GOSPEL: JN 14:15-21
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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, the Spirit of truth, which the world cannot accept, because it neither sees nor knows it. But you know it, because it remains with you, and will be in you. I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you. In a little while the world will no longer see me, but you will see me, because I live and you will live. On that day you will realize that I am in my Father and you are in me and I in you. Whoever has my commandments and observes them is the one who loves me. And whoever loves me will be loved by my
Father, and I will love him and reveal myself to him.”
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In Greek culture, the term “advocate” refers to the legal defense attorney who acts as mediator pleading the cause in favor of his client. Jesus is the first mediator, who intercedes for all humanity to be liberated from sin and reconciled to the Father.
Earlier in the Last Supper, Jesus predicted his betrayal and eventual death on the cross, but he assures his disciples that he will not leave them orphans. Jesus will send another Advocate – the Holy Spirit. This Spirit will be a witness to Jesus and continue his presence on earth as he returns to the Father. The Holy Spirit, called the Paraclete, Spokesperson, Helper, Counselor, and Comforter, will open the minds of the disciples to remember and understand the teachings of Jesus.
John Paul II, in his Apostolic Letter Dominum et Vivificantem, 4, exhorts us: “(The Spirit) will help people to understand the correct meaning of the content of Christ’s message; they mean that he will ensure continuity and identity of understanding in the midst of changing conditions and circumstances. The Holy Spirit, then, will ensure that in the Church there will always continue the same truth which the Apostles heard from their Master.”
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SOURCE: “365 Days with the Lord 2020,” ST. PAULS Philippines, 7708 St. Paul Rd., SAV, Makati City (Phils.); Tel.: 895-9701; Fax 895-7328; E-mail: [email protected]; Website: http:// www.stpauls.ph.
