The Word God Spells

John 16:12-15
Acts 17:15.22–18:1 / Ps 148

When he comes, the Spirit of Truth, he will guide you to all truth.
John 16:13

The Holy Spirit is our Guide
To learn God’s ways and share His Truth;
May Jesus’ Name be magnified
When we begin to bear much fruit.

At the Last Supper, Jesus told His apostles, “I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on His own; He will speak only what He hears, and He will tell you what is yet to come. He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you. All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will take from what is mine and make it known to you.”

Reflection

Jesus said the Spirit of Truth “will guide you to all truth. . . and will declare to you the things that are coming.” (Jn.16:13) We see this in and take inspiration from one of His greatest early missionaries, St. Paul, the ‘Apostle to the Gentiles’. In the first reading, he boldly proclaimed to the pagan Greeks their “Unknown God” Who “gives to everyone life and breath and everything.” (Acts 17:23,25) He also preached to them the Gospel of repentance and Christ’s resurrection, which were totally alien to most of them. But St. Paul’s boldness and wisdom converted a big number in Athens.

Wisdom, knowledge, understanding, and discernment. These are the most impor-tant gifts of the Holy Spirit that we can acquire if we follow all of God’s biddings. They are vital aspirations because these “fruit of the Holy Spirit” will guide us, and assure our passage into eternal life. We can understand the power that drove St. Paul to proclaim the Good News so boldly among the pagan nations of his time. Indeed, he was chosen by God for his courage, zeal and erudition. But his spiritual formation did not take place overnight (as his transformation did). He probably went through many years studying the Scriptures as a pharisee and afterwards as Christ’s follower. That was why it was so easy for the Holy Spirit to work on him.

Whenever I am privileged to proclaim the Word of God in our Brotherhood’s Christian Life Program seminars, or in the ‘Days With The Lord’ sessions for young men, or share my life testimony in BCBP breakfast fellowships, the joy and power of the Holy Spirit never fails to leave me fulfilled and envigorated afterwards. I cannot help but praise God for His love and benevolence. There is no joy greater than cooperating with His Spirit of Truth, Who gives me the words to speak, whether in English, Tagalog or Cebuano.

Holy Spirit, fill us with the desire to proclaim Jesus as our Lord and Savior, and grant us the graces of courage and wisdom to help us in this endeavor. Amen.