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Arch Bishop Micheal Ralph Vendegna S.O.S.M.A.

Gospel/Homily

  • Monday of the Fifth Week of Easter

     

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    Gospel text (Jn 14:21-26): Jesus said to his disciples: “Whoever has my commandments and observes them is the one who loves me. Whoever loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and reveal myself to him.” Judas, not the Iscariot, said to him, “Master, then what happened that you will reveal yourself to us and not to the world?” Jesus answered and said to him, “Whoever loves me will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our dwelling with him. Whoever does not love me does not keep my words; yet the word you hear is not mine but that of the Father who sent me.

    “I have told you this while I am with you. The Advocate, the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send in my name — he will teach you everything and remind you of all that I told you.”

    “The Advocate, the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send in my name — he will teach you everything and remind you of all that I told you.”


    Today, Jesus shows us his immense desire for us to share his plenitude. United with him, we live into the stream of divine life that is the Holy Trinity. Saint Josemaria Escrivá wrote: “God is with you. The Blessed Trinity dwells in your soul in grace —that is why, in spite of your wretchedness, you can and should keep up a continuous conversation with the Lord”.

    Jesus assures us He will be present in us in the divine intimacy of the soul through grace. Thus, we Christians are no longer orphans. He loves us so much that, though He does not need us, He does not want to be without us.

    “Whoever has my commandments and observes them is the one who loves me. Whoever loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and reveal myself to him.” This thought helps us to stay in the presence of God. And those desires or thoughts which, eventually, are wasting our time and preventing us from abiding by the divine will, will have no room any more in our minds.

    This is the advice from Saint Gregory the Great: “Nor must we allow the charm of success to seduce us, or we shall be like a foolish traveler who is so distracted by the pleasant meadows through which he is passing that he forgets where he is going.”

    God's presence in our heart will help us discover and carry out in this world those designs that the Divine Providence has planned for us. The Spirit of the Lord will arouse initiatives in our heart to be placed on top of all human activities and, thus, make Christ stand out over and above all of us. If we manage to have this intimacy with Jesus we shall be good sons and daughters of God, and we will always and everywhere enjoy his friendship: whether in the street, amidst our daily chores or within our family life.

    All light and fire of the divine life will fall upon each one of the faithful who are willing to receive the gift of grace abiding in our soul. God's Mother will intercede for us —as our own mother that she also is— to help us deeply enter into this covenant with the Holy Trinity.