Last Sunday, a newly ordained transitional Deacon, Brian Connors began his homily by quoting Jesus’ words, "Peace be with you." Deacon Brian said that anyone who knew him would understand how much he needed Jesus’ reassurance as he gave his first homily at his home parish.
He went on to say that for his whole life, he’d lived with a high level of anxiety, but all that changed when as an adult, he was baptized and received the Holy Spirit into his soul.
From that moment on though he still has his moments, he felt a peace that he had never known, one that allowed him to hear God’s call to the Priesthood.
In today’s gospel, Jesus’ disciples are experiencing a range of emotions: sadness, grief, and anxiety, to name a few.
And Jesus is trying to help them understand the big picture of God’s plan.
Perhaps like you or me today, those disciples were caught up in the immediate that Jesus, their teacher, leader, and friend, would be leaving them.
The One who brought them closer to God and each other, the One who changed their lives forever, was going home to God.
And this is why Jesus needed to explain why He needed to leave them and what they would receive, and how they would live from that point on.
By Jesus returning to the Father, they would begin their mission with the aid of the Holy Spirit, the very Holy Spirit that we have received too.
And, this Holy Spirit, sent by Jesus, would transform their lives and all those who come to believe in the Word of Jesus.
This is a second point that Deacon Brian offered in his homily, that through the promptings of the Holy Spirit, the Word of God helped him to make decisions in his life…both the everyday type at work or home or with friends as well as the big decisions such as God’s plan for his life.
In calling on the Holy Spirit, as we listen, read, and reflect on God’s Word, we too find answers, inspiration, and peace in knowing that God is with us, leading us along the right path.
The disciples from today’s gospel were messengers of the Father’s love to a turbulent and skeptical world; sound familiar?
Their mission would be challenging and require the aid of the Holy Spirit. They testified to the love of God by the witness of their transformed lives.
Pope Paul the VI spoke about this when he said, "For the Church, the first means of evangelization is the witness of an authentically Christian life, given over to God in a communion that nothing should destroy and at the same time given to one’s neighbor with limitless zeal."
Deacon Brian, thanks for reminding us of the peace and joy we find in receiving the Holy Spirit and turning to God’s Word so that we too may live lives that draw others to our loving God, all part His of Divine Plan, one that we all have a role to play.
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