Those who fall in love unleash a new energy.

John 14:15–21 (16:4)

 

In biblical terms, Spirit [Ruah] does not denote an ineffable entity, but a real one: it is a powerful breath, capable of sweeping away everything that seeks to remain fixed and established.

God is Spirit not because he is invisible and unreachable, but because his action expresses an overwhelming, uncontainable, impetuous force.

This is our dream: to share in this wind with its unpredictable effects.

The Spirit bursts forth ceaselessly and provides the impetus to overcome all rigidity and set things in motion: the source of life, the instrument of the divine work in history.

Religious law may well point in the right direction, but it does not impart personal conviction, nor does it help us grasp the absurdity of love and its incredible fruitfulness, nor does it convey the energy that carries us to our destination.

For this reason, Jesus is not a model, but rather the Reason and the Driving Force.

He did not merely teach a path: he still imparts his impetus to us, enabling us to hit the mark of life.

His gifted Spirit is called the ‘Paraclete’ [‘called alongside’, a term derived from legal language]: a sort of advocate who, in court, stood by the defendant in distress to exonerate him (in perfect silence).

It is the Spirit of Christ in the soul that renders evil powerless and renders accusations against us futile.

In the face of difficulties, we can press on without losing heart.

 

The Spirit of the Lord is also at the service of theological Truth: the Faithfulness of divine Love.

In short: whilst the Church offers new answers to new questions, it is the Spirit of Truth that ensures the Gospel is not corrupted, but rather leads the disciples into the fullness of life and into the unexpected richness and radical nature of its very Call.

We will never say anything new, nor the opposite: by remaining open to its impulses, we will grasp to the very depths the Mystery that envelops the meaning of our life in Christ.

 

The living, beating Lover is asking those closest to him: ‘How much do I mean to you?’

Jesus replaces the commandments of religion with His own [His very Person, His values and the Beatitudes].

We know this. One cannot love Someone who is accustomed to keeping a record.

The different expressions of love are infinitely more important than a code of laws – that of Moses, for example.

The nuances of love carry significant weight, which outweighs the proliferation of rules typical of tradition.

Custom, manners, or even fashions, often do not belong to us. Indeed, they make us nervous and dissatisfied – even though they are ingrained.

The complacent man tends to drag himself along according to interpretations and ways of behaving that deviate from his very deepest self.

Attached to the most worn-out and obsolete conventions, or to conditioning, we continue to offer old or external answers to new and personal problems.

At times, there is a tendency not to accept living emancipation [not the glossy kind].

Nor the joy of discoveries in the making; not dictated by agencies of plagiarism.

Nor the innovations that bring us closer; nor a new way of thinking that allows us to grasp God as living, ever-present, and thus capable, through His ceaseless Action, of enabling us to take on a divine countenance.

 

When they become excessively entrenched, affected or deviant manners close us off to the impulses of the Spirit of Truth. They scatter us.

In some cases, they do so in the very name of God!

They corrupt and supplant the purity of the Source, and consequently, the innate fragrance of our particular essences.

Instead, the Paraclete [within us] defends the integrity of every person from external hostilities and also from the inner forces that do harm.

These include, for example: fears of responding to the authentic Call; cravings for possessions, power and appearance, which drag us away from life.

The Spirit even approves of attempts to enrich: yes, together.

By seeking the most varied reciprocity of qualities; by highlighting the very resources of our neighbour.

In short, we often need to set aside the ego and entrust ourselves to the Mystery.

 

God has a humanising Face, so the Spirit is the ‘defender’ who even allows us to make mistakes.

He dispels the panic of unexpected beginnings. He lets us sense the magic that protects us.

He helps us rise above the ambush of perfectionism, which always risks striking even the very beginnings of our vocational endeavours.

In short, the innate Friend frees us from the ‘persona’, from armour, from performance anxiety, from not wanting to disappoint the opinions or expectations of those around us.

He brings us back down to earth. And compels our gaze to look within.

As we lose our way and wander, in Him we shall rediscover the Centre.

 

Our Ally helps us make sense of the difficult moments – those that seem like a pile-up of misfortune. The blunders, the failures, the times when, for example, due to a string of bereavements or persecutions, it seems we are attracting negativity like a magnet.

In critical situations, we are guided to detach our soul from the external world, which ends up drying us out and causing us to lose sight of our very Core, the hidden Spirit.

In this way, we know that when the reality around us becomes precarious, the inner core is, as it were, compelled to rediscover the right distance from external things.

If reality forces us to sweep everything away, we are placed in a position where we must seek out and throw open new pathways.

Unexpected ideas, horizons, strengths and initiatives will emerge.

 

At times, it will be chaos itself that resolves the real problems, generated more by our habitual way of life [or perspective] than by reality.

Confusion will often arise, but so that we may finally ask ourselves about our true interests. About what we are not making space for:  which aspects, inclinations, strands of activity, relationships – that would resonate deeply, and make everyone feel at ease.

Thus, instead of living distractedly and as if carried along by dynamics that do not belong to us, we learn to live intensely in the present moment.

We learn to welcome and interpret what the tide of life brings in terms of new developments, day by day and moment by moment.

By loosening our grip on control, judgement, the urge to plan, and the tendency towards dirigisme and voluntarism, we allow the Gift to become a Treasure; we let reality suggest the path and take the lead in our experiences.

By yielding, step by step, we learn to let ourselves be flooded: it will be that which invades us that will make us blossom anew. Through processes that process the unthinkable.

 

If we have suppressed our passions so as not to appear weak, or made artificial choices to prioritise the approval of those around us – and self-control... If we have not yet learnt to be direct, the Paraclete will help bring to light the free part of ourselves, the part where our mission lies – rather than a showcase career (even an ecclesiastical one).

The more we are human in the harmony of the Love received—which transforms into friendship shared with ourselves and others—the more we will allow the divine Gold to emerge within us, and in the harmonies that lead us back to the Home that is truly ours.

By living our emotions with less intervention, we will work with passion.

We will act by expressing our deepest nature, and not as others expect; perhaps we will do things in a way entirely contrary to expectations and intentions.

But by breaking the monotony, we will allow the coexistence of opposing polarities, and the Heart will become ever more a friend to our destiny.

 

 

Abode and reciprocity, interpretation and root

 

Generators from below

(Jn 14:21-26)

 

    The Father’s love unites us to Christ through a call that manifests itself wave upon wave. And on this path the Son himself is revealed, thanks also to genuine community life.

This Gospel passage reflects the question-and-answer catechesis typical of the Johannine communities of Asia Minor, committed to questioning: this time the theme of misunderstanding is introduced by Judas, not Iscariot.

The Jews, too, had expected an eloquent public appearance in order to believe in the divine nature of Jesus of Nazareth. Perhaps such a low-key manifestation could only generate scepticism.

Why does He remain in the realm of concealment, and why do not even his closest companions react with enthusiasm? Would not an open and sensational twist be appropriate?

