St. Anthony & Our Lady of Fatima

We live in an age in which we often do not need to wait to know something.  Advancements in science allow parents to know the gender of a child months prior to birth and for genes to be mapped to determine possible future ailments.  Jesus tells the disciples something that is contrary to our time.  He tells them to wait.  They are to await guidance from the Spirit of truth.  When do you pray to the Spirit for guidance?  How hard is it to await the reply?  As we await the Spirit, we are putting our trust in God.

God is continuing to teach us many lessons.  The Advocate is here to remind us and teach us “everything.”  Are we willing to listen and learn?  No matter our age or education, the Spirit can lead us to deepen our life in the Lord.  This Pentecost, we take to heart the message that love and the Commandments are intertwined.  The Advocate is here to help us understand that.

Today’s Gospel is set in the context of Jesus’ last words to his disciples the night before he died.  Here Jesus is speaking not only to the disciples, but to the heavenly Father.  In his prayer, Jesus asks that his followers be united as one, more specifically, as he and the Father are one. The unity of his followers will give witness to the world that the Jesus in whom they believe, and whose teachings they follow, was indeed sent by the Father.  The unity of the Father and the Son, the love between the Father and the Son – this is the same unity and love that Jesus prays will be the experience and the witness of all who believe in him.

Two weeks from today, we will celebrate Pentecost. We will have the possibility of receiving in a new way the Holy Spirit, the Paraclete, Whom the Father will send in Jesus’ name (Jn 14:26). The Spirit plans to instruct us in everything and remind us of all that Jesus told us (Jn 14:26). This instructing and reminding from the Spirit, if discerned and heeded, will have such an effect on our lives that our decisions will also be the decisions of the Holy Spirit (Acts 15:28). Therefore, our decisions will be correct, life-changing, life-giving, miraculously wise, and fruitful for God’s kingdom.

Some of us may have messed up our marriages, finances, employment, family life, and lifestyle by a series of bad decisions. The way out of this situation is to make good decisions by the power of the Spirit. Therefore, we must receive the Holy Spirit. We must go into the upper room of prayer, repentance, and conversion. There we will receive the Spirit, Who will change our lives, hearts, minds, and decisions.