They who have my commandments and keep them are those who love me; and those who love me will be loved by my Father, and I will love them and reveal myself to them.” Judas (not Iscariot) said to him, “Lord, how is it that you will reveal yourself to us, and not to the world?” Jesus answered him, “Those who love me will keep my word, and my Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. Whoever does not love me does not keep my words; and the word that you hear is not mine, but is from the Father who sent me.
”I have said these things to you while I am still with you. But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you.
New Revised Standard Version, copyright 1989, by the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. USCCB approved.
Relationships are fires that need tending. How do we kindle new flames in the cold dark night?
Like all our relationships, a relationship with Jesus burns hot and cool. There are times when we feel connected, illuminated in his love, and other when we feel distant, even separated from his light and heat.
In today’s Gospel, Jesus prepares his disciple for when he will leave them and return to the Father. He tells his friends that by keeping his commandments - “to love one another as I have loved you” (Jn 13:34) - they will always abide in the Father’s love. Should they forget, Jesus assures that the Holy Spirit will remind and teach them all they need to know.
Of course, the same is true for us. Loving one another, tending those fires, and confiding in the Spirit, enkindles new flames when the fire cools.
—Nick Rennpage is a Theology teacher and the director of Adult Formation and Mission Integration at the University of Detroit Jesuit High School and Academy
Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful.
And kindle in them the fire of your love.
Send forth your Spirit and they shall be created.
And you will renew the face of the earth.
Lord,
by the light of the Holy Spirit
you have taught the hearts of your faithful.
In the same Spirit
help us to relish what is right
and always rejoice in your consolation.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.
Amen.
—Traditional Prayer to the Holy Spirit
Please share the Good Word with your friends!
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Ignatian spirituality reminds us that God pursues us in the routines of our home and work life, and in the hopes and fears of life's challenges. The founder of the Jesuits, Saint Ignatius of Loyola, created the Spiritual Exercises to deepen our relationship with Christ and to move our contemplation into service. May this prayer site anchor your day and strengthen your resolve to remember what truly matters.
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