Daily Gospel Reflection

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May 6, 2024

Monday of the Sixth Week of Easter
Jn 15:16-16:4
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Jesus said to his disciples:
“When the Advocate comes whom I will send you from the Father,
the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father,
he will testify to me.
And you also testify,
because you have been with me from the beginning.

“I have told you this so that you may not fall away.
They will expel you from the synagogues;
in fact, the hour is coming when everyone who kills you
will think he is offering worship to God.
They will do this because they have not known either the Father or me.
I have told you this so that when their hour comes
you may remember that I told you.

Reflection

Cheryl Lehner Falk '96
ND Parent, President of the Notre Dame Club of Greater Cincinnati
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Whenever I read today’s gospel, it reminds me that Father Hesburgh’s favorite prayer was “Come, Holy Spirit.” I first learned about his prayer as an undergrad and have welcomed the repeated encounters over the years.

It was part of a longer speech in which he declared: “The Holy Spirit is the light and strength of my life, for which I am eternally grateful. My best daily prayer, apart from the Mass and breviary, continues to be simply, ‘Come, Holy Spirit.’ No better prayer, no better results: much light and much strength.”
Often, I marveled that a prayer so simple could be so very favored by a man as holy and wise as our Father Ted. How can three words be enough to meet our needs and the needs of those we love?

If we page through scripture, we read of the numerous ways the Holy Spirit shows up for God’s people. A dove that signaled the end of the flood and descended upon the just-baptized Jesus. The wind that created the universe—and the breath of God that created human life. The water that cleanses, quenches, blesses, brings forth, and nourishes life. The lamp and the light that inspire, direct, and guide. The cloud that revealed a transfigured Jesus and drew him to heaven at the Ascension. The fire that is the voice of God speaking to Moses from the burning bush, brightly guiding the Israelites through the desert, and flickering in flames over the heads of the disciples at Pentecost.

Father Ted was on to something. This simple prayer not only invites the Holy Spirit into our work, our joys, our worries, and our struggles but also signals our surrender for God to do the very best for us—not just to fix, but to transform. This prayer is powerful. Let’s use it well.

Prayer

Rev. Eric J. Schimmel, C.S.C.

Loving Jesus, as we begin our sixth week celebrating your resurrection, the challenge of maintaining Easter joy is real. You also know from your life on earth the real challenges of maintaining faith and hope. You understand the difficulty of offering love in a world that can sometimes oppose the faith or encourage apathy towards it. Help us feel the support of the Advocate to help us remain faithful to the truth. We ask this in your most Holy Name. Amen.