16th Sunday in O.T.

16th Sunday in Ordinary Time (year A)

(Rom 8:26–27)

Romans 8:26 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that cannot be put into words;

The context here is that of prayer, and so our weakness here lies within the realm of prayer. Although the Christian has been baptised into the death and resurrection of Jesus, they still remain in a state of weakness, and this fact is also evident in their prayers. For although we generally know what we ought to ask of God, we often do not know what, specifically and at any given moment, is useful and appropriate for us. In other words, we do not fully know God’s will, and so we are not always sure what His will is or what we ought to pray for.

The believer finds themselves caught between two worlds: on the one hand, still bound by a sinful nature, whose ways are opposed to those of the Spirit and which ties them to the realities of a fallen world; on the other, the regeneration and rebirth into a new world, which operates according to the ways of the Spirit, opposed to those of the flesh. It is in this inner conflict within man that his weakness lies. To overcome this weakness, the Lord has provided valuable help. He has given the Holy Spirit, and has given Him as the guiding principle of the Christian’s prayer.

“In the same way,” he says, expressing the Father’s complete solidarity with fallen humanity through the gift of the Spirit, who helps us to bring forth this new world that already lives and works within us; who helps us by sustaining us on our spiritual journey; and who helps us to enter into a relationship with spiritual realities with which, precisely because of our weakness, we do not even know how to relate. In prayer, we can only feebly express what is fitting, what is right, and what we ought first and foremost to pray for—that is, what is in accordance with God’s will.

Only the Spirit speaks the Father’s language. The Spirit goes beyond our thoughts and asks for everything we lack, so that the Father may meet those needs of which his children are unaware. The Spirit is given to us to come to the aid of our weakness in thought and will; the weakness of those who do not know, of those who do not understand, of those who cannot. ‘Comes to our aid’ is ‘synantilambanetai’, a word composed of two prepositions, ‘syn’ (together) and ‘anti’ (against), which are prefixes of the verb ‘lambanomai’ (to take possession of, to hold). The metaphor therefore presents us with a person who carries a burden in collaboration with another, positioning themselves at the opposite end of the burden itself; in other words, they share the load with us to give us relief.

In life, unfortunately, the slightest thing is enough to make us turn back or fall by the wayside, without having reached the goal of hope. In this weakness, it is the Holy Spirit who becomes the soul and spirit of the Christian and prays in their stead; yet the Spirit prays with ‘groans’ that Paul describes as ‘inexpressible’, that is, they cannot be translated into human words, which define, conceptualise and express material realities, whilst the Spirit’s action operates on spiritual levels; and for his groans to be perceived and understood, a person must rise spiritually, becoming attuned to spiritual language. They are inner stirrings, inspirations, intuitions.

Jesus’ intercession takes place at the right hand of God, whilst the Spirit’s intercession takes place within us. ‘Intercedes’ is the translation of ‘hyperentygchanei’, which means ‘to bring someone near or to call someone’. We know that we must ask God for everything, but we do not know what to ask God for. Not knowing what to ask for, we may even pray in vain. The Holy Spirit, on the other hand, knows God’s will for each of us. When He is in us and we are in Him, it is He Himself who prays and intercedes for us. However, He does not pray in a language we can understand, in the sense that He makes us understand what is best for us. He prays with inexpressible groans; He prays with our heart, but without our mind. It is the groaning of One who does not share our weakness, yet participates in it and takes it upon Himself. The groaning of the Spirit has no language; it is wordless, ‘alalētois’; it transcends all language.

There is something profoundly great and mysterious in this verse. When the Spirit dwells within a person, it is as though He were taking the person’s place; it is as though the person had handed over the helm of their life to Him. The Spirit guides life towards the goal that is inherent in human nature, without the person realising it, and directs them towards their supreme good. This explains why the saints sometimes find themselves doing things the ‘why’ and ‘how’ of which even they do not fully understand. They do not know; it is the Spirit of the Lord who moves them from within and guides them.

