation for he says that the Spirit will reveal what is already Jesus’.  What the Spirit will do for the Church, as can be testified in the Vatican II documents, is to interpret current events in light of Jesus’ own teaching.

Much has been said of the “spirit of Vatican II.”  Some people think that it is acceptance of almost every proposed change of belief or practice.  But such an interpretation defies the work of the council’s fathers who diligently discerned what the Holy Spirit was saying to them by careful deliberation and voting.  Certainly Vatican II introduced changes for which we should be grateful.  But we must also take care not to misinterpret the spirit of the council as promoting change indiscriminately.

Wedensday, May 16, 2012

Wednesday of the Sixth Week of Easter (Acts 17:15.22-18.1; John 16:12-15) “Nature and Nature's laws lay hid in night: God said, ’Let Newton be!’ and all was light.” With these words Alexander Pope honored Isaac Newton, the renowned English physicist. Newton’s Principia Mathematica described the laws of motion in the seventeenth century. The work was considered infallible until Einstein reformulated the laws in terms of relativity. It cannot be said that Newton actually discovered the laws, which are more or less self-evident. But he did explain them so that the world might understand their dynamics. His work may be compared to how Jesus describes the role of the Spirit in today’s gospel. When Jesus says that the Spirit “will declare to you the things that are coming,” he is referring to his death and resurrection. Because the significance of this paschal event is beyond human intelligence, they need an interpreter. Jesus cannot explain them because the disciples have not yet experienced them. He has already declared himself to be “the truth.” Now he says the Spirit will guide the disciples to “all truth”; that is, the full meaning of himself. The Spirit must be active in our lives if we are experience the effects of Jesus’ redemption. The Spirit moves us from attachment to the superficial delights of creation, sets our hearts on eternal life, and propels us to give of ourselves in love so that we may achieve our heart’s desire. The Spirit is an unimaginable, completely gratuitous gift that the Father sends us through Jesus.

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Wednesday of the Sixth Week of Easter

(Acts 17:15.22-18.1; John 16:12-15)

In the movie Taps , a crisis descends over a high school military academy. Upon the arrest of the academy’s esteemed commander for a crime he did not commit, the cadets take control of the institution and the multiple arms it stores. Before the commander can counsel the young cadets to give up their futile quest, he dies of a heart attack. The cadet leaders are left in a quandary. Should they nobly defend their academy or should they give in to civil authorities? Seeking clues that might help them answer their question, the cadets review old films of the director. A similar action is suggested in the gospel today.

Jesus promises to send the Spirit of truth to his disciples after he ascends to the Father. It will help them meet their challenges as a community of faith in the future. The Spirit will remind the disciples of what Jesus told them as if Jesus had not really left them. Because he knows that the community will expand and multiply, Jesus has said that it is better that he returns to the Father and the Spirit comes. Not limited to time and space, the Spirit will accompany the community wherever its new incarnations are found.

The Spirit remains with us today. It reminds us that in loving one another within the Church, we give witness to the world that Jesus is Lord. As the Church becomes more diversified culturally, communal love means that more established components show acceptance and support for newer, fledging ones. It also means that liberals and conservatives arrest much of their bickering in order to attend to the Spirit’s promptings.