Posted by The WORD in other words (2013) by Fr Arnold Biago SVD – Kinshasa, Congo
Wednesday 6th Week of Easter
I left the seminary in 1997 and taught religion to high school students. After the first two months of teaching, a friend came to me and made this remarks: “You cannot teach first year high school students theology. That is beyond their level of competency. Rather, teach them the basic, common prayers like Our Father and Hail Mary.” “Is that all I have to do?” I countered. He continued, “… and slowly lead them to discover the goodness of the Lord.” He who made this suggestion was my former teacher who had been teaching for at least 15 years at that time, a true teacher and mentor.
This image of a teacher-mentor is what the Gospel text speaks of regarding the Holy Spirit. Jesus himself would say, “I have much more to tell you, but you cannot bear it now.” (Jn 16,12) As a teacher, the Holy Spirit mentors his students to widen their understanding and to grow in wisdom. Such is implied when Jesus declared; “When he comes, the Spirit of truth, will guide you to all truth.” (Jn 16,13) This is very well said, for a good teacher does not own the truth and dictates it to his or her students. Rather, he or she helps them discover and arrive at the truth.
Certainly, the Holy Spirit is more than the image of a teacher-mentor. Nevertheless, our common experience of teachers who lead their students to discover the rich world of knowledge and the mysterious alleys of wisdom make us understand the role of the Holy Spirit in leading us to encounter God personally in Jesus. For without the guidance and enlightenment of the Holy Spirit, we will always be incapacitated and unable to meet Jesus present in the Holy Scripture and living in the Sacraments. Without the grace of the Holy Spirit we will also be blind, not seeing Jesus present among the people we meet everyday.
We ask for the help of the Holy Spirit to open our eyes and allow us to see God present and always with us.
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