And why endure difficulties from within? Then, why were relationships considered ‘important’ viewed with growing aversion, as alien and irritating?

Well, Christ’s vulnerable messianism – seemingly defensive, evasive – is not the sort that dispels doubts.

He remained unadorned. Thus he did not lose his naturalness; as if he had sensed the danger of grandiose aberrations, all of them external.

The authentic Messiah protected his identity, his human, spiritual and missionary character. In this way, he avoided all the excessive, glorious titles envisaged in the theological culture of ancient Israel.

 

The life of Faith within us, too, continues invisibly: not surrounded by outward miracles and intense sensations; rather, animated by convictions (recognised within ourselves).

In this new relationship with God and our brothers and sisters, the ancient concept of the Lord’s Anointed One who observes and imposes the Law of the chosen people on all nations (by force) is of no relevance.

In every circumstance and place, God is always present and at work, starting from the core, to help us rediscover the breath of being.

The Father, the Son, and the believers form, through mutual knowledge, a loose-knit circle of love, reciprocity and obedience, through free responses that are neither stereotypical nor paralysing.

Not fragmented into details and case studies, but centred on fundamental choices.

 

‘My commandments’ [v.21: subjective genitive] is a theological expression designating the very Person of the Risen One in action.

A ‘Person’ unfolded in human history through his Mystical Body: the diverse People of God, whose multifaceted nature is an added value—not a limitation or a contamination of purity.

Of course, Love is the only reality that cannot be ‘commanded’.

But Jesus designates and advocates it as such to emphasise the break from the Sinai Covenant, which it both summarises and yet replaces.

The plural form ‘commandments’ acknowledges the range of varied forms of reciprocity and personalisation of love.

No orientation, doctrine or code will ever be able to surpass it, or conversely render it stagnant.

 

In the Gospels, love is spoken of not in terms of sentiment [an emotion subject to fluctuations, or one that adjusts itself according to the perfections of the beloved] but as a real action, a gesture that makes the other feel free and adequate.

The People of God reflect Christ to the extent that they develop their own destiny by living entirely through gift, response, exchange, and an abundance of gratuitousness.

All this in a manner that is ever more unique to each person, to every micro- and macro-relational situation, stage of life, characteristic, type of flaw, or prevailing cultural paradigm.

In short, the Lord does not wish us to elevate ourselves by detaching from the earth and from our brothers and sisters: the honour due to the Father is that which we bestow upon his children.

Therefore, there is no need to rise through ascetic observance [‘ascending’ as to a higher floor: the lift only goes down].

 

It is He who reveals Himself, offering Himself to us: this is His joy.

He comes down from “heaven”.

He manifests Himself within us and within the folds of history, revealing the desire to merge with our lives (v.21) to enhance them, complete them, and strengthen their capacities [in qualitative terms].

The Apostles, conditioned by conventional religious thinking – all about appearances – question Jesus’s attitude, which is modest and not given to spectacle (v.22).

They cannot accept a Messiah who does not demand everyone’s attention, who does not astonish the world, who does not shout proclamations like a madman.

The Master prefers that in his Word we recognise an active resonance with the desire for a full life that we carry within us (vv.23-24).

This Logos-event must be taken up into our being, as a Call distinct from the clichés of widespread, conformist, other-centred thinking.

For within this Call lies a sympathy, an understanding, an arrow, an efficient and creative vigour, which becomes Fire and the solidity of a personal Presence, arising from within – at once faint and resounding.

 

In ancient forensic culture, ‘Paraclete’ (v.26) was the name given to the eminent figure in the assembly – today we would call him a sort of lawyer – who, without saying a word, stood by the accused to defend him.

[The latter might have been guilty, yet deserving of forgiveness; however, he needed a sort of public guarantor to vouch for his fate. In other words, he might be innocent, yet unable or incapable of finding witnesses in his favour to exonerate him…]

This attribute of the Spirit alludes to an intensity, an intimate foundation and the reciprocity of a silent Relationship that becomes a Person, and knows where to go.

A companion who approves; who leads the heart, the character, life itself, not to the pillory, but to the full blossoming of ourselves.

Thanks to His support, we are not enchanted by high-sounding roles, strong words; formulas, impressions, tumultuous feelings: we enter the demanding, fulfilled depth of Love.

Let us broaden our horizons. Let us welcome a different guiding image, one that presses on and takes us by surprise, yet subtly. It does not reproach us, nor does it scold us.

An experience that takes place without earthquakes, thunder and lightning – which are but partial phenomena – but through the action of the Spirit who internalises, accompanies, nourishes, and keeps the interpretation of the Word fresh and alive (v.26).

The Message of the Gospels has a generative root that cannot be reduced to a one-sided and cumbersome experience; entirely codified and moralistic yet empty, as in sectarian situations, always at war with themselves and the world. 

By venturing into their own Exodus, each person discovers hidden resources and a broadening of perspectives that expand and complete their being, deepening the experience of the vocational calling that corresponds to them.

Between life on the move and the Word of God – the golden rule that instils self-esteem – an unpredictable, versatile, eclectic, non-unidirectional understanding is kindled, one which transcends the chains of identity.

In its scope, the Call remains the same, but over time it expands the awareness of its facets – indeed, integrating them.

Rich and as yet unratified forms of expression: Creator and creature do not authentically manifest themselves in a fixed, sanctioned manner, or in reference to a code of doctrine and discipline, but in the boundless freedom of life.

Even today, as new needs and questions overwhelm us, an appropriate abundance of new answers emerges – finally, even from the Magisterium.

Plausible within the adventure of Faith, yet they would drive any external religion to distraction.

 

 

To internalise and live the message:

 

Do you recognise the Work of the Spirit, or do you reject it as a nuisance? What strikes you about the new Magisterium?

Do you find this approach in the Proclamation, in Catechesis, in Animation, in Pastoral Care and in your own Journey?

 

 

Further Reflection: Spirit of Truth

 

Satisfactory solutions or Spirit of Truth

(Jn 15:26–16:4a)

 

    Faith in the Master is already eternal life, or rather the Life of the Eternal One (in action here and now). He himself is the Bread of authentic and indestructible existence, though still earthly.

The intimate life of God himself reaches us in our time. The first step is a Faith that bestows a Vision; an irruption of the Spirit that brings new life from above, thus animating a different existence – one that is not empty.

The sign of such adherence is believing in Jesus as the Son: a man who manifests the divine condition.

Christ is the Bread of Life also because his Word is creative, and the path of following him imparts to us the qualities of indestructible Life.

The outpouring of the Spirit stirs within us the very same beating Heart of the Eternal One, which we experience in the deaths and resurrections of daily life and in the long journey of Vocation (reaffirmed from path to path).

Even in persecution, those who see the Son have within them the Life of the Eternal One – which regenerates and constantly brings about new births, new premises and questions, different paths, in an uninterrupted and ever-growing manner.

