This Gospel is not only about love and relationships. It is also about a promise. Jesus promised his friends that he would ask
the Father to send them another “advocate”, the Holy Spirit. Once Jesus was no longer physically present, he would remain close through the Holy Spirit within us and be accessible as a helper, counsellor and comforter.
Sometimes
we may be tempted to think that Jesus’ disciples had an easier time of it. They lived and learned from him. We who live post the Ascension are even more blessed because our access to Jesus through his Spirit is unlimited by time or space. He is with us in every moment of our lives. Through the Spirit, we always have access to Jesus and the Father.
Hildegard of Bingen describes this other advocate, the Holy Spirit, in these words: “The Spirit of God is a life that bestows life, root of the world-tree and wind in its boughs. Scrubbing out sin, she rubs
oil into wounds. She is glistening life, alluring all praise, all-awakening, all-resurrecting.”
God’s life-giving Spirit is always accessible when we pause to notice and ask for it to flow through us. We can experience
the flowing in tangible ways, e.g., when we feel moved to go out of our way to help someone in need, console a person in distress, feel energised and filled with purpose in the work we do for the benefit of others. We experience the Holy Spirit when we courageously speak the truth and feel surrounded by love in difficult moments.
The Holy Spirit abides in us, a close and accessible guide. Through the inner stirrings of the Holy Spirit, we can sense what is of God and what is not. We can sift our experiences and notice where our desires resonate most with the values of love, truth, and justice.
Notice where you experience the promised advocate in your life today.
Reflections by Annemarie Paulin-Campbell
