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?

Jesus says to the disciples: “When the Counselor comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness to me; and you also are witnesses, because you have been with me from the beginning” (Jn 15:26-27). This is a great comfort to us in the work of educating in faith, because we know that we are not alone and that our witness is sustained by the Holy Spirit.

It is very important […] to believe strongly in the presence and in the action of the Holy Spirit, to invoke him and to welcome him within you, through prayer and through the sacraments. It is he, in fact, who illumines the mind and warms the heart of the educator so that he or she can pass on the knowledge and love of Jesus. Prayer is the first condition for teaching because by praying we prepare ourselves to leave the initiative to God, to entrust children to him, who knows them before and better than we, and who knows perfectly what their true good is. And at the same time, when we pray we listen to God’s inspiration in order to do our part well, which in any case is our duty and which we are bound to do. The sacraments, especially the Eucharist and Penance, enable us to carry out our educational action in union with Christ, in communion with him and continuously renewed by his forgiveness. Prayer and the sacraments obtain for us that light of truth thanks to which we are able to be at once tender and strong, gentle and firm, silent and communicative at the right time, admonishing and correcting in the right way.

[Pope Benedict, homily at the baptism of some children 8 January 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", situated in the solemn account of the Last Supper (cf. Jn 13:2), is a source of prime importance for pneumatology, that is, 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 this 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" (John 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 reaching 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 is also true for 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]

In the life of the Christian there is a "double testimony": that of the Spirit who "opens the heart" by showing Jesus, and that of the person who "by the power of the Spirit" proclaims "that the Lord lives". A testimony, the latter, to be borne "not so much with words" but with "life", even at the cost of "paying the price" of persecution.

Once again, the Holy Spirit and his action in the heart of every believer were the focus of Pope Francis' meditation during the Mass celebrated at Santa Marta on Monday 2 May. The liturgy continues to offer passages from the Acts of the Apostles (16, 11-15) with the first missions of the nascent Church and excerpts of Jesus' discourse during the Last Supper (John, 15, 26 - 16, 4). In particular, in the Gospel of the day we read of Jesus who "speaks of the witness that the Holy Spirit, the Paràclito, will give of him and of the witness that we must also give of him". And Francis emphasised that here the "strongest" word is precisely "witness".

The testimony of the Spirit is also found in the first reading where, while speaking of Lydia, a "purple merchant from the city of Thyatira, a believer in God", it says: "The Lord opened her heart to adhere to Paul's words". But "who touched this woman's heart?" the Pontiff asked himself, recalling that Lidia "felt within herself" something that moved her to say: "This is true! Do I agree with what this man says, this man who bears witness to Jesus Christ'? The answer is "the Holy Spirit". It is he 'who made this woman feel that Jesus was the Lord; he made this woman feel that salvation was in Paul's words; he made this woman feel a testimony'.

It is therefore, the Pope explained, the Spirit who 'bears witness to Jesus. And every time we feel something in our hearts that brings us closer to Jesus, it is the Spirit working within'. Jesus himself explained the action of the Spirit to the disciples: 'He will teach you and remind you of all that I have said'. And the Spirit, Francis added, 'continually opens the heart, as he opened the heart of this lady Lydia', and 'gives witness to hear and remember what Jesus taught us'.

But the testimony, the Pope explained, 'is twofold'. In other words, 'the Spirit gives us the testimony of Jesus and we bear witness with the power of the Spirit of the Lord himself'. Jesus reiterates this again in the Gospel passage: 'When the Paràclito comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness of me; and you also bear witness, because you are with me from the beginning'. And the Lord, Francis pointed out, insists on the characteristics of this testimony - "perhaps the disciples did not understand well," he observed - adding: "I have told you these things so that you will not be scandalised". He explains, that is, "the price of Christian witness" in a direct manner: "They will drive you out of the synagogues; indeed, the hour is coming when whoever kills you will believe that he is worshipping God".

