Here, in speaking of the Holy Spirit, Jesus explains to us what the Church is and how she should live in order to be herself, to be the place of unity and communion in Truth; he tells us that behaving as Christians means no longer being shut into our own “I” but rather being open to all things: it means inwardly welcoming the whole Church within ourselves or, even better, inwardly letting her receive us. Therefore when I speak, think and act as a Christian I do not do so by closing myself into myself, but I always do so in all things and starting with all things: thus the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of unity and of truth, may continue to resonate in our human hearts and minds and spur people to meet and to welcome each other.

Precisely because the Spirit acts in this way, he ushers us into the whole truth, which is Jesus, and guides us to look at it more deeply and to understand it. We do not grow in knowledge by locking ourselves into own ego but only in an attitude of profound inner humility do we become capable of listening and sharing in the “we” of the Church. And in this way it becomes clearer why Babel is Babel and Pentecost is Pentecost. Wherever people want to set themselves up as God they cannot but set themselves against each other. Instead, wherever they place themselves in the Lord’s truth they are open to the action of his Spirit who sustains and unites them.

[Pope Benedict, homily 27 May 2012]

1. We have often quoted the words of Jesus, who in his farewell discourse addressed to the apostles in the Upper Room promises the coming of the Holy Spirit as a new and definitive defender and consoler: "I will pray to the Father and he will give you another Paraclete to abide with you forever, the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees nor knows him" (Jn 14:16-17). That "farewell discourse", located in the solemn account of the Last Supper (cf. Jn 13:2), is a source of prime importance for pneumatology, i.e. for the theological discipline concerning the Holy Spirit. Jesus speaks of him as the Paraclete, who "proceeds" from the Father, and whom the Father will "send" to the apostles and the Church "in the name of the Son", when the Son himself "goes away", "at the price" of the departure accomplished through the sacrifice of the Cross.

We must take into consideration the fact that Jesus calls the Paraclete the "Spirit of Truth". Also at other times he called him this (cf. Jn 15:26; Jn 16:13).

2. Let us bear in mind that in the same "farewell discourse" Jesus, responding to a question from the apostle Thomas about his identity, asserts of himself: "I am the way, the truth and the life" (Jn 14:6). From this twofold reference to truth that Jesus makes to define both himself and the Holy Spirit, one deduces that if the Paraclete is called by him the "Spirit of truth", this means that the Holy Spirit is the one who, after Christ's departure, will maintain among the disciples the same truth, which he proclaimed and revealed and, indeed, which he himself is. The Paraclete, in fact, is the truth, as Christ is. John says it in his first letter: "It is the Holy Spirit who bears witness, because the Spirit is the truth" (John 5, 6). In the same letter, the Apostle also writes: "We are of God. He who knows God listens to us; he who is not of God does not listen to us. From this we distinguish the spirit of truth and the spirit of error ("spiritus erroris")" (Jn 4:6). The mission of the Son and that of the Holy Spirit meet, are connected and complement each other in the affirmation of truth and the victory over error. The fields of action in which they operate are the human spirit and world history. The distinction between truth and error is the first moment of this work.

3. Remaining in the truth and working in the truth is the essential problem for the apostles and disciples of Christ, both of the early times and of all the new generations of the Church throughout the centuries. From this point of view, the proclamation of the Spirit of truth is of key importance. Jesus says in the Upper Room: "Many things I have yet to say to you, but for the moment (yet) you are not able to bear the burden of them" (Jn 16:12). Actually, Jesus' messianic mission lasted only a short time, too short to reveal to the disciples all the contents of Revelation. And not only was time short, but the preparation and intelligence of the listeners was also limited. Several times it is said that the apostles themselves "were astonished within themselves" (cf. Mk 6:52), and "did not understand" (cf. e.g. Mk 8:21), or understood Christ's words and works in a distorted way (cf. e.g. Mt 16:6-11).

Thus the Master's words are explained in all the fullness of their meaning: "When . . . the Spirit of truth will come, he will guide you into all truth" (Jn 16:13).

4. The first confirmation of this promise of Jesus will occur at Pentecost and in the days that follow, as the Acts of the Apostles attest. But the promise does not only concern the apostles and their immediate companions in evangelisation, but also future generations of Christ's disciples and confessors. For the Gospel is destined for all nations and the ever new generations, which will develop in the context of different cultures and the manifold progress of human civilisation. Looking across the whole range of history Jesus says: "The Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness to me". "He will 'bear witness', that is, he will show the true meaning of the Gospel within the Church, so that she may proclaim it authentically to the whole world. Always and everywhere, even in the interminable vicissitudes of things that change as they develop in the life of humanity, the "Spirit of truth" will guide the Church "into all truth" (John 16: 13).

5. The relationship between the Revelation communicated by the Holy Spirit and that of Jesus is very close. This is not a different, heterogeneous Revelation. This can be inferred from a detail of the language used by Jesus in his promise: "The Paraclete, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you" (Jn 14:26). Remembering is the function of memory. By remembering, one returns to what has already been, to what has been said and done, thus renewing past things in the consciousness, and almost reviving them. Since it is especially the Holy Spirit who is the Spirit of a truth charged with divine power, his mission is not exhausted in remembering the past as such: by "remembering" the words, works and the entire salvific mystery of Christ, the Spirit of truth makes him continually present in the Church, ensures that he is ever more "present" in the community of salvation. Thanks to the action of the Holy Spirit, the Church not only remembers the truth, but abides and lives in the truth received from her Lord. This also fulfils Christ's words: "He (the Holy Spirit) will bear witness to me" (Jn 15:26). This witness of the Spirit of truth is thus identified with the ever-living presence of Christ, with the working power of the Gospel, with the increasing implementation of Redemption, with a continuous illustration of truth and virtue. In this way the Holy Spirit "guides" the Church "into all truth".

