The Spirit of Truth

WORD 2day: Wednesday, 6th week after Easter

May 17, 2023: Acts 17:15,22 -18:1; John 16: 12-15

We reflected yesterday on the Spirit that convicts. Yes, the Spirit of the Lord convicts, because the Spirit leads us to the truth. We have all the truth right in front of us. We fail to see them and understand them; we are tempted not to see them or understand them; we choose not to see them and understand them!

When we fail to see, the Spirit gives us the wisdom and leads us to see it, leading us to light, as St Paul tries to lead the Athenians.

When we are tempted not to see, the Spirit fills us with the courage to see it, making us free and bold as children of God, as Jesus promises his disciples.

When we choose not to see, the Spirit convicts us, as we heard yesterday and makes us understand how mistaken we are. Peter, Paul, the other apostles and everyone who owes his or her rapport with God to a dramatic conversion, would vouch for this role of the Spirit.

But for all of these... I need to open my mind to the Word. If not, I will laugh at the Word or postpone listening to it, to another convenient moment, as the people do in the first reading today.

The Spirit that Convicts

WORD 2day: Tuesday, 6th week after Easter

May 16, 2023: Acts 16: 22-34; John 16: 5-11

Jesus wishes that his disciples moved on to the next level. We reflected on that message last Sunday. Jesus seems to be trying his best to introduce them to the Advocate, the Divine Counselor! Today's readings bring out one important aspect of this advocate: the aspect of the Spirit which convicts the individuals, communities and all those who truly believe.

Receiving the Spirit is not an ordinary task. It is a divine mission that the Lord promised to those who sincerely ask for it. For when the spirit comes... the Spirit would convict the person. Convicting means critically verifying one's convictions - what goes right and what goes wrong in one's choices!

What should we do to be saved... that is the question that is expressed today by the people as they listen to the Word of God. In true submission to the Word, in the Spirit, what would fill our hearts is a sense of living our life by the Word, by the choices inspired by the Word. 

In the Spirit, one question we are inspired to ask, not just today, but every day of our life is: what should I do, here and now, to be acceptable in the eyes of God?