Sixth Sunday of Easter May 17, 2020

I once heard it said that you should never believe a promise made by anyone who is inebriated, in love, or running for political office though I’m not too sure about the “in love” part. But, promises are only as good as the One who gives them. When a real promise is made, one is bound to keep it.

When God binds himself, it is with absolute freedom and fidelity. God is infinitely faithful to his promises. Jesus makes just such a promise in today’s Gospel reading. The Holy Spirit will be sent to us, to be with us always and “on that day,” Jesus says, “you will realize that I am in my Father and you are in me and I in you.”

The promised Holy Spirit is freely given to us at our Baptism and sealed and strengthened at our Confirmation. Jesus’s promise of the Divine Indwelling reveals something truly amazing.

That deep within us all there is a hidden inner sanctuary of the soul, a holy place, a Divine Center to which we may continuously return.

To pray is to participate in the Eternal; to immerse ourselves in the self-giving, self-emptying love of the Holy Trinity. Prayer is our response to God's invitation to enter into a relationship of mutual love.

In an interview once given by St. Mother Theresa of Calcutta, she was asked what she said to God in her prayers. She replied, "I listen." When the interviewer asked what God said to her in reply, she responded, "He listens." This reveals an awesome dimension of the Reality of God.

In prayer, dear friends in Christ, you “listen in” as the Father and Son speak their word of love within you. You enter the space of the Holy Spirit, whose Temple you are, the Divine Center within.

As Jesus explained in the Gospel, the Father and the Son are not just up or out there someplace.

Though it may seem incomprehensible, though you may not think yourself worthy,(who is?):the truth remains that you are a place where God has chosen to dwell. St. Teresa of Avila wrote, “All difficulties in prayer can be traced to one cause: praying as if God were absent.”When we turn to God in prayer,

The Spirit prays within us even if we encounter difficulties or do not always know how we should pray. The Spirit is our Advocate who makes our petitions known to the Father according to his will. Thus we are assured that “He Listens.”

Echoing the words of Christ, St. Paul instructs us that God’s Love has been poured forth into our hearts through the Holy Spirit. Openness and surrender to the Spirit within reveals God’s Presence in our lives.

The Spirit is God in you who loves God in return. The Spirit is God through you who loves God in others. And the Spirit is God for you that assures you that you are loved. And, by the way, just as you are, no strings attached. The Holy Spirit will always gives us more than we expect.

Christ gave the Church his Sacraments and his Word to be encounters with the living Spirit of God. And when we turn to him in the silence of our hearts, we experience the fullness and the riches of those encounters; transforming us, healing us, imparting meaning and dignity to our lives.

We affirm this every Sunday when we rise as one to proclaim our Creed. The Holy Spirit is the Giver of Life who proceeds from the perfect Love between the Father and the Son.

Jesus teaches us today to keep his commandment of love; for God, for ourselves, and for one another. He invites us to trust in his promise rob send us the Spirit, fully present, energizing every level of our being.

When we set time aside each day to pray, we open up the space for God to dwell; Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Over time, we gradually discover the fulfillment of Christ’s promise: ‘If anyone loves me, he will keep my word and my Father and I will come to him and make our dwelling with him.”

Thus is his Presence made known, here with us now, here at his table of Word and Sacrament, here in every moment of our lives, here in every breath we take, here in the deepest center of our being,

Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and enkindle in them the Fire of your Love.

May God continue to bless you, keep you safe, and reveal his Loving Presence to you always.

Deacon Paul May 17, 2020