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| THE HOLY SPIRIT: OUR GUIDE TO ALL TRUTH. Image from ourparishpriest.blogspot.com via google.com |
"I have much more to tell you,
but you cannot bear it now.
But when [the Holy Spirit] comes,
the Spirit of Truth,
He will guide you
to all truth."
When we hear people attack the Catholic Church, we wonder if they - and if these people are fellow Christians, if they truly - believe in the Holy Spirit, the very Spirit of Truth according to our Lord Jesus Christ. For if those who attack the Church truly believe in the Holy Spirit, they wouldn't be doing it since the Lord has promised Him, the Holy Spirit, to be the Advocate of the Church, the One to lead her into all truth, the One to remind her of all that He, the Lord Jesus Christ, has taught. And since He is the Spirit of Truth, He wouldn't lead us into error and lies.
Today we hear the Lord say to the Apostles that He have much more to tell them but since they couldn't bear it yet, He told them to wait for the Holy Spirit to teach them everything. And He did come on Pentecost day which gave birth to the Church and provided the Apostles and the other disciples the courage to bear witness to the Gospel [see Acts 2]. We shall discuss more about this when we reflect on the Descent of the Holy Spirit.
Unfortunately, there are people who deny that the Holy Spirit is with the Catholic Church. Many others even deny Him altogether. This should not amaze us anymore for the Lord himself warned us that the world will never believe in the Holy Spirit most especially since it cannot see or know Him [see John 14:17a]. In a world where the dictum to see is to believe rules, the reality of the Holy Spirit will always be greeted with a sarcastic smile or a shrug of the shoulders.
But for us who believe, for us who are children of the Father who has provided us with the grace of faith to believe in the Holy Spirit [see John 14:17b], we do know that He is ever present and truly guiding the Church [see Acts 15: 28-29]. With so many challenges which the Church has faced since the beginning, no believer could ever deny the fact of His presence. The Holy Spirit gave strength and steadfast faith to martyrs during the time of persecutions, the Holy Spirit enlightened the Fathers of the Church against heresies in the first centuries of the Church in order to purify the Faith, the Holy Spirit inspired men and women to live holy lives and continue to inspire many until now, the Holy Spirit made true the Lord's promise that even the gates of hell wouldn't be able to overcome the Church through the many attempts to destroy her, etc.
As we prepare for the coming of the Holy Spirit, let us ask the Father for the grace of docility, a virtue which enables us to be formed in Catholic Faith, that we may not be led to errors by others.
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