This is my gift to you

 Sixth Sunday of Easter, Year C - 22nd May 2022

Gospel John 14: 23–29

Jesus said to his disciples:

‘If anyone loves me they will keep my word,

and my Father will love them,

and we shall come to them and make our home with them.

Those who do not love me do not keep my words.

And my word is not my own: it is the word of the one who sent me.

I have said these things to you while 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 I have said to you.

Peace I bequeath to you, my own peace I give you,

a peace the world cannot give, this is my gift to you.

Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid. You heard me say:

I am going away, and shall return.

If you loved me you would have been glad to know

that I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I.

I have told you this now before it happens,

so that when it does happen you may believe.’

Gospel Reflection from St Beuno's Outreach

Finding a quiet space wherever I can, I notice how I am feeling, and get ready for my prayer.

I take as long as I need to become still, confident that the Lord always waits patiently for me to join him. He gazes on me tenderly, delighted I am here, loving me just as I am. Settling into stillness, I set aside anything that may be troubling me, entrusting it into God’s safe hands for now.

I read the Gospel slowly and carefully. I may like to picture Jesus speaking to me personally. I let his words soak in and ponder what they mean for me.

‘If anyone loves me, they will keep my word’. In what ways am I doing this? What might I want to say to Jesus?

I may find myself reflecting on the word ‘Advocate’ ... or perhaps other words come to mind: ‘lawyer’, ‘helper’, ‘teacher’, ‘guide’, ‘defender’, ‘comforter’, ‘counsellor’, ‘supporter’ ... ? I ponder their significance. Perhaps I think of other words for peace too ... ‘calmness’, ‘Shalom’, ‘freedom’, ‘harmony’, ‘wholeness’, ‘completeness’ ... What does peace look like for me in my life just now? Maybe I sense the comfort and reassurance that Christ’s peace brings.

In times when I may feel afraid or troubled, what do I do? To whom do I turn? Do I place my trust in the Lord, or try to rely on myself?

Maybe I associate the phrase ‘a peace the world cannot give’ with current conflicts throughout the world. I pray for all those affected in any way.

I speak to Jesus about any feelings that have arisen from my prayer, then close with a slow sign of the cross.

Click here  to read or listen to a One-Minute Homily on this Sunday's gospel