Therefore, the Pontiff summarised, "the Christian, with the strength of the Spirit, bears witness that the Lord lives, that the Lord is risen, that the Lord is among us, that the Lord celebrates with us his death, his resurrection, every time we approach the altar"; and he does so "in his daily life, with his way of acting". It is, he added, 'the continuing witness of the Christian'. At the same time, the Christian must be aware that sometimes this testimony "provokes attacks, provokes persecutions": they are "the small persecutions", such as those of "gossip" and "criticism", but also the persecutions of which "the history of the Church is full", that is, those that lead "Christians to prison" or "even to giving their lives".

It is therefore the same 'Holy Spirit who made Jesus known to us' who urges us 'to make him known, not so much with words, but with the witness of life'. And, the Pope suggested in conclusion, 'it is good to ask the Holy Spirit to come into our hearts, to bear witness to Jesus' and to pray to him like this: 'Lord, may I not turn away from Jesus. Teach me what Jesus taught. Let me remember what Jesus said and did and, also, help me bear witness to these things. May worldliness, the easy things, the things that come precisely from the father of lies, from the prince of this world, sin, not turn me away from witnessing; may I not be scandalised, as Jesus says, to be a Christian because someone avoids me or there are persecutions."

[Pope Francis, S. Marta homily, in L'Osservatore Romano 02-03/05/2016]

 (Jn 14:23-29)

The love of the Father unites us to Christ through a call that manifests itself wave upon wave. And on this path the Son reveals himself.

The Apostles, conditioned by the conventional mentality - all catwalks - question themselves about the attitude of Jesus, modest and not very inclined to the spectacle (v.22).

They do not accept a Messiah who doesn’t impose himself on everyone's attention, doesn’t surprise the world, doesn’t shout frenzied proclamations.

The Master prefers that in his Word we recognize an active correspondence with the desire for integral life that we carry within us (vv.23-24).

In ancient forensic culture, «Paraclete» (v.26) was called an eminent figure of the assembly - today we would say a sort of lawyer - who in silence placed himself next, so justifying the accused.

This attribute of the Spirit alludes to an intensity, intimate foundation and reciprocity of a silent Relationship that becomes Person.

The arch of the earthly ministry of the Lord ends; a Covenant is lit.

In this way, in the Gospels the Christ’s Peace-Shalôm is a nod of emancipation, assumed and reinterpreted in order to the imperative of the Apostolic Announcement.

It creates a new situation.

On the lips of Jesus, «Shalôm» - excellence and overcoming of the ancient blessings - assumes the features of its own messianic meaning: Gospels’ judgment and essential Proclamation (cf. Lk 10:5).

In the territories of the empire the Pax Romana had triumphalistic traits - it was synonymous with violence, competition, repression of rebels.

As armed truce, it guaranteed a prosperous economy, but secured in its social dimension only through inequalities, especially by a vast slaves’ base.

The Peace that Jesus introduces isn’t a wish (whatever) for normal improvements expected, but the transmission of his own Person.

This propensity and Friendship without price stimulate to a rearrangement, reconfiguration, complete reorganization of all life.

And it often breaks down our existence, in order to dispute its circumstance quietism.

In our language, we would perhaps talk about Happiness and new public order.

Being the secret desire of each, no difficulty can extinguish its promise and realization’s power (v.30).

Shalôm is the fullness of existence saved, "success" in our path of flowering through a thousand enterprises.

Shalôm is perfection and complete joy, fulfillment of desires.

Victory of God-and-people’s Alliance. Harmony and endless communion between the innate impulse of our particular essence and the fulfilment of hopes.

Success of the Covenant between soul impulse and evolutionary achievements experienced in real life.

Shalôm - the full realization of humanity that finds itself - indicates vital and complete totality of every aspiration.

Qualities of new relationships that flow from it: the supreme good of an in-act Presence, entrusted to us.

[6th Easter Sunday (year C), May 25, 2025]

(Jn 14:21-31)

Dwelling and reciprocity, interpretation and root

Generators from below

(Jn 14:21-26)

The Father's love unites us to Christ through a call that manifests itself wave after wave. And on this path the Son himself is revealed, also through genuine community life.

The Gospel passage reflects the question-and-answer catechesis typical of the Johannine communities of Asia Minor, committed to questioning: this time the theme of misunderstanding is introduced by Judas, not Iscariot.

