4th Sunday after Easter

 

Christ has been with the Apostles since the Resurrection, teaching them what He wants them to know. He tells them that in a few days, they won't see Him anymore, but that He would be sending them another teacher, the Holy Spirit. This 'Teacher' will help them in everything, and remind them all that Jesus taught. This will be passed down through the ages, being the oral 'Tradition' that Scripture tells us about. They will set up the Church, make the rules that will be our guide to salvation. The Church will NOT be going into hiding for 1500+ years, but will be the bulwark which will steer the world right. The Sacraments will be set up. They will be the visible signs of the unity of the Church.

 

Our beloved Abbot Gueranger, who always seems to have the right words, speaks: "...the Sacraments, being visible signs, are an additional bond of union between these members of the Church: we say additional, because these members have the two other strong links of union--submission to Peter and to the pastors sent by him and profession of the same Faith. The Holy Ghost tells us, in the sacred Volume, that a threefold cord is not easily broken.(Eccles. iv: 12). Now we have such a one; and it keeps us in the glorious unity of the Church: hierarchy, dogma, and sacraments; all contribute to make us one Body. The risen Jesus has set the number of these Sacraments at seven, the seven Pillars of the Faith(Prov. ix: i)...Turning our eyes to the kingdom of satan, we see him mimicking God's work, and setting up a 'seven' of his own. Seven capital and deadly sins are the instruments whereby he makes man his slave." They are as follows: wrath, greed, sloth, pride, lust, envy, and gluttony. (Who hasn't been a slave to at least one of these?)

When our Lord in this week's reading from St. John's Gospel tells the Apostles about the Holy Ghost, Who is to come and 'convince the world of sin', He also shows them how awful and terrible this Coming will be to them who have rejected the Messias. St. Augustine, the Doctor of doctors, explains: "When the Holy Ghost is come, He will convince the world of sin, because they have not believed in Me. How great must, indeed, be the responsibility of them that have been witnesses of Jesus' wonderful works, and yet will not receive His teaching! Jerusalem will be told that the Holy Ghost has come down upon the disciples: and she will receive the news with the same indifference as she did the miracles which proved Jesus to be her Messias. The coming of the Holy Ghost will serve as a sort of signal of the destruction of the 'deicide' city. Jesus adds: "The Paraclete will convince the world of justice, because I go to the Father, and ye shall see me no longer." The Apostles, and they that believe their word, shall be just and holy by Faith: they will believe in Him that is gone to the Father--in Him Whom they are to see no longer in this world. Jerusalem, on the contrary, will remember Him only to blaspheme Him: the holiness, the Faith, the justice of them that shall believe, will be her condemnation, and the Holy Ghost will leave her to her fate. Jesus continues: "The Paraclete will convince the world of judgment, because the prince of this world is already judged."

They that follow not Christ Jesus, follow Satan: he is their prince, but his judgment is already pronounced. The Holy Ghost warns the followers of the world that their leader is already in eternal torments. Let them reflect well upon this; for, the pride of man has no right to reckon upon indulgence; let it but think of the hell into which even the angels were cast because they were proud."

I will end with the Antiphon of the Magnificat for this day:

I go to Him that sent me: but because I have spoken these things unto you, sorrow hath filled your heart.

O God, Who makes the faithful to be of one mind, grant that thy people may love what Thou commands, and desire what thou promises: that, amidst the uncertainties of this world, we may place our affections where there are true joys.