I will send you the Spirit of truth

Jn 15,26—16,4: Jesus said to his disciples, "From the Father, I will send you the Spirit of truth. When this Helper has come from the Father, He will be my witness, and you, too, will be my witnesses for you have been with me from the beginning. I tell you all this to keep you from stumbling and falling away. They will put you out of the Jewish communities. Still more, the hour is coming when anyone who kills you will claim to be serving God; they will do this because they have not known the Father or me. I tell you all these things now so that when the time comes you may remember that I told you. I did not tell you about this in the beginning because I was with you."


Pbro. D. Luis A. GALA Rodríguez (Campeche, Mexico)

Today, the Gospel’s text contains Jesus’ advice on the hardship that is bound to face every one of his disciples «Still more, the hour is coming when anyone who kills you will claim to be serving God» (Jn 16:2). In plain human terms it is normal that fear may overtake us - however, just as it is certain that great comfort comes from knowing we are not alone, as we rely on the Holy Ghost, the Spirit of truth, to always pay testimonial (Jn 15:26).

It is of vital importance to be aware that the Holy Spirit lives within every one of us who is baptized: after all we are, by adoption, "children of God", and "living temple of the Spirit" — how true! And how often we forget or disbelieve such truth, because we haven’t known either the Father or the Son (Jn 16:3). We live in a crisis of values and faith, thinking that change will come from the outside and from the sole work of God, something magical. But the Gospel reminds us that change operates within and upon ourselves through the labor of the Holy Spirit. The "Spirit" will not come to solve our problems; rather it will teach us to comprehend them, thus leading us to understanding what it is that we really have to change within ourselves, so as to sustain and enliven the testimony of our lives in Christ.

Benedict XVI reminds us, on the opening Mass for the Year of Faith, that "today, more than ever, to evangelize implies to pay testimony of a new life, transformed by God", for which the essential lies in the Gospel and a steady faith in the Church.

One needs to be open to the touch of the Spirit of God, in order not to fear in face of so much pain, suffering, and helplessness in a world so materialistic — even though it might seem like God is absent or out of reach — but rather learning to ask for the help of the Spirit: "Come Holy Spirit and renew your Church according to your will”.