Even the Jews had waited for an eloquent public outing to believe in the divine status of Jesus of Nazareth. Perhaps such a humble manifestation could only generate scepticism.

How is it that in Him one remains in the sphere of concealment, and His own intimates do not break out in reaction? Wouldn't an open and sensational twist be appropriate?

And why live from within the difficulties? Then, how is it that relationships considered 'important' were regarded with increasing aversion, alien, irritating?

Well, Christ's vulnerable messianism - seemingly defensive, avoidant - is not the kind that dispels doubts.

He remained bare. So he did not lose his naturalness; as if he had perceived the danger of lofty aberrations, all external.

The authentic Messiah protected his identity, his human, spiritual, missionary character. In this way he avoided all the excessive glorious titles expected in the theological culture of ancient Israel.

The life of Faith in us also continues unseen: not surrounded by external miracles and strong feelings; rather, innervated by convictions (recognised in themselves).

In the time of the new relationship with God and the brethren, the old concept of the Lord's Anointed One who observes and imposes the Law of the Chosen People (with force) on all nations has no relevance.

In whatever condition and latitude, God is always present and at work, starting from the core, to make us rediscover the breath of being.

The Father, the Son, and the believers, form in mutual acquaintance a wide-meshed circle of love, reciprocity and obedience, through free responses that are neither stereotypical nor paralysing.

Not parcelled out to details and casuistry, but centred on fundamental options.

"My commandments" [v.21: subjective genitive] is a theological expression designating the very Person of the Risen One in action.

A 'Person' unfolded in human history thanks to his mystical Body: the diverse People of God, whose versatility is an added value - not a limitation or contamination of purity.

Of course, Love is the only reality that cannot be 'commanded'.

But Jesus designates and advocates such in order to emphasise the departure from the Sinai Covenant, which it sums up and yet replaces.

The plural form "commandments" recognises the range of the various forms of exchange and personalisation of love.

No orientation, doctrine, code, can ever overcome it, or conversely make it swampy.

In the Gospels, love is spoken of not in terms of sentiment [of an emotion subject to inflection, or which adjusts itself to the perfection of the beloved] but as a real action, a gesture that makes the other feel free and adequate.

The People of God reflect Christ to the extent that they develop their destiny by living totally by gift, response, exchange, and overflowing in Gratuity.

All of this in an unprecedented way for each person, for each micro- and macro-relational situation, age of life, characteristics, type of defect, or cultural paradigm in force.

In short, the Lord does not like us to elevate ourselves by detaching ourselves from the earth and from our brothers: the honour due to the Father is that which we give to his children.

Hence there is no need to rise by ways of ascetic observance ["to ascend" as in upstairs: the lift is only descending].

It is He who reveals Himself, proposing Himself to us: this is His joy.

He comes down from 'heaven'.

It manifests itself within ourselves and within the folds of history, manifesting the desire to merge with our life (v.21) in order to increase it, complete it, and enhance its capabilities [in qualitative terms].

The Apostles, conditioned by the conventional religious mentality - all catwalks - question the attitude of Jesus, who is modest and not very inclined to show off (v.22).

They do not accept a Messiah who does not impose himself on everyone's attention, who does not astonish the world, who does not shout wild proclamations.

The Master prefers that in his Word we recognise an active correspondence with the desire for integral life that we carry within (vv.23-24).

Such a Logos-event must be assumed in being, as a Call distinct from the commonplaces of the widespread, conformist thought of others.

Indeed, in said Appeal there lurks a sympathy, an understanding, an arrow, an efficient and creative vigour, which makes itself Fire and solidity of personal Presence, from within - at once faint and ringing.In ancient forensic culture, 'Paraclete' (v.26) was said to be the eminent person in the assembly - today we would say a kind of lawyer - who without saying anything stood by to justify the accused.

[The latter could have been guilty, but deserving of forgiveness; however, he needed some sort of public guarantor to guarantee his fate. That is, he could have been innocent, but unable or incapable of finding witnesses in his favour to exonerate him...]

Such an attribute of the Spirit alludes to an intensity, intimate foundation and reciprocity of silent Relation that becomes Person, and knows where to go.