6. This truth is present, at least implicitly, in the Gospel. What the Holy Spirit will reveal has already been said by Christ. He himself reveals this when, speaking of the Holy Spirit, he emphasises that "he will not speak of himself, but will say whatever he has heard . . . He will glorify me, for he will take of mine and proclaim it to you" (John 16: 13-14). The Christ, glorified by the Spirit of truth, is first of all that same crucified Christ, stripped of everything and almost "annihilated" in his humanity for the redemption of the world. It was precisely by the power of the Holy Spirit that the "word of the Cross" had to be accepted by the disciples, to whom the Master himself had said: "For the moment (yet) you are not able to bear its burden" (Jn 16:12). There stood before those poor men the screen of the Cross. Deep action was needed to make their minds and hearts capable of discovering the "glory of redemption" that was accomplished in the Cross. Divine intervention was needed to convince and inwardly transform each one of them, in preparation, first of all, for the day of Pentecost, and then for the apostolic mission to the world. And Jesus warns them that the Holy Spirit "will glorify me, for he will take of mine and proclaim it to you". Only the Spirit, who, according to St Paul (1 Cor 2:10), "searches the depths of God", knows the mystery of the Son-Werbo in his filial relationship with the Father and in his redemptive relationship with men of all times. He alone, the Spirit of truth, can open human minds and hearts, making them capable of accepting the unfathomable mystery of God and His incarnate, crucified and risen Son, Jesus Christ the Lord.

7. Jesus says again: "The Spirit of truth . . . he will proclaim to you the things to come" (Jn 16:13). What does this prophetic and eschatological projection mean, by which Jesus places under the ray of the Holy Spirit the entire future of the Church, the entire historical journey that she is called to make over the centuries? It means a going forth to meet the glorious Christ, towards whom she is stretched out in the invocation raised by the Spirit: "Come, Lord Jesus!" (Rev 22:17. 20). The Holy Spirit leads the Church towards constant progress in the understanding of revealed truth. He watches over the pursuit of that truth, its preservation, its application to changing historical situations. He arouses and leads the development of everything that serves the knowledge and dissemination of this truth: in particular, the exegesis of Sacred Scripture and theological research, which can never be separated from the direction of the Spirit of truth nor from the Magisterium of the Church, in which the Spirit is always at work.

Everything takes place in faith and through faith, under the action of the Spirit, as is said in the encyclical Dominum et Vivificantem: "The Mysterium Christi in its totality demands faith, since it is this that appropriately introduces man into the reality of the revealed mystery. Leading to the whole truth is accomplished, therefore, in faith and through faith: which is the work of the Spirit of truth and is the fruit of His action in man. The Holy Spirit must be in this the supreme guide of man, the light of the human spirit. This applies to the apostles, eyewitnesses, who must now bring to all men the proclamation of what Christ 'did and taught' and, especially, of his Cross and Resurrection. In a more distant perspective, this also applies to all generations of the Master's disciples and confessors, since they will have to accept with faith and confess with frankness the mystery of God at work in human history, the revealed mystery that explains the definitive meaning of that history" (Dominum et Vivificantem, 6).

In this way the 'Spirit of truth' continually announces future things; He continually shows mankind this future of God, which is above and beyond all "temporal" futures: and thus fills the future of the world with eternal value. Thus the Spirit convinces man, making him realise that, with all that he is, and has, and does, he is called by God in Christ to salvation. Thus the "Paraclete", the Spirit of truth, is the true "Comforter" of man. Thus is the true Defender and Advocate. Thus he is the true Guarantor of the Gospel in history: under his influence the Good News is always "the same" and is always "new"; and in an ever new way he enlightens man's path in the perspective of heaven with "words of eternal life" (Jn 6:68).

[Pope John Paul II, General Audience 17 May 1989]

"The Copts who had their throats slit because they were Christians" died "with the name of Jesus on their lips" because they had fully understood "the scandal of the cross". But "the martyrial road" is part of the daily life of every Christian, even in the family, in the defence of people's rights, in the experience of illness. And it is the Holy Spirit who helps to know how to bear witness and to welcome "the whole truth". Pope Francis said this in the Mass celebrated on Monday 11 May in the chapel of the Santa Marta house, also recalling that he had telephoned Coptic Patriarch Tawadros on Sunday on the occasion of Friendship Day between Copts and Catholics, the second anniversary of the meeting that took place in the Vatican on 10 May 2013.

"In today's first prayer" at the beginning of the Mass, the Pontiff said, "we asked for the grace to make the fruitfulness of Easter ever present". And indeed, he explained, 'Easter is fruitful' because 'it is the life that Jesus Christ, the Lord, has given us through his cross and resurrection'. But "how is this fruitfulness implemented?" The answer, Francis noted, is found in the Gospel of John (15:26-16.4) proposed by the liturgy today.

