Commentary on the Gospel of
Throughout this week, John’s Gospel is preparing us for the Ascension. Jesus tells us that he is going back to the Father. The disciples didn’t understand the deep meaning of those words. They were thinking of a farewell and they got sad, because they thought that they were alone. Jesus reminded them that they were not going to be alone and promised them the Holy Spirit. Sometimes, we are like those disciples.
The disciples were going to suffer persecutions and only if they had understood the meaning of Jesus’ life were they going to be able to overcome those situations. The Disciples were going to understand the meaning of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection only when they received the Holy Spirit. Only after that would they be ready to spread the Gospel around the world. The Holy Spirit is the one who is going to show the disciples the authentic path to being missionaries. As those disciples, we need the Holy Spirit to learn how to be Jesus’ disciples in the XXI century.
We need the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives and in the Church. First of all, we need the Holy Spirit in our lives to be able to live in our everyday life as disciple-missionaries. Many times, we are like those disciples and we have lost our cheerfulness. Pope Francis often reminds us that Jesus’ disciple is a cheerful person that shares the joy of risen Jesus Christ in the middle of our world. We live in a sad world. Perhaps, throughout this day you can share the happiness that comes from the Holy Spirit.
We don’t understand some events unless we change our point of view. The presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives can give us another point of view to discern the path of righteousness and justice. The Helper can act in our lives as teacher and can show us how to be disciple-missionaries. Don’t forget to open your life to the presence of the Holy Spirit
