Friday begins the Pentecost Novena.
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| “The Holy Spirit” by Corrado Giaquinto, 1750s |
Commentary:
Reading 1: Acts 16:22-34
Commentary on Acts 16:22-34
This selection is another part of the first of the “we sections” in Acts. Here the events of Paul and Silas being beaten, jailed, and then released are given.
"This is the first time St Paul comes into conflict with Gentiles. As might be expected, the incident does not take the form of a riot, as happened in cities of Asia Minor (13:50; 14:5, 19), but of a civil suit before local magistrates. The people who bring the charge say nothing about their real reason -- loss of profit. They accuse Paul of two things. Their first charge is disturbance of the peace. The second seems to be based on regulations forbidding Roman citizens to practice alien cults, especially where these conflict with Roman custom." [4]
The jailer and those present interpreted the earthquake and its effect on the jail cells as a sign from God. This gave weight to Paul’s evangelical approach that led to their release and the jailer’s conversion.
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 138:1-2ab, 2cde-3, 7c-8
R. (7c) Your right hand saves me, O Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Commentary on Psalm 138:1-2ab, 2cde-3, 7c-8
Psalm 138 is a psalm of thanksgiving. It contains the same sense as if it were a continuation of the prayer of Esther C:12, 14-16, 23-25. It praises God for his saving works and expresses confidence in his saving help. It also supports the rescue of Paul and Silas (Acts 16:22ff) who prayed and whose prayers were answered by divine intervention. (“When I called, you answered me.”)
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Gospel: John 16:5-11
Commentary on Jn 16:5-11
In this selection Jesus reemphasizes that he is returning to the Father and it is only when he does so that the Paraclete will be given to the disciples. Above the active support and guidance promised to be given by the Advocate earlier, we now hear of its role as judge. This movement from “guide” to “judge” demonstrates the completeness of this person of the Trinity.
CCC: Jn 16:11 385
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Reflection:
There are a number of paradoxes we face as living as Christians in a secular world. We are to be of the world but separate from it; we are to love our enemies, and while we are to live in a world that is not bound by Christian values, we are told to “Stop judging, that you may not be judged” (Matthew 7:1).
Still, if we are to live in the world we must make judgments each day about what course of action to take in given situations. And even the most idealistic person finds that many of these judgments fall into what can only be called “a gray area” as opposed to black or white. What are we to do? How are we supposed to decide which course of action is best?
It was for precisely this reason that Jesus left us the Holy Spirit, the Advocate, as St. John says in the Gospel passage today. The Advocate is an indwelling spirit of holiness conferred in Baptism and sealed in Confirmation. The Advocate provides us with access to God’s wisdom and it is through this access we are to chart our course for our lives in the world.
There is, of course, some difficulty for most of us surrounding the appropriate use of the Holy Spirit as counselor and guide. It is like the stereotype applied to men driving to a destination to which they have never been and getting turned around. According to the stereotypical assessment – they will not stop and ask for directions except as a last resort (ignoring, out of pride, the wisdom of their wives' advice to do so). We tend to do the same thing in life. We do not ask for (or perhaps more significantly, listen to) the help of the Holy Spirit when making our decisions. It is, after all, difficult to tap into that source of wisdom, especially if it is not a regular practice and even more especially because it requires listening with our spirit.
Like most things of God, being guided by the Holy Spirit takes discipline and practice; two elements of human behavior we sometimes avoid because it means taking a more difficult path. Today we are reminded that the gift of the Spirit has been given and we just need to learn to use it. That guidance will be our right judgment in difficult situations and provide a course that will allow us to walk with our Lord in this life and ascend with him to the next.
Pax
[1] The picture is “The Holy Spirit” by Corrado Giaquinto, 1750s
[4] The Navarre Bible, “Gospels and Acts”, Scepter Publishers, Princeton, NJ, © 2002, p. 823
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