Our passion for the Friend unites us to Him, the Bread: that is, the Revealer of the Truth who satisfies those journeying towards themselves and the world, who at times shed their old skin, change their opinions and lifestyles.

In the Vision, we are enabled to take direct possession of it, thus drawing near to and realising the Newness of God – even in advance, wisely.

Through Him we share in the Father’s love for the Son, who manifests Himself as our personal Lord, and in the life of the authentic Church, which expands outwards.

The ‘hidden’ God of the First Testament, an obstacle that seemed insurmountable, now reveals Himself in the specificity of Faith… without the need for deceptive lights to support it.

For God’s world (in the soul) is different.

One does not enter into the Mystery with ordinary intentions and perfect expectations, let alone those of success and recognition.

In this Gospel passage, the apostles’ incomprehension comes to the fore. Indeed, even to us, the way in which Jesus reveals himself often seems indecipherable.

Even the Jews (in reality: the Judaizers returning to the communities at the end of the first century) expected to recognise him in a clear-cut way, perhaps on some occasion of public life.

Instead, even during the period of ‘glorification’, the Master seems to wish to maintain the outward (humble) obscurity of his earthly ministry.

Many expected sensational fireworks during that period they regarded as the ‘finale’. Instead, there was no yielding to the ideology of power or to spectacle-religion.

In short, things were not going according to expectations: doubts were not dispelled, nor were ambiguities; the titles of Israel’s ancient nationalist and imperial glory did not reappear at all—quite the contrary!

Even today, the choice of Faith is not fed to the mechanisms that would guarantee its visibility: no safety net, no concessions.

Everything then seems to proceed as before, in summary: toiling to live, buying and travelling, laughing and crying, falling ill and recovering, working and celebrating… and so on, often in pain (apparently senseless); perhaps without decisive turning points.

But upon the same things as always there is a different Light, rooted in a new, immediate relationship between humanity in need and the Father who regenerates us, to reconnect desires, deep needs, external paths, and to increase the intensity of life.

It is in the mutual understanding of the roots and furrows of reality that this circle of love between God and his children exists first and foremost. And all that has not yet been understood will be brought to light by the action of the Spirit. The only reliable impulse, which does not focus on vain things.

A relationship between man and Heaven (within us, not above) that does not primarily involve resignation, effort, humiliation… but is reworked through a deepening of the capacity of our hearts – so limited, yet endowed with a mysterious imprint – for a life that is full, yet of character.

 

To avoid intimidation, marginalisation and annoyances, some members of the Church advocated a sort of alliance between Jesus and the Empire, proclaiming a Christ so vague and detached as not to offend anyone.

Some ambitious, trouble-makers of the ‘life in the Spirit’ believed that the time had now come to shake off the earthly story of the carpenter’s son – considered weak in itself, short-lived, out of place and out of time, and already extinguished.

John seeks to restore balance to the mission of the Gospel, which had been diluted by compromise. 

The evangelist emphasises that the Risen One (the Figure and Driving Force who sustains the soul and gives us new life today) is the very same Son of God who engaged in a relentless campaign of denunciation and fought numerous battles against the opportunistic authorities of his time, whose positions, vanity and the purse of commerce – and was therefore persecuted, tried, reviled and condemned as a subversive and cursed by God.

In short, the Holy Spirit does not chase after butterflies. The action of the Spirit (which internalises and actualises) and the historical memory of Jesus must always be combined. Only from this honest perspective is it possible to grasp, in every time and circumstance, the Truth of God and the Truth of man.

Furthermore: the Father is the Creator of each of our deepest inclinations, upon which He places an indelible signature that manifests itself in an innate instinct, which seeks to germinate, find space, and express itself.

We are born with a Vocation and unique, invincible faces (plural), each and every one of us. We cannot deny ourselves, our Roots – even where open witness might be unpalatable.

The Truth about each of us follows: by Grace we are the custodians of an astounding dignity, which even in error (or what is considered as such) imparts exceptional desires. A Truth that restores dreams once more: an unprecedented hope, which kindles compelling passions.

We would seek peace and happiness in vain by pursuing cultural and social conformity, or by playing roles, characters, and tasks that do not belong to us – however soothing they may be.

We would become outsiders.

Truth: God’s faithfulness in Christ. Frankness in every choice, relationship and situation.

The rest is calculation and deep turmoil, which will leave us disconnected and make us sick inside.

 

To internalise and live out the message:

Do you take a stand and face the consequences? When your vocational integrity is at stake, do you stand up and face the music, or do you blend into the background?

Do you remain vague, weigh up the trade-offs, and seek favours or protection from well-connected individuals and complacent communities? Or do you desire to unite your life with Christ?

“Stand firm in your faith!”  We have just heard the words of Jesus:  “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.  And I will pray the Father, and he will give you another Counsellor, to be with you for ever, the Spirit of truth” (Jn 14:15-17a).  With these words Jesus reveals the profound link between faith and the profession of Divine Truth, between faith and dedication to Jesus Christ in love, between faith and the practice of a life inspired by the commandments.  All three dimensions of faith are the fruit of the action of the Holy Spirit.  This action is manifested as an inner force that harmonizes the hearts of the disciples with the Heart of Christ and makes them capable of loving as he loved them.  Hence faith is a gift, but at the same time it is a task.

“He will give you another Counsellor – the Spirit of truth.”  Faith, as knowledge and profession of the truth about God and about man, “comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes by the preaching of Christ”, as Saint Paul says (Rom 10:17).  Throughout the history of the Church, the Apostles preached the word of Christ, taking care to hand it on intact to their successors, who in their turn transmitted it to subsequent generations until our own day.  Many preachers of the Gospel gave their lives specifically because of their faithfulness to the truth of the word of Christ.  And so solicitude for the truth gave birth to the Church’s Tradition.  As in past centuries, so also today there are people or groups who obscure this centuries-old Tradition, seeking to falsify the Word of Christ and to remove from the Gospel those truths which in their view are too uncomfortable for modern man.  They try to give the impression that everything is relative:  even the truths of faith would depend on the historical situation and on human evaluation.  Yet the Church cannot silence the Spirit of Truth.  The successors of the Apostles, together with the Pope, are responsible for the truth of the Gospel, and all Christians are called to share in this responsibility, accepting its authoritative indications.  Every Christian is bound to confront his own convictions continually with the teachings of the Gospel and of the Church’s Tradition in the effort to remain faithful to the word of Christ, even when it is demanding and, humanly speaking, hard to understand.  We must not yield to the temptation of relativism or of a subjectivist and selective interpretation of Sacred Scripture.  Only the whole truth can open us to adherence to Christ, dead and risen for our salvation.