In practice, "the Lord prepares his disciples for the future". And "there is a word that may seem a little strange: scandalise". Jesus says, according to John: "I have told you these things so that you will not be scandalised". The question to be understood is: "Of what scandal is Jesus speaking? The scandal of the persecutions that will come, the scandal of the cross?".

The Lord 'adds a promise' by saying: 'When the Paraclete, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will bear witness'. And then, "always in the same discourse", he goes on to say: "I have many things to say to you, but right now you are not able to carry the weight of them; but when the Paraclete comes, the Spirit of truth, he will guide you into all truth". In short, the Pope explained, Jesus "speaks to us of the future, of the cross that awaits us, and he speaks to us of the Spirit, who prepares us to give Christian witness".

Moreover, continued Francis, "in these days the Church makes us reflect so much on the Holy Spirit: Jesus says that the Holy Spirit who will come, whom he will send, will guide us to the full truth, that is, he will teach us the things that I have not yet taught, these things that he - added the Pope quoting today's Gospel passage - must say and of which they, the disciples, are not yet able to bear the burden". Furthermore, the Lord also says that "the Spirit will make you remember the things that I have said and that with life have fallen into oblivion". And here, Francis explained, "is what the Spirit does: he makes us remember the words of Jesus and teaches us the things that Jesus was not yet able to tell us, because we were not able to understand them".

"Thus the life of the Church is a journey guided by the Spirit who reminds us and teaches us, who leads us to the whole truth," he emphasised. And 'this Spirit, who is our companion, also defends us from the scandal of the cross'. St Paul, speaking to the Corinthians, says: "But the Cross is foolishness, for those who go to perdition". Then he resumes and adds: "The Jews ask for signs". And "really how many times in the Gospel did the Jews, the doctors of the law, ask Jesus" to give them "a sign". For their part, "the Greeks, that is, the pagans, ask for wisdom, new ideas". But "we preach only Christ crucified, scandal for you - for the Jews - and foolishness for the Gentiles".

The Cross of Christ, therefore, is the scandal. For this reason, the Pope clarified, "Jesus prepares the hearts of his disciples with the promise of the Paraclete, for what will happen to them". And he says: "I have told you these things so that you should not be scandalised" by the cross of Christ. John reports these words of the Lord: 'They will drive you out of the synagogues; indeed, the hour is coming when everyone who kills you will believe that he is worshipping God'. And we today, the Pontiff noted, 'are witnesses to these who kill Christians in the name of God because they are unbelievers, according to them'. This "is the cross of Christ". Here is the relevance of Jesus' words in the Gospel of the day's liturgy: "They will do this, because they have known neither the Father nor me". Jesus thus reminds us that what happened to him will also happen to us: "the persecutions, the tribulations". That is why we should not be scandalised, knowing that "it will be the Spirit who will guide us and make us understand".

"Yesterday," Francis then confided, "I had the joy of phoning the Coptic Patriarch Tawadros, because it was the day of Coptic-Catholic friendship: we talked about some things". But, he added, "I remembered his faithful, who had their throats slit on the beach because they were Christians. These believers, by the power given to them by the Holy Spirit, were not scandalised. They died with the name of Jesus on their lips. It is the power of the Spirit. The testimony. True, this is martyrdom, the supreme witness'.

There is also, the Pope continued, 'the testimony of every day, the testimony of making present the fruitfulness of Easter - which we asked for today at the beginning of the Mass - that fruitfulness that the Holy Spirit gives us, which guides us towards the full truth, the whole truth, and makes us remember what Jesus tells us'.

Therefore, remarked Francis, "a Christian who does not take this 'martyrial' dimension of life seriously has not yet understood the path that Jesus taught us: the 'martyrial' path of every day; the 'martyrial' path of defending people's rights; the 'martyrial' path of defending children: fathers and mothers defending their families; the 'martyrial' path of many, many sick people who suffer for the love of Jesus. We all have the possibility of carrying on this Easter fruitfulness on this 'martyr' path, without scandalising ourselves".

Continuing the Eucharistic celebration - "memorial of that cross" in which "the paschal fruitfulness is made present" - the Pontiff asked "the Lord for the grace to receive the Holy Spirit who will make us remember the things of Jesus, who will guide us to the whole truth and prepare us every day to bear this witness, to give this little martyrdom every day or a great martyrdom, according to the will of the Lord".

[Pope Francis, S. Marta homily, in L'Osservatore Romano 12/05/2015]

(Jn 16:5-11)

In ancient times, there were no lawyers, and one had to defend oneself by finding witnesses.

The defendant could be guilty but worthy of pardon, or innocent yet unable to show evidence.

In such cases, acquittal was secured by an esteemed person from the audience, who stood up from the assembly and silently stood beside the accused, vouching for him and thus justifying him.

It is the action of the Spirit, in Jn referred to as the 'Paraclete': «called alongside».

Jesus was condemned by the experienced masters of official religion as deranged, heretical and an unforgivable sinner.

It is to be expected that those who renounce simulation and accept Christ as Lord of their lives will also be judged in the same way.

By betting everything, he will soon feel alive and deep down his identity of destiny with Him.

But in us there is a silent force of conviction that harmonizes even accusations, that frees us from externally induced tensions.

Correspondence that reweaves the threads of the vocational web.

