For 28 May 2025, Wednesday of the 6th week of Easter, based on John 16:12-15
Jesus said to his disciples: ‘I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own, but will speak whatever he hears, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me, because he will take what is mine and declare it to you. All that the Father has is mine. For this reason I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.
————–
The first words Jesus pronounced in today’s selection from the Gospel of John caught my attention. He told his disciples: “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. When the Holy Spirit is given to you he will guide you. This tells us that there is a ‘now’ and a ‘later’, that is, we are on a journey. Easter time seen as a liturgical Season is a journey. Our life also can be seen as a Pascal journey. We have already walked quite a bit of the Easter Season. In fact we are nearing its end. We hope that our Pascal Life journey will be long, holy and fruitful, full of God’s blessings.
We can say that Easter Season started on Maundy Thursday, a day in which we are reminded that Jesus, knowing that he had to face a cruel death, as a testimony of his immense love for His Father and us (He said: “No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends” – Jn 15, 13) he created a way with which He could be truly present among us, offering himself as food for our Pascal Journey, and as Service through his human ministers; the Eucharist and Priesthood. This is where the Easter journey, started. Resurrection itself was not far away, only a couple of days. However, Jesus, always a creator, prepared a way for us to be able to walk our Pascal Life journey with Him.
John the Apostle gave us a long and beautiful farewell discourse that Jesus pronounced at the end of the Easter meal with his disciples and just a couple of hours before the beginning of his passion, with a lot of suffering and a cruel death that was intended to end Christ’s presence among us. But Jesus Resurrected and gave us, who are saddened by the certainty of our death, a sure hope of immortality to come at the end of our journey on earth. Our liturgy tells us: “For your faithful, Lord, life is changed not ended”. In him the hope of a blessed resurrection has dawned. As somebody wrote: “No resurrection is possible if there is not first a death”.
Thus, as we walk our Pascal journey, our big brother and Lord encourages us. Jesus tells us: “Let not your hearts be troubled;… In my Father’s house are many rooms; … When I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, so that where I am you may be also” (Jn 14, 1-3). Jesus did not say this only for the apostles who were with him during the Last Supper. Remember that in his priestly prayer Jesus told his and our Father: “I do not pray for these only, but also for those who believe in me through their word, that they may all be one (Jn 17, 20-21). So we know where our Journey will lead us, to Our Father’s home, Our Home.
Our journey will not be an easy one. Jesus told us: “Very truly, I tell you, you will weep and mourn, but the world will rejoice; you will have pain, but your pain will turn into joy. So you have pain now; but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you” (Jn 16, 20-22).
Jesus gave us food for our Journey, the Eucharist.
He told what to do while on our journey. “I give you a new commandment” he told us, “love one another. As I have loved you, so you also should love one another. This is how all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” (Jn 13, 34-35).
He also gave us an Advocate, “the Counsellor, the Holy Spirit. He will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you”.
“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you; … Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid” (Jn 14, 26-27).
Along the way let us say to ourselves and tell all who would listen: “The Lord is risen. He is alive. He is walking with us. He is leading us home.
He also promised: “If a man loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.” … the word which you hear is not mine but the Father’s who sent me (Jn 14, 23-24). St. Paul reminds us that our body is a temple of the Holy Spirit which we have from God. You are not your own; you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body (cfr 1 Cor 6, 19-20).
This is our life journey, a Pascal journey. Let us then not travel alone, but as a family of believers who know that they are loved and that they are asked to share their love with all those who try to walk their Pascal life’s journey towards our Father’s embrace.
Scripture passage from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright 1989, 1993, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
About Costantino Mamo, OP
Cost is a friar of the province of Malta and is currently serving as a missionary in Durrës, Albania. More information can be found at his homepage at http://costmamo.blogspot.com/.
28 May 2025
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Jesus said to his disciples: ‘I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own, but will speak whatever he hears, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me, because he will take what is mine and declare it to you. All that the Father has is mine. For this reason I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.
————–
The first words Jesus pronounced in today’s selection from the Gospel of John caught my attention. He told his disciples: “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. When the Holy Spirit is given to you he will guide you. This tells us that there is a ‘now’ and a ‘later’, that is, we are on a journey. Easter time seen as a liturgical Season is a journey. Our life also can be seen as a Pascal journey. We have already walked quite a bit of the Easter Season. In fact we are nearing its end. We hope that our Pascal Life journey will be long, holy and fruitful, full of God’s blessings.
We can say that Easter Season started on Maundy Thursday, a day in which we are reminded that Jesus, knowing that he had to face a cruel death, as a testimony of his immense love for His Father and us (He said: “No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends” – Jn 15, 13) he created a way with which He could be truly present among us, offering himself as food for our Pascal Journey, and as Service through his human ministers; the Eucharist and Priesthood. This is where the Easter journey, started. Resurrection itself was not far away, only a couple of days. However, Jesus, always a creator, prepared a way for us to be able to walk our Pascal Life journey with Him.
John the Apostle gave us a long and beautiful farewell discourse that Jesus pronounced at the end of the Easter meal with his disciples and just a couple of hours before the beginning of his passion, with a lot of suffering and a cruel death that was intended to end Christ’s presence among us. But Jesus Resurrected and gave us, who are saddened by the certainty of our death, a sure hope of immortality to come at the end of our journey on earth. Our liturgy tells us: “For your faithful, Lord, life is changed not ended”. In him the hope of a blessed resurrection has dawned. As somebody wrote: “No resurrection is possible if there is not first a death”.
Thus, as we walk our Pascal journey, our big brother and Lord encourages us. Jesus tells us: “Let not your hearts be troubled;… In my Father’s house are many rooms; … When I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, so that where I am you may be also” (Jn 14, 1-3). Jesus did not say this only for the apostles who were with him during the Last Supper. Remember that in his priestly prayer Jesus told his and our Father: “I do not pray for these only, but also for those who believe in me through their word, that they may all be one (Jn 17, 20-21). So we know where our Journey will lead us, to Our Father’s home, Our Home.
Our journey will not be an easy one. Jesus told us: “Very truly, I tell you, you will weep and mourn, but the world will rejoice; you will have pain, but your pain will turn into joy. So you have pain now; but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you” (Jn 16, 20-22).
Jesus gave us food for our Journey, the Eucharist.
He told what to do while on our journey. “I give you a new commandment” he told us, “love one another. As I have loved you, so you also should love one another. This is how all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” (Jn 13, 34-35).
He also gave us an Advocate, “the Counsellor, the Holy Spirit. He will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you”.
“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you; … Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid” (Jn 14, 26-27).
Along the way let us say to ourselves and tell all who would listen: “The Lord is risen. He is alive. He is walking with us. He is leading us home.
He also promised: “If a man loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.” … the word which you hear is not mine but the Father’s who sent me (Jn 14, 23-24). St. Paul reminds us that our body is a temple of the Holy Spirit which we have from God. You are not your own; you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body (cfr 1 Cor 6, 19-20).
This is our life journey, a Pascal journey. Let us then not travel alone, but as a family of believers who know that they are loved and that they are asked to share their love with all those who try to walk their Pascal life’s journey towards our Father’s embrace.
Scripture passage from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright 1989, 1993, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
About Costantino Mamo, OP
Cost is a friar of the province of Malta and is currently serving as a missionary in Durrës, Albania. More information can be found at his homepage at http://costmamo.blogspot.com/.