Christ says:  “If you love me ... ”  Faith does not just mean accepting a certain number of abstract truths about the mysteries of God, of man, of life and death, of future realities.  Faith consists in an intimate relationship with Christ, a relationship based on love of him who loved us first (cf. 1 Jn 4:11), even to the total offering of himself.  “God shows his love for us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us” (Rom 5:8).  What other response can we give to a love so great, if not that of a heart that is open and ready to love?  But what does it mean to love Christ?  It means trusting him even in times of trial, following him faithfully even on the Via Crucis, in the hope that soon the morning of the Resurrection will come.  Entrusting ourselves to Christ, we lose nothing, we gain everything.  In his hands our life acquires its true meaning.  Love for Christ expresses itself in the will to harmonize our own life with the thoughts and sentiments of his Heart.  This is achieved through interior union based on the grace of the Sacraments, strengthened by continuous prayer, praise, thanksgiving and penance.  We have to listen attentively to the inspirations that he evokes through his Word, through the people we meet, through the situations of daily life.  To love him is to remain in dialogue with him, in order to know his will and to put it into effect promptly.

Yet living one’s personal faith as a love-relationship with Christ also means being ready to renounce everything that constitutes a denial of his love.  That is why Jesus said to the Apostles:  “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.”  But what are Christ’s commandments?  When the Lord Jesus was teaching the crowds, he did not fail to confirm the law which the Creator had inscribed on men’s hearts and had then formulated on the tablets of the Decalogue.  “Think not that I have come to abolish the law and the prophets;  I have come not to abolish them but to fulfil them.  For truly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the law until all is accomplished” (Mt 5:17-18).  But Jesus showed us with a new clarity the unifying centre of the divine laws revealed on Sinai, namely love of God and love of neighbour:  “To love [God] with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the strength, and to love one’s neighbour as oneself, is much more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices” (Mk 12:33).  Indeed, in his life and in his Paschal Mystery Jesus brought the entire law to completion.  Uniting himself with us through the gift of the Holy Spirit, he carries with us and in us the “yoke” of the law, which thereby becomes a “light burden” (Mt 11:30).  In this spirit, Jesus formulated his list of the inner qualities of those who seek to live their faith deeply:  Blessed are the poor in spirit, those who weep, the meek, those who hunger and thirst for justice, the merciful, the pure in heart, the peacemakers, those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake ... (cf. Mt 5:3-12).

Dear brothers and sisters, faith as adherence to Christ is revealed as love that prompts us to promote the good inscribed by the Creator into the nature of every man and woman among us, into the personality of every other human being and into everything that exists in the world.  Whoever believes and loves in this way becomes a builder of the true “civilization of love”, of which Christ is the centre.  Twenty-seven years ago, in this place, Pope John Paul II said:  “Poland has become nowadays the land of a particularly responsible witness” (Warsaw, 2 June 1979).  I ask you now, cultivate this rich heritage of faith transmitted to you by earlier generations, the heritage of the thought and the service of that great Pole who was Pope John Paul II.  Stand firm in your faith, hand it down to your children, bear witness to the grace which you have experienced so abundantly through the Holy Spirit in the course of your history.  May Mary, Queen of Poland, show you the way to her Son, and may she accompany you on your journey towards a happy, peace-filled future.  May your hearts never be wanting in love for Christ and for his Church.  Amen!

[Pope Benedict, homily, Warsaw, 26 May 2006]

In the previous reflection on the Holy Spirit we began with John's text of Jesus' farewell discourse. In a certain way this is the principal gospel source of pneumatology. Jesus announced the coming of the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of truth, who "proceeds from the Father" (Jn 15:26). He will be sent by the Father to the apostles and the Church in Christ's name, by virtue of the redemption effected in the sacrifice of the cross, according to the eternal plan of salvation. In the power of this sacrifice the Son also "sends" the Spirit, for he announced that the spirit will come as a consequence, and at the price of his own departure (cf. Jn 16:7). There is a connection stated by Jesus himself between his death-resurrection-ascension and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, between the Pasch and Pentecost. Indeed, according to the fourth Gospel, the giving of the Holy Spirit took place on the very evening of Easter Sunday (cf. Jn 20:22-25). It may be said that the wound in Christ's side on the cross opened the way for the outpouring of the Spirit, which will be a sign and a fruit of the glory obtained though the passion and death. 

We learn from Jesus' discourse in the upper room that he called the Holy Spirit the "Paraclete": "I will pray the Father, and he will send you another Paraclete, to be with you forever" (Jn 14:16). Similarly we read in other texts: "the Paraclete, the Holy Spirit" (cf. Jn 14:16; 15:26; 16:7). Instead of "Paraclete" many translations use the word "Counselor." That term is acceptable, though it is necessary to have recourse to the original Greek word Parakletos to grasp the full meaning of what Jesus says about the Holy Spirit. 

Parakletos means literally, "one who is called or appealed to" (from para-kalein, "to call to one's assistance"). He is therefore the defender," "the advocate," as well as the "mediator" who fulfills the function of intercessor. It is this meaning of "advocate-defender" that now interests us, while not forgetting that some Fathers of the Church use Parakletos in the sense of "Counselor" particularly in reference to the Holy Spirit's action in regard to the Church. For the present we shall speak of the Holy Spirit as the Paraclete-Advocate-Defender. This term enables us to grasp the close relationship between Christ's action and that of the Holy Spirit, as can be seen from a further analysis of John's text. 

When Jesus in the upper room, on the eve of his passion, announced the coming of the Holy Spirit, he did so in the following terms: "The Father will give you another Paraclete." These words indicate that Christ himself is the first Paraclete, and that the Holy Spirit's action will be like that of Christ and in a sense prolong it. 

Jesus Christ, indeed, was the "defender" and remains such. John himself will say so in his First Letter: "If anyone does sin, we have an advocate (parakletos) with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous" (1 Jn 2:1). 

The advocate (defender) is he who, taking the part of those who are guilty because of sin committed, defends them from the penalty due to their sins, and saves them from the danger of losing eternal life and salvation. This is precisely what Jesus Christ did. The Holy Spirit is called the Paraclete because he continues Christ's redemptive work which freed us from sin and eternal death. 

The Paraclete will be "another advocate-defender" also for a second reason. Remaining with Christ's disciples, he will watch over them with his omnipotent power. "I will pray the Father," Jesus said, "and he will give you another Paraclete to be with you forever" (Jn 14:16). "He dwells in you, and will be in you" (Jn 14:16). This promise must be taken together with the others made by Jesus when going to the Father: "I am with you always, to the close of the age" (Mt 28:20). We know that Christ is the Word who "became flesh and dwelt among us" (Jn 1:14). When going to the Father he said: "I am with you always, to the close of the age" (Mt 28:20). It follows that the apostles and the Church must continually find, by means of the Holy Spirit, that presence of the Word-Son which, during his earthly mission, was physical and visible in his incarnate humanity, but which, after his ascension to the Father, is completely immersed in mystery. The Holy Spirit's presence which, as Jesus said, is interior to souls and to the Church ("He dwells with you, and will be in you": Jn 14:17), will make the invisible Christ present in a lasting manner "until the end of the world." The transcendent unity of the Son and the Holy Spirit will ensure that Christ's humanity, assumed by the Word, will be present at work wherever the trinitarian plan of salvation is being put into effect through the power of the Father. 