A companion who approves; who leads the heart, the character, life itself, not to the pillory, but to the full flowering of ourselves.

Thanks to His support, we are not enchanted by lofty roles, strong words; formulas, impressions, tumultuous feelings: we enter into the demanding, fulfilled depths of Love.

Let us broaden the field. We welcome a different guiding image, one that presses in and takes us by surprise, but subtly. It does not rebuke or scold us.

An experience that takes place without earthquakes, thunder and lightning - partial - but through the action of the Spirit that internalises, accompanies, nourishes, brings up to date and makes alive the interpretation of the Word (v.26).

The Message of the Gospels has a generative root that cannot be reduced to a one-sided and cumbersome experience; all codified and moralistic but empty as in sectarian situations, always struggling with themselves and the world. 

Venturing into one's own Exodus, each one discovers hidden resources and an amplification of perspectives that dilate and complete one's being, broadening the experience of the vocational character that corresponds to it.

Between life on the road and the Word of God - a golden rule that instils self-confidence - an unpredictable, versatile, eclectic, non-one-way understanding is kindled, which transcends identity concatenations.

In its scope, the Call remains identical, but over time expands the awareness of its facets - indeed, integrating them.

Richly expressed and not already ratified, Creator and creature do not authentically externise themselves in a fixed, sanctioned way, and in reference to a doctrine-discipline code, but in the exceeding freedom of life.

Even today, as new needs and questions arise, there is an appropriate overabundance of new answers - at last also from the Magisterium.

Plausible in the adventure of Faith, but which would drive any external religion crazy.

To internalise and live the message:

Do you recognise the Work of the Spirit or do you reject it as a nuisance? What strikes you about the new Magisterium?

Do you find this approach in the Proclamation, Catechesis, Animation, Pastoral Care and in your own Way?

Peace or truce: the imperative Proclamation

(Jn 14:27-31)

The Semitic peoples wished each other Peace in their meetings and commemoration. The traditional wish for peace was also Greek.

However, in the Gospel this hint, wish, or leave-taking is taken up and reinterpreted in order to the imperative of the Apostolic Announcement.

The Shalôm of Christ is a kind of emancipation from the humiliations of religion, and from the rejections suffered in earthly ministry.

It becomes a distinctive word, designating the ownership of the divine messianic Presence, outside and within us.

An epiphanic emblem, it conveys personal happiness, reserved, divine favour, for the growth of all.

Not a deserved reward for labours, nor an omen, but a personal Gift; not conditional.

Free proposal, of the now, which becomes surplus to requirements in the journey. Cosmic and acutely intimate passage.

Fullness of being and boundless totality, of Life, which marks us - but in the sense of exceeding expectations.

Worldly and religious prosperity [in the ancient sense] resemble each other: opulence that is not born of faith-love.

It seems a reward for services rendered, or blackmail for those expected. A funereal power.

A kind of bliss at mercy and under 'right purpose'.

Ambiguous features at all levels of relationship: with God, the community, the You and even the self.

It is not re-creative confrontation with the Cross, which leaps up.

The 'I go and come to you' (v.28) is a Semitic endiad: two statements united, referring to the same [generative, vital] event of death and complete life, which creates a new situation.

The expression-event is not such as to make itself subject to conditions.

The arc of the Lord's earthly ministry comes to an end; a covenant is lit.

Time of widespread Word and action, with overall results of new fathers and mothers, new Creation.

In short, the Peace of Jesus is not a state, but a relationship.

Full realisation of the human - a condition no longer balanced, according to convention.

Rather, fulfilment recalibrated to the measure of Christ in Person, in the Hour of Birth.On Jesus' lips, 'Shalôm' [excellence and overcoming of ancient blessings] takes on the features of its proper, messianic meaning.

Presence of 'anointing'. Discription of the Gospels and essential announcement (cf. Lk 10:5).

Breadth of well-being: without this precious reading code the Word of the Lord remains incomprehensible, and the Mission to which we are sent becomes prey to obsessions, the most sloppy, inauthentic ones.

In the territories of the empire, the Pax Romana had triumphalist traits - it was synonymous with violence, competition, repression of rebels.

