Daily Gospel Reflection
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May 17, 2020
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 forever. This is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, because he abides with you, and he will be in you.
“I will not leave you orphaned; I am coming to you. In a little while the world will no longer see me, but you will see me; because I live, you also will live. On that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. They who have my commandments and keep them are those who love me; and those who love me will be loved by my Father, and I will love them and reveal myself to them.”
Do you feel lonely? Have you ever felt isolated, lost, or misunderstood?
I am blessed with a phenomenal wife and five beautiful (and boisterous!) children, all under the age of 10. Moments of solitude simply do not exist in our house, yet I sometimes feel isolated and lonely. I know my wife has too.
I was talking about this recently to a friend of mine. He is a priest and one of the most extroverted and popular people I know. He has hundreds of friends, keeps in daily contact with his parents and siblings, and is part of a vibrant religious community. But even he admitted to feeling lonely at times. All of us can relate, whether we’re married, single, or religious. Loneliness is a part of the human condition.
Jesus, being fully human, experienced loneliness, too. Perhaps Jesus felt it even more profoundly than we do. No one truly understood Jesus or his vocation on earth. He was betrayed by those closest to him. One of his dearest friends, in a moment that mattered most, insisted that he didn’t even know Jesus’ name. Some of the last words Jesus spoke were, “Why have you forsaken me?”
Today’s Gospel offers us a message of hope. It reminds us that even though we may feel a sense of loneliness, we are not actually alone. Jesus never leaves us orphaned. He sends his Holy Spirit to dwell in and among us.
How does the Holy Spirit combat our feelings of loneliness, particularly when we don’t see it and hear its voice? How does the Holy Spirit provide the fellowship that we ask for at the start each Mass?
The Holy Spirit isn’t just some innocent bystander in our lives. As my daughter’s first-grade religion book says, the Holy Spirit is our helper—it is an active participant in our lives, always working hard for us, albeit behind the scenes. Among many other things, the Holy Spirit consoles our hearts, gives us wisdom and understanding to help manage our human relationships, and fortitude to persevere through difficult moments.
Jesus promises us that the Spirit, our Advocate, will be with us forever: “He abides with you, and he will be in you.”
Prayer
Lord Jesus, in preparing your apostles for your departure, you promised them that they would not be abandoned, but would receive the gift of your Holy Spirit. Give us the grace we need to know that you are with us always, and especially in those times we need you most. We ask this in your holy name. Amen.
Saint of the Day
Even though he was not a priest, St. Paschal Baylon is known as the “Saint of the Eucharist.”
He was born in 1540 in Spain to a peasant family. He tended sheep until he was 24 years old. While he watched the sheep in the fields, he would spend great amounts of time in prayer. He even taught himself to read and write so that he could pray to Mary with a popular devotional book.
Paschal went barefoot through the fields and fasted; he even wore a makeshift monk's habit under his shepherd’s cloak. He attended Mass whenever he could. When he couldn’t be at Mass, he would find an outcropping where he could see the church’s steeple from his post watching the sheep, and he would kneel there in prayer and silent adoration of the Eucharist.
He joined a Franciscan community of brothers who observed a strict way of life. Paschal adopted these rigors, but was even more well-known for his virtue. He would not allow the slightest dishonesty, and those who knew him well could not recall a single fault.
As a member of the Franciscan monastery, he cultivated an ever-deeper devotion to the Eucharist. He would serve at Mass all day long if he could, and would be found spending hours kneeling in front of the tabernacle in prayer. He was always the first to arrive for Mass and the last to leave.
Paschal was asked to carry a message to an important scholar in France, and the journey took him through a region known for its hostility to the faith. Though he was captured several times, beaten, and narrowly escaped with his life, he was able to respond to his interrogators with faithfulness and clarity.
He served his community as a cook and doorkeeper and was known for his charity to the poor. Though he was poorly educated, many people sought him out for his wisdom.
One of his superiors, having heard of his devotion after his death, asked for a booklet of prayers that the saint had penned in his own hand. When a fellow brother brought it to him, he said, “What are we to do? These simple souls are wresting heaven from our hands. There is nothing for it but to burn our books.” His brother said, “It is not the books that are at fault, but our own pride. Let us burn that.”
The relics of St. Paschal rest in the reliquary chapel.
St. Paschal Baylon, the Franciscan brother known as the “Saint of the Eucharist”—pray for us!
Image Credit: Our featured image of St. Paschal Baylon is in the public domain. Last accessed March 11, 2025 on Wikimedia Commons.
