Jul 13, 2026 Written by 
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16th Sunday in O.T.

16th Sunday in O.T.

16th Sunday in Ordinary Time (year A)

(Rom 8:26–27)

 

Romans 8:26 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that cannot be put into words;

 

The context here is that of prayer, and so our weakness here lies within the realm of prayer.  Although the Christian has been baptised into the death and resurrection of Jesus, they still remain in a state of weakness, and this fact is also evident in their prayers. For although we generally know what we ought to ask of God, we often do not know what, specifically and at any given moment, is useful and appropriate for us. In other words, we do not fully know God’s will, and so we are not always sure what His will is or what we ought to pray for. 

The believer finds themselves caught between two worlds: on the one hand, still bound by a sinful nature, whose ways are opposed to those of the Spirit and which ties them to the realities of a fallen world; on the other, the regeneration and rebirth into a new world, which operates according to the ways of the Spirit, opposed to those of the flesh. It is in this inner conflict within man that his weakness lies. To overcome this weakness, the Lord has provided valuable help. He has given the Holy Spirit, and has given Him as the guiding principle of the Christian’s prayer.

“In the same way,” he says, expressing the Father’s complete solidarity with fallen humanity through the gift of the Spirit, who helps us to bring forth this new world that already lives and works within us; who helps us by sustaining us on our spiritual journey; and who helps us to enter into a relationship with spiritual realities with which, precisely because of our weakness, we do not even know how to relate. In prayer, we can only feebly express what is fitting, what is right, and what we ought first and foremost to pray for—that is, what is in accordance with God’s will.

Only the Spirit speaks the Father’s language. The Spirit goes beyond our thoughts and asks for everything we lack, so that the Father may meet those needs of which his children are unaware. The Spirit is given to us to come to the aid of our weakness in thought and will; the weakness of those who do not know, of those who do not understand, of those who cannot. ‘Comes to our aid’ is ‘synantilambanetai’, a word composed of two prepositions, ‘syn’ (together) and ‘anti’ (against), which are prefixes of the verb ‘lambanomai’ (to take possession of, to hold). The metaphor therefore presents us with a person who carries a burden in collaboration with another, positioning themselves at the opposite end of the burden itself; in other words, they share the load with us to give us relief.

In life, unfortunately, the slightest thing is enough to make us turn back or fall by the wayside, without having reached the goal of hope. In this weakness, it is the Holy Spirit who becomes the soul and spirit of the Christian and prays in their stead; yet the Spirit prays with ‘groans’ that Paul describes as ‘inexpressible’, that is, they cannot be translated into human words, which define, conceptualise and express material realities, whilst the Spirit’s action operates on spiritual levels; and for his groans to be perceived and understood, a person must rise spiritually, becoming attuned to spiritual language. They are inner stirrings, inspirations, intuitions.

Jesus’ intercession takes place at the right hand of God, whilst the Spirit’s intercession takes place within us. ‘Intercedes’ is the translation of ‘hyperentygchanei’, which means ‘to bring someone near or to call someone’. We know that we must ask God for everything, but we do not know what to ask God for. Not knowing what to ask for, we may even pray in vain. The Holy Spirit, on the other hand, knows God’s will for each of us. When He is in us and we are in Him, it is He Himself who prays and intercedes for us. However, He does not pray in a language we can understand, in the sense that He makes us understand what is best for us. He prays with inexpressible groans; He prays with our heart, but without our mind. It is the groaning of One who does not share our weakness, yet participates in it and takes it upon Himself. The groaning of the Spirit has no language; it is wordless, ‘alalētois’; it transcends all language.

There is something profoundly great and mysterious in this verse. When the Spirit dwells within a person, it is as though He were taking the person’s place; it is as though the person had handed over the helm of their life to Him. The Spirit guides life towards the goal that is inherent in human nature, without the person realising it, and directs them towards their supreme good. This explains why the saints sometimes find themselves doing things the ‘why’ and ‘how’ of which even they do not fully understand. They do not know; it is the Spirit of the Lord who moves them from within and guides them.

This is the true movement of the Spirit. When, on the other hand, everything is subjected to human reason and conscience, to human decision-making, there is no true movement of the Spirit; rather, it is man who is in control of his own person and intends to guide it according to his own principles of choice, even if, whether cunningly or naively, it suits him to attribute his own thoughts and decisions to the Spirit of the Lord. 

