Christ suffered for sins to lead us sinners to God.  To be a Christian means to suffer persecution and to appear in court and receive beatings.  And also, to have as Advocate the Spirit of truth.

Jesus continues to bid his disciples farewell and to get them ready for when he goes back to the Father.  The Teacher reminds them that action speaks louder than words.  Their work will lead to their receiving from the Father another Advocate to be with them always, the Spirit of truth.

And the world does not accept the Spirit of truth and does not think he exists.  It is because he is beyond what the world sees and knows.

But those who are Jesus’ cannot help but see and know the Spirit of life.  For this Spirit stays with them and is with them, and so, makes them live.

Hence, Jesus does not leave orphans those who are his.  Yes, he has gone back to the Father, and that is why the world no longer sees him.  Yet the disciples see him, though he is not with them in the same way that he was before death.  They see him since they live in and from the Spirit.  Living in and from the Spirit of Jesus and of the Father, they get caught up in the Trinity’s communion.

But do we who say we are Christians love him truly and keep what he commands?  Do we see farther than the eye could see and look not just with the intellect, but with the soul?  Can we honestly say that we see Jesus and his Spirit?  Do we take the Spirit of truth as our Advocate?  For it could be that, to accomplish God’s works, we do not use the means he shows us through Jesus (SV.EN II:432-433; III:190).  And maybe we fail to grasp that to give up the body and shed blood, to lose life, that is, means to gain it.

Lord Jesus, grant us to see you and to accept the Spirit of truth.  Thus, you will dwell in our hearts through faith.  And we will continue your work and show to the world the Father’s true face.

10 May 2026
6th Suday of Easter (A)
Acts 8, 5-8. 14-17; 1 Pt 3, 15-18; Jn 14, 15-21