Reflection for Sunday 25th May, 2025

(6th Sunday of Easter)

Divine Indwelling (John 14:23-29)

The disciples were numbed when Jesus was telling them that he was going away, but he consoled them with three wonderful promises.

Divine Indwelling

His first promise was about what is called the divine indwelling. Father, Son and Holy Spirit will be at home within us if we try our best to follow the teaching of Jesus. “If anyone loves me he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we shall come to him and make our home with him.” St. Augustine wrote a poetic description of his conversion to God.

“Late have I loved you, O Beauty, ever ancient, ever new, late have I loved you.

O God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, dwelling within us, there is no problem we cannot overcome together.

You were within and I was in the external world and sought you there and in my unlovely state I plunged into those lovely creatures which you had made. You were with me and I was not with you.” So, if you think that you are a million miles from God, guess who moved! God is with us, God is at home in us. Prayer develops when we grow in awareness of God’s presence in us. Some call it Christian mindfulness, being more attentive to God dwelling in us. Why did the late Pope Francis constantly appeal to us to allow ourselves to be loved?
I suggest that we are inclined to take ourselves too seriously and do not take God seriously enough. Do you think that you must merit God’s love? Do you have to deserve God’s love? We need to be liberated from the chains of unworthiness, guilt, and fear. Allow God to love you.

Promise of the Holy Spirit

“The Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything.” The second promise of Jesus is the special coming of the Holy Spirit to the apostles, enabling them to continue his teaching. Advocatus is a Latin word for one called to my aid as my support and consoler. Paraclete is the equivalent Greek word. When I was young, we heard of the Holy Ghost, a scary word. The Holy Spirit was the forgotten Paraclete. The charismatic movement of the 1960s reintroduced us to the Holy Spirit.
Many people draw great strength from pilgrimages to holy places, but I would suggest that the most important pilgrimage is to the shrine of God in the sanctuary of the heart.
“It’s this that makes my spirit spin, my bones to quake, my blood run thin,
My flesh to melt within my skin, my very pulse create a din –
It’s this that makes my spirit spin: that Heaven in not up, but in.” (Sr. Mary Ignatius)

Divine Peace

The third consolation of Jesus is the promise of peace. “Peace I leave to you, my own peace I give you, a peace the world cannot give, this is my gift to you.” Jesus spoke of peace on the very eve of his passion and suffering. His peace is an inner strength drawn from the belief that God is always with us. “Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid... Trust in God still and trust in me.”

A simple prayer

O God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, dwelling within us, there is no problem we cannot overcome together.