Daily Gospel Reflection
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June 9, 2019
Jesus said to his disciples:
“If you love me, you will keep my commandments.
And I will ask the Father,
and he will give you another Advocate to be with you always.
“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.
Those who do not love me do 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,
will teach you everything
and remind you of all that I told you.”
Throughout today’s Gospel, Jesus emphasizes that we fulfill his commandments through love. What a foundational Gospel for our faith! I am struck by how it seems we need to truly live this core commandment of love now more than ever. We live in an increasingly fast-paced age where information comes to us in many various forms all day, every day—radio, TV, signs, email, conversations, pictures—all constantly broadcasting news and information.
Much of that information is founded in fear, greed, desire for more, conflict—and it can feel that love is actually losing. Often, we might not recognize the impact of this negative information on our everyday lives, but it can begin to feel overwhelming. As a parent, I particularly worry about the impact our “information age” is having and will continue to have on my seven and five-year-old children.
Today’s Gospel, however, brings me peace. Jesus has not left us to be overwhelmed in the world. He has sent the Advocate to us, who will remind us of the peace Christ brings that the world cannot give. Peace is within our grasp if we simply live the commandment from Jesus to love one another as we have been loved.
By being an example of love for others in our daily lives, we break the cycle of negative information—within ourselves and others. We spread this love of the Father, this peace of the Advocate when we smile at a stranger on the street, bring a meal to a friend battling illness, listen to someone who needs to be truly heard, forgive the co-worker who took credit for your work, hug our children, and listen to that extra story they have to tell. These simple acts of love change the narrative.
God is love; and when we love, God makes his dwelling with us.
Prayer
Glorious Jesus, you offer us the bread of life. Inspire our desire to follow you wherever you lead, and protect us from any temptation to deny you. We ask this through your most holy name, as you live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Saint of the Day
Today is the birthday of the Church!
After Jesus rose, the disciples continued to meet every Sunday morning to pray together and to remember and celebrate the resurrection. Christ was present among them until his ascension. The disciples gathered in the upper room where they shared the Last Supper with Jesus, where he appeared to them after rising, and where Thomas touched his wounds. They were hopeful, but afraid—the factions that had killed Jesus were still in power and posed a threat to them if they were to continue Jesus’ work.
On the seventh Sunday after the Resurrection, after Christ's Ascension into heaven, as the disciples gathered for prayer, a supernatural wind filled the room, and tongues of flame seemed to flicker above their heads. These were signs of a divine reality—the sending of the Holy Spirit (see Acts 2:1-13).
Pentekoste, the Greek word for “fiftieth day,” was the name of a popular harvest festival in the region (crops in Palestine become ripe in May). Later, Israel adopted the feast to celebrate the giving of the Ten Commandments to Moses on Sinai 50 days after Passover. Pentecost was one of the three festivals during which Jews from all nations were required to travel to Jerusalem.
When this crowd of people from all over the ancient world beheld the rush of wind, or heard about it from others, they gathered around the upper room. The disciples, empowered by the Spirit, went among them and spoke to them, and each heard them speak in their own native language.
It was a radical reorientation for that first community of Christians. They had been huddled around Jesus during his ministry, and were uncertain about what to do after Christ's ascension. Christ promised to be with them "until the end of the age" (Mt 28:20), but he was not with them in the way he had been before. At Pentecost, the young Church was strengthened for their mission. They were sent out into the city to proclaim Jesus’ good news—no matter the consequences—to people of every nation. More than 3,000 people who heard them that day accepted baptism as a sign of their new faith in the Lord, and they, too, received the gift of the Holy Spirit.
This outpouring of the Spirit made the Church manifest to the whole world. It marked a new era in salvation history that continues to today—an era in which Jesus works to save the world through the ministry of the Church.
This stained glass window depicting the descent of the Holy Spirit upon Mary and the disciples stands in the east transept of the Basilica of the Sacred Heart, and the woodcut of Pentecost comes from the chapel at Moreau Seminary. Fragments of the upper room and the table that stood in it rest in the reliquary chapel in the Basilica.
On this feast of Pentecost, let us pray for the Holy Spirit to continue to direct us outwards to share the good news!