Bread on the Trail: Another Advocate
By Deacon Keith Fournier
© Third Millennium, LLC
"Jesus said to his disciples: "If you love me, you will keep my commandments.
And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate to be with you always, the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot accept, because it neither sees nor knows him. But you know him, because he remains with you, and will be in you. I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you. In a little while the world will no longer see me, but you will see me, because I live and you will live. On that day you will realize that I am in my Father and you are in me and I in you." (Jesus, the Gospel of St. John, Chapter 14)
"Just as the head and the body of a man form one single man, so the Son of the Virgin and those He has chosen to be His members form a single man and the one Son of Man. Christ is whole and entire, head and body, say the Scriptures…. This is the explanation of the Lord’s words: Father, I desire that as you and I are one, so they may be one with us…. What Christ is by His nature, we are as His partners; what he is of himself in all fullness, we are as participants." Blessed Isaac of Stella, Abbot
As we move through the Easter Season, to the Feast of the Ascension and into Pentecost, we are reminded in our Readings at the Divine Liturgy and in the Liturgy of the Hours, of the foundational role of the Holy Spirit in our lives. The Holy Spirit is our Advocate, drawing us into the very life of God. This experience of the Holy Spirit is at the heart of the Christian faith. We are all called into communion with God, in Jesus Christ; and with one another, in Jesus Christ, together, as Church, for the world. This dynamic relationship is intended to effect change both within us and around us as we move forward in the life of faith. This change is called conversion, and is accomplished through the work of the Holy Spirit who has been given to us as our "Advocate." Our experience of the Holy Spirit is, in some respects, enhanced through our own choices, the exercise of our human freedom. Though God is always at work in us, through His word, in His Sacraments and by the life of grace, we are invited to "participate" in that wonderful work, by choosing to walk with Him daily in a life of prayer that informs a lifestyle of living, dynamic faith.
The Church, as our mother and teacher, encourages us to use the multiple resources given to us: such as reading and praying the Sacred Scriptures, participating in the Daily Mass and the Liturgy of the Hours, practicing the various, and wonderful expressions of the rich piety of our Catholic faith, such as the rosary, that can become such helps in our life - but it is our choices that unlock the full experience, the full participation, that the Lord desires for each one of us. Prayer is not complicated. It is a conversation, an ongoing dialogue, with a living and loving God who invites us into the full communion of His very inner life. When we accept that invitation, He comes and dwells within us, making us new, through the Holy Spirit. He then lives His life through us, by that same Holy Spirit. This is the heart of Christianity. Jesus invites us into His relationship with the Father. That relationship invites our continual free choice to love. God is always there, and through the Holy Spirit, He comes as our Advocate. As we walk toward Pentecost, let us open our hearts to the Holy Spirit and live in the very life of God.