Tunefulness that brings the soul back to the inner concert, for the mission; and gets the soul going again even after the drudgery of idiotic harassment.

Such intimate and friendly power is not related to obstinacy, but to listening to oneself.

There is an inner world of 'doors-opening Presence'.

It has a secret power of authority, devoid of verdicts or impositions, that releases the soul from the relentless struggle against adversity.

And one willingly relies on such silent virtue: of independent Life, which emerges, and comes.

«Sin» (vv.8-9) is in fact the inability to accept the Call to follow one's own Seed, one's own Core, one's own character that detests the dirigisme of others, the efforts, the noise.

Nucleus that weaves its roots into the ground, then into the space around it. And infallibly guides one to realization - as well as correspondence.

Thus bearing witness to the unrepeatable personal Calling.

By Way, the authentic disciple will understand that the Lord has condoned his «sin», that is, He has erased the humiliation of the unbridgeable distances [between creaturely condition and perfection].

«Justice»: divine justice is not retributive, because it would distinguish "mine" from "yours".

And from division to division, it would lead to the worst injustices.

The Father acts by creating: He «makes» Justice where there is none.

He places us in positions that conform to being and essence. He lays appropriate relationships where they do not yet exist.

In short, Love remains unbalanced: it stands on the erratic side of the free Gift, which is not kept at bay.

Rather, it rewrites the whole story. With much of Excessive.

«Judgement» that communicates his life-giving Spirit (Jn 19:30) and annihilates the accusations decreed by the «world» of convenience.

From where? From the Cross.

Same point from which he who is enlightened by the Spirit who overcomes interest and death, heals and frees from fetters.

The believer knows how to be with himself in a different way; without censoring himself.

By regenerating himself and uplifting the lives of many sisters and brothers.

[Tuesday 6th wk. in Easter, May 27, 2025]

(Jn 16:5-11)

In ancient times there were no lawyers, and one had to defend oneself by finding witnesses.

The accused could be e.g. guilty but worthy of pardon, or innocent yet unable to show evidence.

In such cases, absolution was secured by an esteemed person from the audience, who rose from the assembly and stood silently beside the accused, vouching for him and thus justifying him.

This is the action of the Spirit, in Jn referred to as the Paraclete: 'called alongside'.

Jesus was condemned by the experienced masters of the official religion as a lunatic, a heretic, and an unforgivable sinner.

It is to be expected that those who renounce simulation and accept Christ as Lord of their lives will also be judged in the same way: they will feel their identity of destiny with Him.

But in us there is a silent force of conviction that harmonises even accusations, that frees us from externally induced tensions.

Correspondence that reknots the threads of the vocational weave, that brings the soul back to the inner concert, for the mission; and makes one restart even after the labours of idiotic harassment.

This intimate and friendly power is not related to obstinacy, but to listening to oneself - outside of any local, cultural, social or religious conditioning parameters.

All for the task at hand, and without exhausting our sharp energy in direct confrontations.

There is an inner world of Presence that opens doors.

It has a secret power of authority (devoid of judgement or imposition) that releases the soul from the incessant struggle against adversity.

And one gladly relies on such silent virtue: of the independent life that emerges and comes.

'Sin' (vv.8-9) is in fact the inability to accept the Call to follow one's own Seed, one's own Core, one's own 'will' that detests others' dirigisme, efforts, noise.

A kernel that weaves its roots into the ground, and unerringly leads to realisation - as well as correspondence.

Thus testifying to the unrepeatable personal Calling, Pearl without even a heap of pain and obstinacy.

By Way the authentic disciple will understand that the Lord has condoned his 'sin', that is, he has erased the humiliation of the unbridgeable gap [between creaturely condition and perfection].

The latter attribute preached by common religiosity; so grown-up, accommodated, hypocritical and installed that it prevents us from becoming human.

Sinfulness in the moralistic [not theological] sense is something else.

"Justice": divine justice is not retributive, for it would distinguish mine from yours. And from division to division he would fall into the worst injustices.

The Father acts by creating: He makes Justice where there is none; He places in conformed positions, He places debts where they do not yet exist.

In short, Love remains unbalanced: it stands on the irregular side of the free Gift, which is not kept at bay.

Rather, it rewrites the whole story. With much of excess.

It is not the mercy of merits: the mereor ("mereor" is in fact the root of "meretriciousness").

"Thence shall he come to judge" - recites the Apostles' Creed: from where? The divine Judgement is not the banal, weighted one of intimist customs.

"Judgement" in the evangelical sense is the active, personal and intimate invitation of Jesus, who gives himself completely, down to the last drop of blood; who communicates his life-giving Spirit (Jn 19:30) and annihilates the accusations decreed by the "world" of convenience.

From where? From the Cross.

The same point from which he who is enlightened by the Spirit who overcomes interest and death, heals and frees from the fetters of 'ne quid nimis' [nothing too much].

The true believer knows how to be with himself in a different way. Regenerating the lives of so many brothers and sisters.

To internalise and live the message:

Do you know the error of "the world"?

Do you defend yourself by your own standards or do you allow yourself to be exonerated?

Retired in soul, pagan sadness

"Either you are young at heart, young at soul, or you are not fully Christian". The homily of the Mass celebrated by Pope Francis at Santa Marta on the morning of Tuesday, 28 May, was a veritable hymn to life, vitality, the "youthfulness of the Spirit", to be contrasted with the weary drift of so many people "retired" in soul, dejected by difficulties and sadness because "sin grows old". A breath of joy based on the "great gift that Jesus left us": the Holy Spirit.