The Holy Spirit-Paraclete will be the advocate-defender of the apostles, and of all those down through the centuries in the Church who will be the heirs of their witness and apostolate. This is especially so in difficult moments when they are tested to the point of heroism. This was Jesus' prophecy and promise: "They will deliver you up to councils...you will be dragged before governors and kings.... When they deliver you up, do not be anxious how you are to speak or what you are to say...for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you" (Mt 10:17-20; likewise Mk 13:11; Lk 12:12 says: "for the Holy Spirit will teach you in that hour what you ought to say"). 

Even in this very practical sense the Holy Spirit is the Paraclete-Advocate. He is close and even present to the apostles when they must profess the truth, justify it and defend it. He himself then inspires them. He himself speaks through their words, and together with them and through them he bears witness to Christ and his Gospel. Before their accusers he becomes the invisible advocate of the accused, by the fact that he acts as their counselor, defender and supporter. 

Especially during persecutions in all ages, those words of Jesus in the upper room are verified: "When the Paraclete comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father...he will bear witness to me; and you also are witnesses, because you have been with me from the beginning" (Jn 15:26-27). 

The action of the Holy Spirit is that of "bearing witness." It is an interior, "immanent" action in the hearts of the disciples, who then bear witness to Christ externally. Through that immanent presence and action, the transcendent power of the truth of Christ who is the Word-Truth and Wisdom, is manifested and advances in the world. From him, through the Spirit, the apostles obtained the power to bear witness according to his promise: "I will give you a mouth of wisdom, which none of your adversaries will be able to withstand or contradict" (Lk 21:15). This happened already in the case of the first martyr Stephen, of whom we read in the Acts of the Apostles that he was "full of the Holy Spirit" (6:5). His adversaries "could not withstand the wisdom and the spirit with which he spoke" (Acts 6:10). Also in the following centuries the opponents of the Christians continued to rage against the heralds of the Gospel. At times they stifled the Christians' voice in their blood, but without succeeding in suffocating the truth of which they were the messengers. That truth continued to flourish in the world through the power of the Spirit. 

The Holy Spirit—the Spirit of truth, the Paraclete—is he who according to the words of Christ, "will convince the world of sin and of righteousness and of judgment" (Jn 16:8). Jesus' own explanation of these terms is significant: "Sin" signifies the lack of faith that Jesus met with among "his own," those of his own people who arrived at the point of condemning him to death on a cross. In speaking of "righteousness," Jesus seems to have in mind that definitive righteousness which the Father will confer upon him ("...because I go to the Father") in the resurrection and ascension into heaven. In this context "judgment" means that the Spirit of truth will demonstrate the guilt of the world in rejecting Christ, or more generally, in turning its back upon God. Because Christ did not come into the world to judge and condemn it but to save it, then in actual fact that "convincing the world of sin" on the part of the Spirit of truth must be understood as an intervention directed to the salvation of the world, to the ultimate good of humanity. 

"Judgment" refers particularly to the "prince of this world," namely, Satan. From the very beginning he tried to turn the work of creation against the covenant and union of man with God: knowingly he opposes salvation. Therefore, he "is already judged" from the beginning, as I explained in the encyclical Dominum et Vivificantem (n. 27). 

If the Holy Spirit, the Paraclete, is to convince the world precisely of this "judgment," undoubtedly he does so to continue Christ's work aimed at universal salvation. 

We can therefore conclude that in bearing witness to Christ, the Paraclete is an assiduous (though invisible) advocate and defender of the work of salvation, and of all those engaged in this work. He is also the guarantor of the definitive triumph over sin and over the world subjected to sin, in order to free it from sin and introduce it into the way of salvation.

[Pope John Paul II, General Audience, 24 May 1989]

This Sunday’s Gospel passage (cf. Jn 14:15-21) presents two messages: observance of the commandments and the promise of the Holy Spirit.

Jesus links love for him to observance of the commandments, and he insists on this in his farewell discourse: “If you love me, then you will keep my commandments” (v. 15); “He who has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me” (v. 21). Jesus asks us to love him, but explains: this love does not end in a desire for him, or in a feeling, no; it demands the willingness to follow his way, that is, the will of the Father. And this is summarized in the commandment of mutual love — the first love [in its fulfillment] — given by Jesus himself: “even as I have loved you, that  you also  love one another” (Jn 13:34). He did not say, ‘Love me as I have loved you’, but ‘love one another as I have loved you’. He loves us without asking us to do the same in return. Jesus’ love is a gratuitous love; he never asks for the same in return. And he wants this gratuitous love of his to become the concrete form of life among us: this is his will.

To help the disciples walk this path, Jesus promises to pray for the Father to send “another Counselor” (v. 16), that is, a Consoler, a Defender, who will take his place and give them the intelligence to listen and the courage to observe his words. This is the Holy Spirit, who is the Gift of God’s love that descends into the heart of the Christian. After Jesus has died and risen, his love is given to those who believe in him and are baptized in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit himself guides them, enlightens them, strengthens them, so that everyone may walk in life, even through adversity and difficulty, in joys and sorrows, remaining on Jesus’ path. This is possible precisely by remaining docile to the Holy Spirit, so that, through his presence at work in us, he may not only console but transform hearts, opening them up to truth and love.

Faced with the experience of error and sin — which we all do — the Holy Spirit helps us not to succumb and enables us to grasp and fully live the meaning of Jesus’ words: “If you love me, you will keep my commandments” (v. 15). The commandments are not given to us as a kind of mirror in which to see the reflection of our miseries, our inconsistencies. No, they are not like that. The Word of God is given to us as the Word of life, which transforms the heart, life; which renews, which does not judge in order to condemn, but heals and has forgiveness as its aim. God’s mercy is thus. A Word that is light for our steps. All this is the work of the Holy Spirit! He is the Gift of God; he is God himself, who helps us to be free people, people who want and know how to love, people who understand that life is a mission to proclaim the wonders that the Lord accomplishes in those who trust in him.

May the Virgin Mary, model of the Church, who knows how to listen to the Word of God and to welcome the gift of the Holy Spirit, help us to live the Gospel with joy, knowing that we are sustained by the Spirit, the divine fire that warms our hearts and illuminates our steps.

[Pope Francis, Regina Coeli, 17 May 2020]

(Jn 15:18-21)

 

In the preceding section, Jesus denotes the character of love between Him and the disciples, and mutual love between believers. Now he introduces the contrast with the world: the opposite of love.

In Jn the term «world» designates the sin structure resulting from the combination of religion-power-interest.

A kingdom that organises itself from ambitious individuals and interests consortia.

From the earliest times, the wrong-side, the opposite road, became constitutive of the «sons». In this way, the configuration of the kingdom was becoming alternative thing; a reversal.

