Posted by The WORD in other words (2018) by Fr Jose Luis Lorenzo SVD – Japan
Tuesday 6th Week of Easter
The usual associations with ‘goodbye’ would be sadness, a feeling of loss, a sense of separation. In our journey through life, we say goodbye to many things. We say goodbye to the womb that carried us, to teachers and classmates at graduation, to single life if we get married, to our physical bodies when our souls go to heaven. These are not necessarily bad things.
For the disciples, it was very comforting to have Jesus around. He was teacher, guide, mentor, miracle worker, and leader. But now, Jesus was saying goodbye. They must have been filled with dread at the prospect of continuing His work by themselves.
But Jesus told them the good news. Precisely, He was leaving in order for the Holy Spirit to be manifested fully in them. Had Jesus stayed on, we would not have had Pentecost and it would have been very difficult for the Gospel to be spread to all the peoples of the world.
We experience our own Pentecost during the sacrament of Confirmation. It is when we are given the gifts we need to help the Church’s mission of preaching the Good News to all.
Let us reflect on our lives and examine if we have really used these gifts well, following the teachings of Jesus Christ daily and communicating God’s love and compassion to all we meet.
The Holy Spirit has descended. The command to do mission has been given. May we all rise up to the challenge and continue the work that the Lord Jesus Christ has started.
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