The starting point for the Pontiff's reflection was the Gospel passage of the day (John, 16, 5-11) that reported an excerpt of the farewell speech to the apostles during the Last Supper. On that occasion Jesus "says many things", but "the heart of this discourse is the Holy Spirit". The Lord, in fact, offers his friends a veritable "catechesis on the Holy Spirit": he begins by noting their state of mind - "Because I have said this I am leaving, sadness has filled your heart" - and "he gently rebukes them" because, the Pope noted, "sadness is not a Christian attitude".

The inner turmoil of the apostles - who, faced with the drama of Jesus and the uncertainty about the future, "begin to understand the drama of the passion" - can be compared to the reality of every Christian. In this regard, Francis recalled how in the Collect Prayer of the day "we asked

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 to the Lord that He may maintain in us renewed youthfulness of spirit", thus raising an invocation "against sadness in prayer". This, he added, is precisely the point: "The Holy Spirit ensures that there is always this youthfulness in us, which is renewed every day by his presence".

Expanding on this concept, the Pontiff recalled: "A great saint said that a sad saint is a sad saint; a sad Christian is a sad Christian: he does not go". that "sadness does not enter the heart of the Christian", because he "is young". A youthfulness that is renewed and that "makes him carry on his shoulders so many trials, so many difficulties". This," he explained, referring to the first reading from the Acts of the Apostles (16:22-34), "happened, for example, to Paul and Silas who were beaten and imprisoned by the magistrates in Philippi. At that juncture, the Pope said, "the Holy Spirit enters and renews everything, makes everything new; even makes the jailer young".

The Holy Spirit, therefore, is the one "who accompanies us in life, who sustains us. As expressed by the name Jesus gives him: "Paraclete". An unusual term, the meaning of which often escapes many. The Pontiff also joked about this, recounting a short anecdote about a mass he celebrated when he was a parish priest: "There were more or less 250-300 children, it was a Pentecost Sunday and so I asked them: "Who knows who the Holy Spirit is?". And all: "Me, me!" - "You": "the paralytic," he said. He had heard 'Paraclete' and did not understand what it was" and so said: "paralytic". A funny mispronunciation that however, Francis said, reveals a reality: 'So many times we think that the Holy Spirit is a paralytic, who does nothing.... And instead it is the one who sustains us'.

In fact, the Pontiff explained, "the word paraclete means 'the one who is beside me to support me' so that I do not fall, so that I go forward, so that I retain this youthfulness of the Spirit". That is why "the Christian is always young: always. And when a Christian's heart begins to grow old, his vocation as a Christian begins to diminish. Either you are young at heart, young at soul, or you are not fully Christian".

Some might be frightened of the difficulties and say, "But how can I...?": there is the Spirit. The Spirit will help you in this renewed youthfulness'. This does not mean that sorrows are lacking. Paul and Silas, for example, suffered greatly from the beating they received: "the text says that when the jailer saw that miracle, he wanted to convert them and took them to his house and healed their wounds with oil... ugly, strong wounds...". But despite the pain, they "were full of joy, they sang.... This is youth. A youthfulness that makes you always look forward to hope'.

And how is this youthfulness achieved? "It takes," said the Pope, "a daily dialogue with the Holy Spirit, who is always beside us". It is the Spirit 'the great gift that Jesus left us: this support, which keeps you going'. And so, to those who say: 'Oh yes, Father, it is true, but you know, I am a sinner, I have many, many bad things in my life and I cannot...', you can answer:

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 "All right: look at your sins; but look at the Spirit who is beside you and speak to the Spirit: he will be your support and give you back your youth". Because, he added, "we all know that sin grows old: it grows old. It ages the soul, it ages everything. Instead, the Spirit helps us to repent, to leave sin aside and to move forward with that youthfulness."

Therefore Francis urged to leave aside what he called "pagan sadness", explaining: "I do not say that life is a carnival: no, that is not true. In life there are crosses, there are difficult moments. But in these difficult moments we feel that the Spirit helps us to go forward, like Paul and Silas, and to overcome difficulties. Even martyrdom. Because there is this renewed youthfulness'.

The conclusion of the homily was then an invitation to prayer: 'Let us ask the Lord not to lose this renewed youthfulness, not to be retired Christians who have lost their joy and do not allow themselves to be carried on... The Christian never retires; the Christian lives, lives because he is young - when he is a true Christian".

(Pope Francis, homily s. Martha; https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/it/cotidie/2019/documents/papa-francesco-cotidie_20190528_santamarta.pdf)

The Lord promises the disciples His Holy Spirit [...] Jesus told his disciples everything, and God can give no more than himself. In Jesus, God gave us his whole self, that is, he gave us everything. As well as or together with this, there can be no other revelation which can communicate more or in some way complete the Revelation of Christ. In him, in the Son, all has been said to us, all has been given.

But our understanding is limited: thus, the Spirit's mission is to introduce the Church, in an ever new way from generation to generation, into the greatness of Christ's mystery. The Spirit places nothing different or new beside Christ; no pneumatic revelation comes with the revelation of Christ - as some say -, no second level of Revelation.