As an armed truce, he was the guarantor of a prosperous economy, but secured in its social dimension only by inequalities, especially by a vast slave base.

The Peace that Jesus introduces is not just any wish, of normal expected improvements; rather, the transmission of his own Person.

Such propensity, affair and priceless Friendship stimulates us to a complete rearrangement, reconfiguration, reorganisation of our whole life.

And we often throw it away, in order to spurn the quietism of circumstance.

In our language, we would perhaps speak of Happiness and new order and public order.

Being everyone's secret desire, no difficulty can extinguish its promise and power of fulfilment (v.30).

Shalôm is fullness of saved existence, "success" in our journey of flourishing through a thousand undertakings.

Shalôm is perfection and complete joy, fulfilment of desires.

Victory of the Covenant between God and the people. Harmony and endless communion between the innate impulse of our particular essence and the fulfilment of hopes.

Success of the Covenant between soul drive and evolutionary achievements experienced in real life.

Shalôm [full realisation of humanity rediscovering itself] indicates vital and fulfilled totality of every aspiration.

Quality of new relationships arising from it: the supreme good of a Presence in action. Entrusted to us.

To internalise and live the message:

Is your Peace a groove, an unmistakable path, an echo of Christ, or empty trust - an exemption from struggle?

And your testimony to establish God on earth in what is competitive, provocative, renewed, living?

We are not alone!

Today's Gospel takes us back to the Upper Room. During the Last Supper, before facing the passion and death on the cross, Jesus promises the Apostles the gift of the Holy Spirit, who will be responsible for teaching and reminding the community of disciples of his words. Jesus himself says: "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). Teaching and remembering. And this is what the Holy Spirit does in our hearts.

At the moment when he is about to return to the Father, Jesus announces the coming of the Spirit who will first of all teach the disciples to understand the Gospel more and more fully, to accept it into their lives and to make it alive and operative through their witness. As he is about to entrust the Apostles - which means "sent ones" - with the mission of carrying the proclamation of the Gospel throughout the world, Jesus promises that they will not be left alone: the Holy Spirit, the Paraclete, will be with them, who will stand beside them, indeed, will be in them, to defend and sustain them. Jesus returns to the Father but continues to accompany and teach his disciples through the gift of the Holy Spirit.

The second aspect of the Holy Spirit's mission is to help the Apostles remember the words of Jesus. The Spirit has the task of awakening our memory, of recalling the words of Jesus. The divine Master has already communicated all that He intended to entrust to the Apostles: with Him, the Incarnate Word, the revelation is complete. The Spirit will make them remember the teachings of Jesus in the different concrete circumstances of life, so that they can put them into practice. This is precisely what is still happening in the Church today, guided by the light and power of the Holy Spirit, so that it can bring the gift of salvation, that is, God's love and mercy, to all. For example, when you read every day - as I have advised you - a passage, a passage from the Gospel, ask the Holy Spirit: "May I understand and may I remember these words of Jesus". And then read the passage, every day... But first that prayer to the Spirit, which is in our hearts: 'That I remember and that I understand'.

We are not alone: Jesus is near us, in our midst, within us! His new presence in history comes about through the gift of the Holy Spirit, through whom it is possible to establish a living relationship with Him, the Crucified Risen One. The Spirit, poured into us through the sacraments of Baptism and Confirmation, acts in our lives. He guides us in how to think, how to act, how to distinguish what is good and what is evil; he helps us to practise the charity of Jesus, his giving of himself to others, especially those most in need.

We are not alone! And the sign of the presence of the Holy Spirit is also the peace that Jesus gives to his disciples: "I give you my peace" (v. 27). It is different from what men hope for or attempt to achieve. The peace of Jesus flows from the victory over sin, over the selfishness that prevents us from loving one another as brothers. It is God's gift and a sign of his presence. Every disciple, called today to follow Jesus by carrying the cross, receives within himself the peace of the Risen Crucified in the certainty of his victory and in the expectation of his definitive coming.

May the Virgin Mary help us to meekly welcome the Holy Spirit as our inner Teacher and as the living Memory of Christ in our daily journey.

(Pope Francis, Regina Coeli 1 May 2016)