We are ever drawing closer to the Lord’s Ascension into Heaven and the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. Our Gospel sums this up for us: “It is expedient to you that I go: for if I go not, the Paraclete will not come to you: but if I go, I will send Him to you.”
From this statement we can conclude that there is necessity found in His going to the Father. When Christ was present with His apostles He was the only help that they needed, but when He returned to His Father who is in Heaven the Holy Spirit was poured out upon them for they would now face many trials and tribulations. If it were not for the gift of the Holy Spirit it would of been impossible for the apostles to be sent forth with such evangelistic vigor.
Christ was God from the very beginning. There was never a time when He was not. He also took on our human flesh and came to dwell among us. It took time for Christ to be understood by His apostles as being God made Flesh. Therefore, no human can give the gift of the Holy Spirit. It is only God who can give such a gift. Once Christ returned to His Father in Heaven His divinity came to be known and therefore it was time to send forth the one who would guide them in all truth.
In our day and age there continues to be many trials and tribulations which come our way. Sadly, even something as important as truth seems to be so often shoved to the side. Nevertheless, it was Christ who stated: “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” We must allow ourself to never be led astray, but always continue to grasp this truth which has been extended to us within the deposit of faith. This truth which is protected by “the Spirit of truth.”
It was Saint Vincent of Lerins who wrote, “our concern is to preserve what has been believed everywhere and always and by all, for this is what is, in the true and authentic sense, Catholic.” It is easy for us to think that we know what is best, but we must always come to form our conscience after what has been handed down from the apostles and what is taught to us from the deposit of faith. We must be willing to be moved by the Holy Spirit who leads us in all truth even if that truth is difficult to conform to.
In our Gospel there is an urgency which is approaching for the Lord will soon no longer be with His apostles. Through this they are taught the important lesson that we are not meant for this world, but for the world which is to come. We must each strive for the Kingdom of Heaven instead of living for the here and now. It is truth which leads us towards Heaven, let us dare to follow after all which is truth in order to get there. This lesson was extended to the apostles for through our Lord’s going to Heaven they where separated from Him and thus their heart would long for Heaven. May we too long for the Kingdom of Heaven above all things.
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