Gospel: John 15:26-16:4a
Jesus said to his disciples:
“When the Advocate comes whom I will send you from the Father,
the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father,
he will testify to me.
And you also testify,
because you have been with me from the beginning.
I have told you this so that you may not fall away.
They will expel you from the synagogues;
in fact, the hour is coming when everyone who kills you
will think he is offering worship to God.
They will do this because they have not known either the Father or me.
I have told you this so that when their hour comes
you may remember that I told you.”
The Gospel of the Lord.
The Mass intention is for Michael Lyne RIP.
Reflection:
St Damien de Veuster was known as the “leper priest” for his ministry to the quarantined lepers in the Hawaiian island of Molokai. He looked after the physical, medical, and spiritual needs of the lepers. He built houses, a church, a school, and an orphanage as well. A native who knew the priest said “We loved him (Fr Damien). We wanted him to stay with us but he always got on his donkey and rode away. He explained that Jesus never had a home or a bed, and, like Jesus, he would travel from place to place telling people about the love our heavenly Father had for us. Watching him I learned about Jesus.”
In today’s Gospel, Jesus identifies the Spirit of truth as His witness when He returns to the Father. The Holy Spirit does not bring us something different from what Jesus has given us. The Holy Spirit comes “to help us make Christ ours, to make it possible for everything that we have encountered in Jesus to become more and more our own”. If we open our hearts to the Holy Spirit, like St Damien, those who see us would learn about Jesus.
- How can you be a witness to Jesus?
- In what ways can the Holy Spirit help you own everything that Jesus gives you?
- What lessons can you impart to those who look up to you?
Lord Jesus, thank You for Your Word today. Through the prayers and example of St Damien make us attentive to the Holy Spirit that we may not fall away when persecution strikes us but stand up to bear witness to You. Amen.
(Pietro)
This painting of St. Damien of Molokai is found at St. Joseph Parish in Louvain, Belgium. (CNS)