The well-established and praised models did not distract sisters and brothers of Faith. The new assemblies educated everyone to gain confidence in personal Vocation.

Their experience, even mystical one, had another criterion compared to hosannas and leashed quietism.

In the fourth Gospel the ‘Church’ [Jn never uses the specific term, Εκκλησία] is in watermark the opposite of the «world».

The worldly spirit of official religiosity already hated the very friends whom Christ had drawn «from» those polluted waters:

«If you were from the world [...] For you are not from the world, but I have chosen you from the world, therefore the world hates you» (v.19).

 

The first experience of the Johannine communities in Asia Minor was persecution.

In event after event, the oppression suffered became normal for the believer ones, because that world there loved only "its" followers: «the world would love its own» (v.19), i.e. that and those in whom it recognizes itself.

Instead, by their living Faith, the friends of Christ remained 'intimate'; strangers to every apparatus.

In their choices and conduct, they reflected a unique convivial lifestyle - humanizing far more than any normal, servile beliefs.

With their action derived from inner strength alone, they prefigured a germ of non-conformist society. This, in comparison to the ideology of power - and its having-appearing.

In such a way, the Lord's brethren bore witness against «the sin of the world» (cf. John 1:29) just as the Lamb of God had done.

Although doomed for defeat, the true believers operated in an eccentric manner; never obsequious.

The detachment was with the official devotional structures, always deferential, cowardly; well disposed to the sacralization of established roles.

 

In short, the disciples of all times «know» the Son and the Father; the world ignores and disowns them (v.21).

So «There is no greater servant than his Lord» (v.20).

Believers drink from the same Chalice [cup], proclaim the same truths: they cannot have a better fate.

The intensification of evil-against is inevitable.

«All these things shall they do against you because of my Name» (v.21).

Jesus lived amidst denunciations, contrasts, animosities, persecutions, and died as a punished and reduced to shame rebel.

This is the reality of the «Name».

What can be expected differently from the heirs of his Word, from the bearers of the same Appeal that led the Master to be destroyed by the official authorities?

Yet the simple people of the earth have never rejected Him.

And now more than ever it is necessary for the vital germ of that calm and dramatic testimony to continue.

 

 

[Saturday 5th wk. in Easter, May 9, 2026]

(Jn 15:18-21)

 

He who is a master of love, who liked to speak of love, speaks of hate. But he liked to call things by the proper name they have [Pope Francis].

Culture today reflects a 'tension', which sometimes takes the form of 'conflict', between the present and tradition. The dynamic of society absolutizes the present, detaching it from the cultural heritage of the past and without the intention of delineating a future [...] In fact, a people, which ceases to know what its own truth is, ends up lost in the labyrinths of time and history, lacking clearly defined values and without clearly stated great goals [Pope Benedict].

 

In the preceding section Jesus denotes the character of the love between Him and the disciples and the mutual love between believers. Now he introduces the contrast with the world: the opposite of love.

In Jn the term 'world' designates the structure of sin resulting from the union of religion power interest.

Tradition that is organised from ambitious individuals and entanglements; networks of amateurs, circumstantial tunes, cliques.

From the earliest times, the converse became conversely constitutive of sons! In this way, the configuration of the Kingdom was an alternative, a reversal.

Well-established and praised models did not distract the brethren of Faith. The new assemblies educated to gain security in the personal Vocation.

Their experience, even their mystical experience, had another distinction from the hosannas and leashed quietism of empire and religions.

In the Fourth Gospel the 'Church' [in Jn the specific term Εκκλησία is never used] is in watermark the opposite of the 'world'.

The worldly spirit of official religiosity already hated the friends that Christ had drawn "from" those polluted waters:

"If you were of the world [...] For you are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hates you" (v.19).

 

The first experience of the Johannine communities in Asia Minor was persecution.

In episode after episode, the oppression suffered became normal for the believer, because that world there loved only 'its own': 'the world would love its own' (v.19 Greek text), that is, that and those in whom it recognises itself.

Instead, by their living Faith the friends of Christ remained 'intimate'; strangers to every apparatus.

In their choices and conduct, they reflected a unique convivial lifestyle - humanising far more than any normal, cowardly belief.

By their action derived from inner strength alone, they prefigured a germ of a non-conformist society. This compared with the ideology of power - and its having-appeared.

Thus the Lord's friends bore witness against "the sin of the world" (cf. Jn 1:29) just as the Lamb of God had done.

Though destined for defeat, the true believers operated eccentrically; never servile.

The detachment was with the official devout structures, always deferential, cowardly; well disposed to the sacralisation of established roles.

 

In short, the disciples of all times 'know' the Son and the Father; the world disowns them (v.21).

Thus "there is no greater servant than his Lord" (v.20).

The believer drinks from the same cup, proclaims the same truths: he cannot have a better fate.

The intensification of evil-doing is inevitable.

"All these things will they do against you because of my Name" (v.21).

Jesus lived amidst denunciations, contrasts, animosity, persecutions, and died as a rebel punished and shamed. This is the reality of the 'Name'.

What can one expect differently from the heirs of his Word, from the bearers of the same Appeal that led the Master to be destroyed by the official authorities?

Yet the simple of the earth have never rejected it.

And now more than ever it is necessary for the vital seed of that quiet and dramatic witness to continue.

 

John helps the communities of Asia Minor to understand their own identity and destiny as a mocker, without, however, stopping at the subject of persecution.

Our Way runs parallel to the Master's not only because it is disinterested in visible results and punctuated by wounds.

In the panorama of the various creeds according to worldly currents, it is to be taken into account that the proposal of Jesus creates divisions, antipathy; because it seems an absurdity compared to the ordinary path.

Not only is the witness of the Crucified not reducible to platitudes of lordship, turnabout and social theatre.

Evangelisers make a difference from the abbecedarian of 'spiritual' obviousness as a paradigm.

Precisely, the world does not know the Father (v.21): it loves and understands only what is its own (v.19).

It is impossible to grasp the idea that only those who risk understand God; that only depth, reciprocity and equal dignity make Him Present.

 

As for the specifics of the humanising proposal, in the Spirit:

It seems absurd that one can be "in the presence" of the Mystery not starting from perfection, but from Grace. Not from the optimal condition, but from the borderline situation. Not by the obligation that is fulfilled (and equal for all) but by the eccentric Calling by Name.

In the life of Communion with Heaven and our neighbour, we do not spring from upstream judgements, procedures, or already solid platforms, but from our accepted neediness.

Proposal that neither abolishes nor ignores what is divinising and human.

It is a bombshell, of course. For sole servants - and without reward.

Forget the [detestable] 'world' with its quietism on a leash: it likes to self-define what is e.g. 'respectable', 'justice', 'spirit', 'relaxation'... and even 'beauty'!

Emptiness - a kind of 'woke' situationism - that does not regenerate the deep nature of souls, nor the world.

