Pro-life Preaching Hints

May 9 - Sixth Sunday of Easter

Acts 15:1-2, 22-29
Rv 21:10-14, 22-23
Jn 14:23-29

The readings today instruct us that as a fruit of the Resurrection, we enjoy the presence of Christ forever, through his Holy Spirit. That Spirit both enlightens us interiorly and as a society, bringing about peace and right relationships. 

The truth that the Spirit brings, first of all, is one with the word of Jesus and the Father, as the Gospel passage explains. No “new gospel” can come along under the purported inspiration of the Spirit. No such inspiration will contradict the settled teachings of the Church. Jesus says the Spirit will “remind” us of what he said. Such reminders are necessary as we journey through history, and through periods, as in our day, when certain trends obscure fundamental truths, such as that of the sanctity of life. When influences in society like the decisions of government or the messages of mass media line up against the sanctity of life, the Spirit “reminds” the faithful and the Church of the truth about life and how it is to be respected. 

The Spirit guides not only individuals, in whom God resides (as the Gospel passage indicates), but also the community, as the first reading demonstrates. Moreover, the guidance, or light, of God will be the center of the community in the world to come. That is why the Second Reading indicates that there is “no need of sun or moon to shine on” the new Jerusalem, because “the glory of God gave it light and its lamp was the Lamb.” The truth of God is what holds his people together, and brings the peace of which Jesus speaks in the Gospel. This truth is the foundation of the right relationships between us, including our relationships with the youngest and most vulnerable members of the human family.

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