No: "He will have received from me...", Christ says in the Gospel (Jn 16: 14). And as Christ says only what he hears and receives from the Father, thus the Holy Spirit is the interpreter of Christ. "He will have received from me". He does not lead us to other places, far from Christ, but takes us further and further into Christ's light. Consequently, Christian Revelation is both ever old and new. Thus, all things are and always have been given to us. At the same time, every generation, in the inexhaustible encounter with the Lord - an encounter mediated by the Holy Spirit - always learns something new.

[Pope Benedict, homily possession Cathedra Romana 7 May 2005]

1. "But now I go to him who sent me, and not one of you asks me: Where are you going? Indeed, because I have told you these things, sadness has filled your hearts. Now I tell you the truth: it is good for you that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Comforter will not come to you; but when I am gone, I will send him to you" (John 16: 5-7).

Christ's words spoken on the eve of the passion and death on the cross take on their full meaning as the Church prepares for Christ's departure on the 40th day after the resurrection. This day is at hand.

2. And that joy of which Jesus speaks to his disciples on that day, in the Upper Room, before his passion, is close at hand: "your sorrow will be turned into joy" (Jn 16:20). It will be joy at the birth of the Church. The sadness over Christ's departure will be changed into precisely this joy, when the apostles experience - on the day of Pentecost - that the power of the Spirit of Truth is within them, which enables them - above all human regard and all human weakness - to bear witness to the risen Crucified One.

Together with the coming of the Holy Spirit, the time of the Church will begin in the history of mankind, in which the fullness of time, which began on earth with Christ, conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin, whose name was Mary, will continue to ripen.

3. It is a great mystery, what is contained in the words at the cenacle: "If I do not go, the Comforter will not come to you, but when I am gone, I will send him to you" (Jn 16:7). These are key-words. These are words that reveal the Trinitarian economy according to which the inscrutable God - Father, Son and Holy Spirit - works in time. It is the economy of the Redemption, that is, of man's salvific return to God through grace: the return "at the price" of God's coming to man in the Incarnation; the return "at the price" of the Incarnate Son's departure through death on the cross; the return of man and the world - which came out of God's hands - to the same fatherly hands, to communion with the Godhead; the return through man's sonship of the Eternal Son, through Grace; the return in the Holy Spirit.

4. "I went out from the Father and came into the world; now I leave the world again, and go to the Father" (Jn 16:28). "I leave the world," though I do not detach myself from the world. I abide in it through the Holy Spirit. I remain in it through the truth of the Gospel. Through the Eucharist and the Church. Through the Word and the Sacraments. Through the grace of Divine sonship. Through faith, hope and charity.

"I leave the world" - but I do not detach myself from the world. I do not detach myself from the man of all times. I lead him to the Father! To the Father's house. Despite all resistance and objections that come from sin in the history of the world, I lead man to the Father.

The Mother of God precedes us on this path. Let us join her in prayer by reciting the "Regina Coeli".

[Pope John Paul II, Regina Coeli 4 May 1986]

"Either you are young at heart, young at soul, or you are not fully Christian". The homily of the Mass celebrated by Pope Francis at Santa Marta on the morning of Tuesday 28 May was a veritable hymn to life, to vitality, to the "youthfulness of the Spirit", to be contrasted with the weary drift of so many people "retired" in soul, dejected by difficulties and sadness because "sin grows old". A breath of joy based on the "great gift that Jesus left us": the Holy Spirit.

The starting point for the Pontiff's reflection was the Gospel passage of the day (John, 16, 5-11), which reported an excerpt of the farewell discourse to the apostles during the Last Supper. On that occasion Jesus "says many things", but "the heart of this discourse is the Holy Spirit". The Lord, in fact, offers his friends a veritable "catechesis on the Holy Spirit": he begins by noting their state of mind - "Because I have said this I am leaving, sadness has filled your heart" - and "he gently rebukes them" because, the Pope noted, "sadness is not a Christian attitude".

The inner turmoil of the apostles - who, faced with the drama of Jesus and the uncertainty about the future, "begin to understand the drama of the passion" - can be compared to the reality of every Christian. In this regard, Francis recalled how in the Collect Prayer of the day "we asked

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 to the Lord that He may maintain in us the renewed youthfulness of the spirit", thus raising an invocation "against sadness in prayer". This, he added, is precisely the point: "The Holy Spirit ensures that there is always this youthfulness in us, which is renewed every day by his presence".

Expanding on this concept, the Pontiff recalled: "A great saint said that a sad saint is a sad saint; a sad Christian is a sad Christian: he does not go". that "sadness does not enter the heart of the Christian", because he "is young". A youthfulness that is renewed and that "makes him carry on his shoulders so many trials, so many difficulties". This," he explained, referring to the first reading from the Acts of the Apostles (16:22-34), "happened, for example, to Paul and Silas who were beaten and imprisoned by the magistrates in Philippi. At that juncture, the Pope said, "the Holy Spirit enters and renews everything, makes everything new; even makes the jailer young".