 

 

To internalise and live the message:

 

Do you lock yourself into theatrics where the mask eclipses yourself?

Do you opt for the wide and familiar road?

Do you prefer paths of easy self-righteousness or the Way of Faith in the Crucified One, the Way of Love's snub and imbalance?

Today’s culture is in fact permeated by a “tension” which at times takes the form of a “conflict” between the present and tradition. The dynamic movement of society gives absolute value to the present, isolating it from the cultural legacy of the past, without attempting to trace a path for the future. This emphasis on the “present” as a source of inspiration for the meaning of life, both individual and social, nonetheless clashes with the powerful cultural tradition of the Portuguese people, deeply marked by the millenary influence of Christianity and by a sense of global responsibility. This came to the fore in the adventure of the Discoveries and in the missionary zeal which shared the gift of faith with other peoples. The Christian ideal of universality and fraternity inspired this common adventure, even though influences from the Enlightenment and laicism also made themselves felt. This tradition gave rise to what could be called a “wisdom”, that is to say, an understanding of life and history which included a corpus of ethical values and an “ideal” to be realized by Portugal, which has always sought to establish relations with the rest of the world.

The Church appears as the champion of a healthy and lofty tradition, whose rich contribution she sets at the service of society. Society continues to respect and appreciate her service to the common good but distances itself from that “wisdom” which is part of her legacy. This “conflict” between tradition and the present finds expression in the crisis of truth, yet only truth can provide direction and trace the path of a fulfilled existence both for individuals and for a people. Indeed, a people no longer conscious of its own truth ends up by being lost in the maze of time and history, deprived of clearly defined values and lacking great and clearly formulated goals. Dear friends, much still needs to be learned about the form in which the Church takes her place in the world, helping society to understand that the proclamation of truth is a service which she offers to society, and opening new horizons for the future, horizons of grandeur and dignity. The Church, in effect, has “a mission of truth to accomplish, in every time and circumstance, for a society that is attuned to man, to his dignity, to his vocation. […] Fidelity to man requires fidelity to the truth, which alone is the guarantee of freedom (cf. Jn 8:32) and of the possibility of integral human development. For this reason the Church searches for truth, proclaims it tirelessly and recognizes it wherever it is manifested. This mission of truth is something that the Church can never renounce” (Caritas in Veritate, 9). For a society made up mainly of Catholics, and whose culture has been profoundly marked by Christianity, the search for truth apart from Christ proves dramatic. For Christians, Truth is divine; it is the eternal “Logos” which found human expression in Jesus Christ, who could objectively state: “I am the truth” (Jn 14:6). The Church, in her adherence to the eternal character of truth, is in the process of learning how to live with respect for other “truths” and for the truth of others. Through this respect, open to dialogue, new doors can be opened to the transmission of truth.

“The Church – wrote Pope Paul VI – must enter into dialogue with the world in which she lives. The Church becomes word, she becomes message, she becomes dialogue” (Ecclesiam Suam, 67). Dialogue, without ambiguity and marked by respect for those taking part, is a priority in today’s world, and the Church does not intend to withdraw from it. A testimony to this is the Holy See’s presence in several international organizations, as for example her presence at the Council of Europe’s North-South Centre, established 20 years ago here in Lisbon, which is focused on intercultural dialogue with a view to promoting cooperation between Europe, the southern Mediterranean and Africa, and building a global citizenship based on human rights and civic responsibility, independent of ethnic origin or political allegiance, and respectful of religious beliefs. Given the reality of cultural diversity, people need not only to accept the existence of the culture of others, but also to aspire to be enriched by it and to offer to it whatever they possess that is good, true and beautiful.

Ours is a time which calls for the best of our efforts, prophetic courage and a renewed capacity to “point out new worlds to the world”, to use the words of your national poet (Luís de Camões, Os Lusíades, II, 45). You who are representatives of culture in all its forms, forgers of thought and opinion, “thanks to your talent, have the opportunity to speak to the heart of humanity, to touch individual and collective sensibilities, to call forth dreams and hopes, to broaden the horizons of knowledge and of human engagement. […] Do not be afraid to approach the first and last source of beauty, to enter into dialogue with believers, with those who, like yourselves, consider that they are pilgrims in this world and in history towards infinite Beauty!” (Address to Artists, 21 November 2009).

Precisely so as “to place the modern world in contact with the life-giving and perennial energies of the Gospel” (John XXIII, Apostolic Constitution Humanae Salutis, 3), the Second Vatican Council was convened. There the Church, on the basis of a renewed awareness of the Catholic tradition, took seriously and discerned, transformed and overcame the fundamental critiques that gave rise to the modern world, the Reformation and the Enlightenment. In this way the Church herself accepted and refashioned the best of the requirements of modernity by transcending them on the one hand, and on the other by avoiding their errors and dead ends. The Council laid the foundation for an authentic Catholic renewal and for a new civilization – “the civilization of love” – as an evangelical service to man and society.

Dear friends, the Church considers that her most important mission in today’s culture is to keep alive the search for truth, and consequently for God; to bring people to look beyond penultimate realities and to seek those that are ultimate. I invite you to deepen your knowledge of God as he has revealed himself in Jesus Christ for our complete fulfilment. Produce beautiful things, but above all make your lives places of beauty. May Our Lady of Belém intercede for you, she who has been venerated down through the centuries by navigators, and is venerated today by the navigators of Goodness, Truth and Beauty.

[Pope Benedict, meeting with the world of culture, Lisbon 12 May 2010]

37. The Church of the first millennium was born of the blood of the martyrs: "Sanguis martyrum - semen christianorum". The historical events linked to the figure of Constantine the Great could never have ensured the development of the Church as it occurred during the first millennium if it had not been for the seeds sown by the martyrs and the heritage of sanctity which marked the first Christian generations. At the end of the second millennium, the Church has once again become a Church of martyrs. The persecutions of believers —priests, Religious and laity—has caused a great sowing of martyrdom in different parts of the world. The witness to Christ borne even to the shedding of blood has become a common inheritance of Catholics, Orthodox, Anglicans and Protestants, as Pope Paul VI pointed out in his Homily for the Canonization of the Ugandan Martyrs.

This witness must not be forgotten. The Church of the first centuries, although facing considerable organizational difficulties, took care to write down in special martyrologies the witness of the martyrs. These martyrologies have been constantly updated through the centuries, and the register of the saints and the blessed bears the names not only of those who have shed their blood for Christ but also of teachers of the faith, missionaries, confessors, bishops, priests, virgins, married couples, widows and children.

In our own century the martyrs have returned, many of them nameless, "unknown soldiers" as it were of God's great cause.

[Tertio Millennio Adveniente]

Christians are persecuted today more than at the beginning of the history of Christianity. The root cause of all persecution is the hatred of the prince of the world towards those who have been saved and redeemed by Jesus through his death and resurrection. The only weapons to defend themselves are the word of God, humility and meekness.

