*THE HOLY SPIRIT: EVER PRESENT HELP IN MO
_*“But when the Counsellor comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness to me; and you also are witnesses.” (John 15:26-27)*_
Yesterday, someone asked me: “Father, why do we pray ‘Come Holy Spirit’? Don’t we have the Holy Spirit already dwelling in us?” After reflecting on this question, I realised we cannot get enough of the Holy Spirit. The fact that you have read the Bible (or know everything in it) should not stop you from reading it daily. Each time you read the bible, you gain new insights. Similarly, when we pray the “Come Holy Spirit” prayer, we ask for a fresh outpouring of the Holy Spirit. 2. We get a heightened sense of the presence of the Holy Spirit. 3. We acknowledge our need (dependence) on the Holy Spirit to live a virtuous life. 4. We express our humility, and 5. We seek the Holy Spirit’s power to transform our lives. As we continue to deepen our understanding of the work of the Holy Spirit, let us now examine some lessons in today’s readings:
1. The Holy Spirit – The Principal Agent of Evangelization: In today’s Gospel passage, Jesus describes the Holy Spirit as the Spirit of Truth who bears witness to Him. Without the Holy Spirit, we cannot know the truth about God. We cannot witness to God without first receiving the witness of the Holy Spirit. Meanwhile, even when we witness God to our fellow human beings, our success depends entirely on the Holy Spirit. In today’s first reading, we hear the story of Lydia. Luke, the author of the Acts of the Apostles, tells us that: “The Lord opened her heart to give heed to what was said by Paul.” (Acts 16:14). If the Lord does not open the heart of people to listen and accept the message, the preacher’s efforts are in vain. It is never a matter of eloquence, knowledge or diction. When we say “Come Holy Spirit”, we are not praying only for ourselves; we also pray for those we intend to minister to that the words we utter may be meaningful to them.
2. The Holy Spirit – Our Provider: Lydia pressed upon Paul and his companions to stay at her house after she was baptised. Once again, we see how the Holy Spirit works through individuals to provide whatever is needed for the mission. When Jesus sent out his disciples to preach, he warned them not to carry purses or extra tunics. He knew that God would never give you an assignment without providing everything needed. You might not know where help would come from, but you only need to trust that you are working for God, who owns everything in the universe.
3. The Holy Spirit – Our Counsellor: in today’s Gospel passage, Jesus describes the Holy Spirit as a Counsellor. The word ‘Counsellor’ can refer to a lawyer who defends a client in trouble or a therapist who advises one experiencing psychological trauma (or other related difficulties). In other words, the Holy Spirit as Counsellor is a solid helper for us as we battle to survive in a world that is not ours. A few days ago, Jesus told us that the world hates us because He has chosen us out of the world. The world cannot love us because we don’t belong to it. Today, Jesus tells us that a time will come when whoever kills us will think he is offering service to God (meaning that persecution will come from even our fellow Christians). How do we cope under these circumstances? The Holy Spirit is both our lawyer and our therapist.
Let us pray: Come O Holy Spirit, that I may give a good account of my faith by my words and the example of my life. Through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
Bible Study: Acts 16:11-15, Ps. 149:1-6,9, John 15:26-16:4).*
@Rev. Fr. Evaristus E. Abu