The Holy Spirit, therefore, is the one "who accompanies us in life, who sustains us. As expressed by the name Jesus gives him: "Paraclete". An unusual term, the meaning of which often escapes many. The Pontiff also joked about this, recounting a short anecdote about a mass he celebrated when he was a parish priest: "There were more or less 250-300 children, it was a Pentecost Sunday and so I asked them: "Who knows who the Holy Spirit is?". And all: "Me, me!" - "You": "the paralytic," he said. He had heard 'Paraclete' and did not understand what it was" and so said: "paralytic". A funny mispronunciation that however, Francis said, reveals a reality: 'So many times we think that the Holy Spirit is a paralytic, who does nothing.... And instead it is the one who sustains us'.

In fact, the Pontiff explained, "the word paraclete means 'the one who is beside me to support me' so that I do not fall, so that I go forward, so that I retain this youthfulness of the Spirit". That is why "the Christian is always young: always. And when a Christian's heart begins to grow old, his vocation as a Christian begins to diminish. Either you are young at heart, young at soul, or you are not fully Christian".

Some might be frightened of the difficulties and say, "But how can I...?": there is the Spirit. The Spirit will help you in this renewed youthfulness". This does not mean that sorrows are lacking. Paul and Silas, for example, suffered greatly from the beating they received: "the text says that the jailer, when he saw that miracle, wanted to convert them and took them to his house and healed their wounds with oil... ugly, strong wounds...". But despite the pain, they "were full of joy, they sang.... This is youth. A youthfulness that makes you always look forward to hope'.

And how is this youthfulness achieved? "It takes," said the Pope, "a daily dialogue with the Holy Spirit, who is always beside us". It is the Spirit 'the great gift that Jesus left us: this support, which keeps you going'. And so, to those who say: 'Oh yes, Father, it is true, but you know, I am a sinner, I have many, many bad things in my life and I cannot...', you can answer:

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 "All right: look at your sins; but look at the Spirit who is beside you and speak to the Spirit: he will be your support and give you back your youth". Because, he added, "we all know that sin grows old: it grows old. It ages the soul, it ages everything. Instead, the Spirit helps us to repent, to leave sin aside and to move forward with that youthfulness."

Therefore Francis urged to leave aside what he called "pagan sadness", explaining: "I do not say that life is a carnival: no, that is not true. In life there are crosses, there are difficult moments. But in these difficult moments we feel that the Spirit helps us to go forward, as in Paul and Silas, and to overcome difficulties. Even martyrdom. Because there is this renewed youthfulness'.

The conclusion of the homily was then an invitation to prayer: 'Let us ask the Lord not to lose this renewed youthfulness, not to be retired Christians who have lost their joy and do not allow themselves to be carried on... The Christian never retires; the Christian lives, lives because he is young - when he is a true Christian".

[Pope Francis, homily s. Martha; https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/it/cotidie/2019/documents/papa-francesco-cotidie_20190528_santamarta.pdf]

(Jn 15:26-16:4a)

Faith in the Master is already Life of the Eternal in act, here and now.

He himself is the Bread of authentic and indestructible existence, though still earthly.

And well, the intimate life of God reaches us in our time.

First step is the adventure of Faith that gives a Vision; irruption of the Spirit that gives rebirth from above.

Impulse that animates a different existence - not empty.

The sign of such adherence is to believe Jesus as Son: man who manifests the divine condition.

The 'hidden' God of the First Testament, an obstacle that seemed insurmountable, now presents Himself in the specifics - without the need for fatuous fires in support.

In order to avoid intimidation, marginalization, annoyance, some church members advocated a kind of alliance between Jesus and the empire.

They proclaimed a Christ who was so vague and uninvolved that He would not scratch anyone.

Some ambitious, hardliners of the ‘life in the spirit’ felt that the time had come to shake off the earthly story of the carpenter's son.

A figure that was considered weak in itself, short-lived, out of place and time; already extinguished.

Jn intends to rebalance the attempt to Proclaim, diluted in compromises.

The evangelist emphasizes that the Risen One is the Cipher and Engine that bears the soul and generates us in today.

He is the same Son of God who sustained a harsh denunciation and several battles with the authorities.

In short, the Holy Spirit does not go after butterflies.

Action of the Spirit [which internalizes and actualizes] and historical memory of Jesus must always be conjugated.

Only in such a frank perspective is it possible to grasp the Truth of the Eternal, and the Truth of man, in all times and circumstances.

In addition: the Father is the Creator of each of our deepest inclinations, to which he affixes an indelible signature.

It manifests itself in an innate instinct, which wants to germinate, find space, express itself.

We have rooted deep inside us a unique, invincible Vocation and plural faces; each one.

We cannot deny ourselves, our Roots - even where an open-faced testimony would be unappealing.

The Truth about the «Person» is consequential.

By Grace, we are repositories of an astounding dignity, which even in error or what is such considered, imparts exceptional Desires.

Truth that still restores Dreams: an ‘unprecedented hope’ that activates enthralling passions.

In vain would we have stillness and happiness by seeking cultural and social concordisms, or by playing roles, characters, tasks that do not belong to us - albeit if they were placating.

We would become external.

Truth: God’s Faithfulness in Christ. And frankness in every choice, with our personality in relationship and situation.

Everything else is calculation - deep disorder, which will leave us disassociated and make us sick within.

[Monday 6th wk. in Easter, May 26, 2025]

(Jn 15:26-16:4a)

Faith in the Master is already eternal life, or rather Life of the Eternal (in action here and now).

He himself is Bread of authentic and indestructible existence, though still earthly.

In short, the intimate life of God reaches us in our time.

