Tuesday 6th week of Easter
"Jn 16:5-11"
"But now I am going to him who sent me; yet none of you asks me, 'Where are you going?' But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your hearts. Nevertheless I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Counsellor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. And when he comes, he will convince the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment."
It's to our advantage that You, Lord, have to go, because then we can receive the Holy Spirit. Nevertheless, sorrow fills the hearts of the Apostles when they realise that they won't be able to see You until the end of their lives, because they love You. I can well understand it. You are the Light. And our lives with You are like hiking in beautiful snow-capped mountains reflecting the brilliance of the sun. But when You aren't with us night falls: the same landscape is dark, solitary and devoid of all warmth.
One day in Rome, during an audience with Pope St John Paul II, a lady was greeting the Pontiff with her husband. After a brief introduction she took the hand of her husband, put it in the hands of the Pope and said, "Holy Father, could you say something to my husband?" And, to the poor man's embarrassment, she added, "He hasn't gone to Confession for a very long time." St John Paul II smiled at him, pressed that man's hand and, gazing affectionately into his eyes answered, "Go to Confession. It's so sad to be away from God!"
It is sad to live without God, especially when we have been created, not just to live with God but to be, in actual fact, his dwelling. That is the point: God isn't content by just being 'with us'; He wants to be 'in us'. When St Paul wanted to remind the Corinthians that they should strive to live according to moral law, he asked them, "Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, which you have from God?" (6:19) As if saying, 'Are you unaware of the most important truth about yourselves? Then, why don't you behave accordingly?'
Mary, my Mother, I am aware of it. The Holy Spirit wants to dwell in me and with your help, Spouse of the Holy Spirit, I will give Him a good 'accommodation'.