This is the true movement of the Spirit. When, on the other hand, everything is subjected to human reason and conscience, to human decision-making, there is no true movement of the Spirit; rather, it is man who is in control of his own person and intends to guide it according to his own principles of choice, even if, whether cunningly or naively, it suits him to attribute his own thoughts and decisions to the Spirit of the Lord.

Argentino Quintavalle, author of the books

- Revelation – an exegetical commentary

- The Apostle Paul and the Judaizers – Law or Gospel?

Jesus Christ, true God and true Man, in the mystery of the Trinity

Jesus’ prophetic discourse (Matthew 24–25)

All Generations Will Call Me Blessed

Catholics and Protestants Compared – In Defence of the Faith

The Church and Israel According to St Paul – Romans 9–11

(Available on Amazon)

148 Last modified on Monday, 13 July 2026 14:07

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Argentino Quintavalle

Argentino Quintavalle è studioso biblico ed esperto in Protestantesimo e Giudaismo. Autore del libro “Apocalisse - commento esegetico” (disponibile su Amazon) e specializzato in catechesi per protestanti che desiderano tornare nella Chiesa Cattolica.

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We too, to reach a more conscious confession of Jesus Christ must follow, like Peter, a path made of attentive, caring listening (Pope John Paul II)

Anche noi per giungere a una più consapevole confessione di Gesù Cristo dobbiamo percorrere, come Pietro, un cammino fatto di ascolto attento, premuroso (Papa Giovanni Paolo II)

It is a word that must be witnessed to and proclaimed explicitly, because without a consistent witness it proves to be less comprehensible and credible [Pope Benedict]

E’ una Parola che deve essere testimoniata e proclamata esplicitamente, perché senza una testimonianza coerente essa risulta meno comprensibile e credibile [Papa Benedetto]

The “reading and meditation of the word of God root us more deeply in Christ and guide our ministry as servants of reconciliation, justice and peace” (second Synod for Africa, Propositio 46)

La lettura e la meditazione della Parola di Dio ci radicano più profondamente in Cristo e orientano il nostro ministero di servitori della riconciliazione, della giustizia e della pace (Secondo Sinodo per l’Africa, Propositio 46)

The Gospel of Matthew written in Hebrew or Aramaic is no longer extant, but in the Greek Gospel that we possess we still continue to hear, in a certain way, the persuasive voice of the publican Matthew, who, having become an Apostle, continues to proclaim God's saving mercy to us. And let us listen to St Matthew's message, meditating upon it ever anew also to learn to stand up and follow Jesus with determination (Pope Benedict)

Non abbiamo più il Vangelo scritto da Matteo in ebraico o in aramaico, ma nel Vangelo greco che abbiamo continuiamo a udire ancora, in qualche modo, la voce persuasiva del pubblicano Matteo che, diventato Apostolo, séguita ad annunciarci la salvatrice misericordia di Dio e ascoltiamo questo messaggio di san Matteo, meditiamolo sempre di nuovo per imparare anche noi ad alzarci e a seguire Gesù con decisione (Papa Benedetto)

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Quel denaro rappresenta la vita eterna, dono che Dio riserva a tutti. Anzi, proprio quelli che sono considerati "ultimi", se lo accettano, diventano "primi", mentre i "primi" possono rischiare di finire "ultimi" [Papa Benedetto]

The sower is Jesus. With this image, we can see that he presents himself as one who does not impose himself, but rather offers himself. He does not attract us by conquering us, but by donating himself: he casts seeds. With patience and generosity, he spreads his Word, which is not a cage or a trap, but a seed which can bear fruit (Pope Francis)

Il seminatore è Gesù. Notiamo che, con questa immagine, Egli si presenta come uno che non si impone, ma si propone; non ci attira conquistandoci, ma donandosi: butta il seme. Egli sparge con pazienza e generosità la sua Parola, che non è una gabbia o una trappola, ma un seme che può portare frutto (Papa Francesco)

The Church desires to give thanks to the Most Holy Trinity for the "mystery of woman" and for every woman - for that which constitutes the eternal measure of her feminine dignity, for the "great works of God", which throughout human history have been accomplished in and through her (Mulieris Dignitatem n.31)

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