First step is the adventure of Faith that gives a Vision; irruption of the Spirit that gives rebirth from above.

Impulse that animates a different - not empty - existence.

The sign of such adherence is believing Jesus as Son: man manifesting the divine condition.

Christ is Bread of life also because His Word is creative, and the path of following Him transmits to us the qualities of indestructible Life.

The outpouring of the Spirit stirs in us the same beating Heart of the Eternal.

We experience this in the deaths and resurrections of daily life and in the long rigmarole of the Vocation, reaffirmed from path to path.

Even in persecution, he who 'sees' the Son has the Life of the Eternal within him.

Life that regenerates and always arranges new births, other premises and questions, different paths, in an uninterrupted; growing form.

The passion for the Friend unites us to Him, Bread: that is, the Revealer of the Truth that satiates men on their journey towards themselves and the world.

Souls that sometimes change skin, opinions, lifestyles.

In the Vision, we are empowered to directly appropriate, thereby drawing in and realising the Newness of God - even in advance, wisely.

Through Him 'we have a part'... in the Father's love for the Son who manifests Himself as personal Lord, as well as in the outgoing dilated life of the authentic Church.

The 'hidden' God of the First Testament, an obstacle that seemed insurmountable, now presents itself in the specifics of Faith, without the need for fatuous fires to support it.

Because the world of God in the soul is different.

One does not enter the Mystery with normal intentions and perfect expectations, let alone success and recognition.

Here (in the Gospel passage) the apostles' incomprehension comes into play.

Indeed, even to us, Jesus' manner of manifestation often seems undecipherable.

Even the Jews [actually: the returning Judaizers in the communities of the late 1st century] were waiting to grasp it in an overt way, perhaps on an occasion of public life.

Instead, even in times of 'glorification', the Master seems to want to trace the outwardly humble inappearance of his earthly ministry.

Many expected sensational fireworks at that time that they considered 'final'. Instead, no yielding to power ideology or religion-show.

So things did not go as expected: doubts were not dispelled; ambiguities, neither.

The titles of Israel's former nationalist and imperial glory did not reappear at all, quite the contrary!

Even today, the choice of Faith is not given to the apparatuses that would guarantee its visibility: no parachutes, no discounts.

Everything then seems to proceed as before, in the summary: to toil for a living and buy, to travel and not, to laugh and cry, to get sick and get well, to work and party... and so on.

Often in seemingly senseless pain; perhaps no decisive breakthroughs.

But in the same old things there is a different Light, planted on a new, immediate Relationship of needy humanity with the Father who regenerates us.

He stimulates new births, to reconnect desires, deep needs, external paths; to increase the intensity of life.

And it is in the mutual knowledge of the roots and grooves of reality that this circle of love between God and his children exists in the first place.

All that has not yet been understood will be called forth by the action of the Spirit. Only reliable impetus, not pointing to vain things.

A bond between man and Heaven, in us - not above.

Friendship that does not primarily contemplate resignation, effort, humiliation; rather, it is reworked in deepening.

This is where the true scope of our hearts - so limited, yet endowed with a mysterious imprint - for the complete, and personal, life of character comes into play.

In order to avoid intimidation, marginalisation, annoyance, some church members advocated a kind of covenant between Jesus and the Empire.

They proclaimed a Christ so vague and uninvolved that he would not scratch anyone.

Some ambitious people, who were the zealots of 'life in the spirit', felt that the time had come to shake off the earthly story of the carpenter's son.

Figure that was considered weak in itself, short-term, out of place and time; already extinguished.

Jn intends to rebalance the attempt at proclamation, diluted in compromises. 

The evangelist emphasises that the Risen One is the cipher and engine that bears the soul and generates us in today.

It was the same Son of God who endured a harsh denunciation and several battles with the authorities.

To the opportunists of his time, the Master had dared to touch positions, vanity, and the bag of commerce.Thus persecuted, tried, vilified, condemned as subversive, and cursed by God.

In short, the Holy Spirit does not go after butterflies.

Action of the Spirit [which internalises and actualises] and historical memory of Jesus must always be combined.

Only in such a frank perspective is it possible to grasp the Truth of the Eternal, and the Truth of Man, in all times and circumstances.

In addition: the Father is the Creator of each of our deepest inclinations, to which he affixes an indelible signature.

It manifests itself in an innate instinct, which wants to germinate, find space, express itself.

We have rooted within us a unique, invincible Vocation and (plural) faces; each one.

We cannot deny ourselves, our Roots - even where an open-faced testimony would be unappealing.

The Truth about each 'Person' is consequential.

By Grace, we are depositaries of an astounding dignity.

Even in error, or what is considered error, it imparts exceptional Desires. 

Truth that still restores Dreams: an unseen hope, which activates enthralling passions.

In vain would we have peace and happiness by seeking cultural and social concord, or by playing roles, characters, tasks that do not belong to us - albeit appeasing.

We become outsiders.

Truth: Faithfulness to God in Christ. And frankness in every choice, with our character in relation and situation.

The rest is calculation - deep disturbance, which will leave us disassociated and sick inside.

To internalise and live the message:

Do you take a stand and face the consequences? When your vocational character is at stake, do you stand up and put your face to it or do you blend in?

Are you being vague, do you value reciprocation and seek tribute or protection from satisfactory synagogues? Or do you wish to unite your life with Christ?