In this Sunday’s Gospel Jesus tells his disciples that the Father will send the Holy Spirit in his name. This Holy Spirit our young people will receive in a special way at the Sacrament of Confirmation next Sunday. The gift of the Holy Spirit is the gift of discernment. This gift can only be exercised by us when we listen to the Word of God in Scripture and the teaching of the Church. We hope and pray that, for our young people, this means that they will ponder the Word of God they hear at Mass, and maybe, at school or, even when reading on their own, with the guidance of Church, for instance through the Catechism. There is a version for young people: “YouCat”.
At the same time, we must pray for ourselves that we too, young or old, will continue to listen and discern. Discernment is not just about career, marriage or even religious vocation. It is about how we are living now. It could be about the way we live in our families, with our children. It could be about what we want – or rather, what God wants for us – in retirement. It might be about our approach to a difficult relationship, or the onset of a medical problem.
We can turn to Our Lady as our model. We can see that she received the gift of Christ from the Holy Spirt because she was open to the same Spirit. If we wish to receive the full benefit of the grace of Christ, we must be open to the Spirit.
Sometimes we might be tempted to concentrate on what we find immediately gratifying now. What about the future? We are understandably concerned with our well-being. Can we steal ourselves to care for the well-being of others? Can we rejoice in the good things God has already given us? When we consider our lives before God we might ask whether we believe we really have “the peace the world cannot give”. In our deepest selves we know that we have the peace the world cannot give – when we give ourselves up for others with the help of Christ in the Holy Spirt.
Jesus makes another promise in this Sunday’s gospel: “If anyone loved me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come and make out home with him”. The Father and the Son will make their home with us in the Holy Spirit when we ask God that we will be loving people.
Yours in Christ,
D. Timothy Gorham OSB
