PRAISE GOD FOR GIVING US THE HOLY SPIRIT
(A biblical reflection on THE SIXTH SUNDAY OF EASTER – May 25, 2014)
First Reading: Acts 8:5-8,14-17; Psalms: Psalm 66:1-7,16,20; Second Reading: 1 Peter 3:15-18; Gospel Reading: John 14:15-21
Born human, we have within us capacities to love, learn, choose, work and so on. But we need the help of parents, teachers and friends to activate and develop these capacities so that we can reach our full human potential.
That is why we need the Holy Spirit and why Jesus promised to send Him to us: “I will ask the Father and He will give you another Paraclete – to be with you always; to remain with you and be within you.”
According to Peake’s Commentary on the Bible, the word paraclete means one who is called to our side as a helper. For example, a helper was often a legal counsellor in a court of law. In another sense, the Holy Spirit is a special kind of helper who is always with us to help us activate and develop our inner capacities.
Moreover, the Holy Spirit is given not only to be with us at our side, but also to dwell within us. His seven gifts are not some magical cloak we put on our outside, but a new source of life and power that operates from within the very depths of our being.
What are some of the ways in which the Holy Spirit helps us?
First, we become CONQUERORS. With the Holy Spirit working within our hearts there is no obstacle we cannot overcome in order to grow and expand – whether that obstacle is fear or laziness, drugs or alcohol, a physical handicap or an emotional disorder.
Second, we become more CREATIVE. Under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit we discover more beauty and harmony in the universe and are able to express our vision in new works of music, art, literature and science.
Third, we become more COMPASSIONATE. Whenever we encounter hunger, sickness or unemployment, the Holy Spirit prompts us to do something personal to alleviate these pains experienced by other people.
Fourth, we see things with greater CLARITY. The Holy Spirit dwelling within us opens our eyes to see things from God’s point of view – the shortness of time and the length of eternity; the wisdom of discipline and the foolishness of selfish indulgence; the value of prayer and the waste of worry.
Let us praise God for giving us the Holy Spirit to dwell within us as a helper. We many never win things like Academy Awards, but with His help we will reach a peak in personal growth and enrich the lives of people around us. We may never be given gold medals at Olympics or honorary degrees at graduations, but we will become more Christ-like as the Holy Spirit transforms us from within.
Adapted from Albert Cylwicki CSB, HIS WORD RESOUNDS, Makati, Philippines: St. paul Publications, 1991, pages 36-37.