 

 

 Argentino Quintavalle, author of the books 

- Revelation – an exegetical commentary 

- The Apostle Paul and the Judaizers – Law or Gospel?

Jesus Christ, true God and true Man, in the mystery of the Trinity

Jesus’ prophetic discourse (Matthew 24–25)

All Generations Will Call Me Blessed

Catholics and Protestants Compared – In Defence of the Faith

The Church and Israel According to St Paul – Romans 9–11

 

(Available on Amazon)

155 Last modified on Monday, 13 July 2026 14:07
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Argentino Quintavalle

Argentino Quintavalle è studioso biblico ed esperto in Protestantesimo e Giudaismo. Autore del libro “Apocalisse - commento esegetico” (disponibile su Amazon) e specializzato in catechesi per protestanti che desiderano tornare nella Chiesa Cattolica.

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This can only take place on the basis of an intimate encounter with God, an encounter which has become a communion of will, even affecting my feelings (Pope Benedict)
Questo può realizzarsi solo a partire dall'intimo incontro con Dio, un incontro che è diventato comunione di volontà arrivando fino a toccare il sentimento (Papa Benedetto)
He is “the very stone which the builders rejected” (cf. Mt 21:42), because they judged him to be hostile to the law and a danger to public order [Pope Benedict]
Egli è “la pietra che i costruttori hanno scartato” (cfr Mt 21,42), perché l’hanno giudicato nemico della legge e pericoloso per l’ordine pubblico [Papa Benedetto]
"His" in a very literal sense: the One whom only the Son knows as Father, and by whom alone He is mutually known. We are now on the same ground, from which the prologue of the Gospel of John will later arise (Pope John Paul II)
“Suo” in senso quanto mai letterale: Colui che solo il Figlio conosce come Padre, e dal quale soltanto è reciprocamente conosciuto. Ci troviamo ormai sullo stesso terreno, dal quale più tardi sorgerà il prologo del Vangelo di Giovanni (Papa Giovanni Paolo II)
That 'always seeing the face of the Father' is the highest manifestation of the worship of God. It can be said to constitute that 'heavenly liturgy', performed on behalf of the whole universe [John Paul II]
Quel “vedere sempre la faccia del Padre” è la manifestazione più alta dell’adorazione di Dio. Si può dire che essa costituisce quella “liturgia celeste”, compiuta a nome di tutto l’universo [Giovanni Paolo II]
But what moves me even more strongly to proclaim the urgency of missionary evangelization is the fact that it is the primary service which the Church can render to every individual and to all humanity [Redemptoris Missio n.2]
Ma ciò che ancor più mi spinge a proclamare l'urgenza dell'evangelizzazione missionaria è che essa costituisce il primo servizio che la chiesa può rendere a ciascun uomo e all'intera umanità [Redemptoris Missio n.2]
Freedom and love coincide! On the contrary, obeying one’s selfishness leads to rivalry and conflict (Pope Benedict)
Libertà e amore coincidono! Al contrario, obbedire al proprio egoismo conduce a rivalità e conflitti (Papa Benedetto)
Are they not all spirits charged with a ministry, sent to serve those who are to inherit salvation? (Heb 1:14)
Non sono essi tutti spiriti incaricati di un ministero, inviati per servire coloro che devono ereditare la salvezza? (Eb 1,14)
The Church with its permanent contradiction: between the ideal and reality, the more annoying contradiction, the more the ideal is affirmed sublime, evangelical, sacred, divine, and the reality is often petty, narrow, defective, sometimes even selfish (Pope Paul VI)
La Chiesa con la sua permanente contraddizione: tra l’ideale e la realtà, tanto più fastidiosa contraddizione, quanto più l’ideale è affermato sublime, evangelico, sacro, divino, e la realtà si presenta spesso meschina, angusta, difettosa, alcune volte perfino egoista (Papa Paolo VI)
At first they say “yes” to God’s will, but their piety becomes routine and God no longer matters to them [Pope Benedict]
Essi, prima, dicono “sì” alla volontà di Dio. Ma la loro religiosità diventa routine, e Dio non li inquieta più [Papa Benedetto]
And «each of us can say: "for love to me"» (Pope Francis)
E «ognuno di noi può dire: “per amore a me”» (Papa Francesco)

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