Also this morning, Saturday 4 May, Pope Francis pointed out a way forward to learn how to untangle the pitfalls of the world. Insidies that, he explained in the homily of the Mass celebrated in the chapel of the Domus Sanctae Marthae, are the work of the "devil", "prince of the world", "spirit of the world".

The Pope, commenting on the day's readings taken from the Acts of the Apostles (16:1-10) and the Gospel of John (15:18-21), focused his reflection on hatred "a strong word - he stressed - used by Jesus. Hatred indeed. He who is a master of love, who liked to speak of love so much, speaks of hate'. But "he," he explained, "liked to call things by the proper name they have. And he tells us 'Do not be afraid! The world will hate you. Know that before you he hated me'. And he also reminds us of what he may have said on another occasion to the disciples: 'remember the word that I have spoken to you: a servant is not greater than his master. If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you'. The way of Christians is the way of Jesus'. To follow him there is no other. One of those marked by Jesus, the Holy Father pointed out, "is a consequence of the hatred of the world and also of the prince of this hatred in the world".

Jesus,' the Pontiff explained, 'chose us and "redeemed us. He has chosen us by pure grace. By his death and resurrection he redeemed us from the power of the world, from the power of the devil, from the power of the prince of this world. The origin of hatred is this: we are saved and that prince of the world, who does not want us to be saved, hates us and gives rise to the persecution that has continued from the early days of Jesus until today. So many Christian communities are persecuted in the world. In this time more than in the first times; eh! Today, now, in this day, in this hour. Why? But because the spirit of the world hates".

Usually persecution comes after a long, long road. "Let us think - Pope Francis suggested - of how the prince of the world wanted to deceive Jesus when he was in the desert: 'But be good! Are you hungry? Eat. You can do it'. He also invited him a little to vanity: 'Be good! You have come to save people. Save your time, go to the temple, throw yourself down and all the people will see this miracle and it is all over: you will have authority'. But let us consider this: Jesus never answered this prince with his words! Never. He was God. Never. He went, for the answer, to find the words of God and answered with the word of God'. A message for the man of today: "With the prince of this world you cannot converse. And let this be clear'. Dialogue is something else: 'it is necessary between us,' explained the bishop of Rome, 'it is necessary for peace. Dialogue is a habit, it is precisely an attitude that we must have among ourselves to hear each other, to understand each other. And it must always remain so. Dialogue comes from charity, from love. With that prince you cannot dialogue; you can only respond with the word of God that defends us'. The prince of the world, he reiterated, 'hates us. And as he did with Jesus he will do with us: 'But look, do this... it's a little scam... there's nothing to it... it's small' and so he starts to take us down a slightly unjust road. It starts with small things, then begins with flattery and with it "softens us up" until "we fall into the trap. Jesus told us: "I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Be prudent, but simple'. But if we allow ourselves to be taken in by the spirit of vanity and think we can fight the wolves by making ourselves wolves, 'they will eat you alive'. Because if you stop being a sheep, you have no shepherd to defend you and you fall into the hands of these wolves. You might ask: "Father, but what is the weapon to defend oneself against these seductions, these fireworks that the prince of this world makes, against his flatteries?" The weapon is the same as Jesus': the word of God, and then humility and meekness. Let us think of Jesus when he was slapped: what humility, what meekness. He could have insulted and instead asked only a humble and meek question. Let us think of Jesus in his passion. The prophet says of him "like a sheep going to the slaughterhouse, he cries out nothing". Humility. Humility and meekness: these are the weapons that the prince of the world, the spirit of the world does not tolerate, because his proposals are of worldly power, proposals of vanity, proposals of riches. Humility and meekness does not tolerate them'. Jesus is meek and humble of heart and 'today,' he said as he drew to a conclusion, 'it makes us think of this hatred of the prince of the world against us, against the followers of Jesus'. And let us think about the weapons we have to defend ourselves: "let us always remain sheep, because then we will have a shepherd to defend us".

[Pope Francis, S. Marta homily, in L'Osservatore Romano 05/05/2013]

(Jn 15:9-17)

 

Jesus has just used the image of the vineyard to configure the character of the new people and the circulation of life with those who believe in Him.

The allegory of the vine and the branches is now translated into existential terms.

The propagation of divine dynamism in us gives rise to a current and communication of love. The movement of authentic love Comes to us.

It is an uninterrupted flow of resemblances of the divine condition. Transparent syntony with generative value, brought by the Son: «as» and «because» [I have loved you] (v.12 Greek text).

Mirthfulness that flows from this will not be one of euphoria or exaltation: it is the result of an awareness that combines the divine proposal of non-possessive Similarity with our capacity to welcome - not detach ourselves.

Abiding in the Father-Son circulation of love, we are enveloped by a Happiness that senses the meaning and uniqueness of our seed, and changes the way we see life, suffering, relationships and joy.

«Greater love hath no man than this, that one lay down his life for his friends» (v.13).

Difference between religiosity and Faith? Friendship, which is stronger than both cerebral alchemy and voluntarism.

The Friend shares intents, cultivates communion of life.

The «servant» (v.15) remains unreliable and rancorous, because he is a mere executor of other people’s orders - which do not concern the irreducible hidden roots, the Source from which the heart draws and which belongs to him (v.16).

In this way, the trustworthy Friend is happy not only when he realizes himself, but also when he can expand and brighten the life of his beloved.

And he willingly ousts himself from the first seat in favour of the beloved.

 

John does not speak of love of enemies as Mt 5 does in the Sermon on the Mount, rather he insists on mutual love within the community of believers, as a relationship with the divine life itself.

Here we note a particular concern for individual persons and the atmosphere among friends of Faith, who must first themselves embody the spirit of selflessness and truth they preach to others.

The Lord does not ask for 'fruits' [multiple external works, often tinged with exhibitionism] but only one 'work': Love without duplicity, qualms, dissociations.

In the unique and unprecedented personalization of the «Fruit» (v.16), Christ does not remain a Model to be imitated, but a real Life that continues in us.

The only tiger in the engine: by inviting the mystery of the our founding Eros that dilates the Ego into the You:

In Friendship; in the opposing feelings that surface; in the growing unity of thought and aspirations; in the people who draw near; in the communion of desire and circumstances... the wills unite.

In this divine-human Empathy [which is more persuasive than voluntarism] the codes of behavior, the extrinsic, external, extraneous project, to which (previously) one had to bow, now weave a dialogue.

Finally, they come together - by 'Name' [a term that in the Gospels indicates in particular the rawness of the Lord's true story, as well as our personal interpretation and actualisation of it].

Here is up the ignition and the pouring out of Communion, on a high ground of understanding; without hidden conflicts. And without servitude.

 

In short, in the Ideal as in the Dream we prefer Friendship.

And we tread the Way of Faith in the Crucified - that of the setback and imbalance of love.

 

 

[Friday 5th week in Easter, May 8, 2026]