Come, Lord and Giver of Life!
May 17, 2023
Fr John Riccardo
“Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted”
(Mt 28:1-17).
Tomorrow, we celebrate the Solemnity of the Ascension of our Lord Jesus Christ. Of course, in most places in our country, the Solemnity is transferred to Sunday, which more or less ruins the Pentecost novena. But that’s another matter for another time.
We are about to enter into days of waiting in the Church, days of fervent prayer for the One Jesus calls “the promise of the Father” (cf. Acts 1:4). Or, better, they can and will be such days if we use them well.
Jesus told His disciples, and us, that it would be better for us if He left, so that another Advocate could come (cf. John 16:7). At first glance, this doesn’t make sense. How could it possibly be better for us to not have Jesus walking around in the flesh as did Peter, John, Mary Magdalene and the other early disciples? The Gospel excerpt at the top from Matthew 28 might help, or at least it helps me.
Matthew 28 is the final chapter in the Gospel. Jesus has already shown Himself gloriously and indisputably risen from the dead. He is incontestably alive. And, now, in these final few verses, just before Jesus issues the Great Commission, Matthew describes what was going on in the lives and minds of the disciples. “They worshiped him, but some doubted.”
Doubted?
You have to be kidding! How in the world could they have doubted. It’s not as if they were listening, as you and I might, to someone telling them of an encounter they had with the risen Jesus. No, they were looking at Him! They could put their fingers into the wounds in His hands and feet. They could place their hand into the wound in His side. Jesus was standing right there in front of them, talking to them…and they still doubted! Personally, I take great comfort in this.
It’s not unusual to hear people say things like, “If I only saw a miracle I’d believe.” With all due respect, I don’t think that’s true. That’s not true from my own experience; I saw many miracles when I was younger and still did not surrender my life to God. Nor is it true from Scripture. Think about Lazarus. Jesus raised him from the dead and the whole community saw it, including the religious leaders. Their response? It wasn’t faith; it was fear and anger and scheming. After the miracle the leaders plotted not only to kill Jesus but Lazarus too.
What, then, makes the difference? Or, better, who makes the difference? The Promise of the Father, the Advocate, the One the Creed declares is “the Lord and giver of life” makes all the difference. Nothing changed for the disciples until Pentecost. The Gospel didn’t get proclaimed in power until Pentecost. People didn’t surrender themselves to the Lord entirely until Pentecost. Men and women didn’t come to really know their identity as God’s beloved sons and daughters until Pentecost. People didn’t come to know God as Father from deep within until Pentecost. Absolutely nothing happened in the early Church until the Spirit descended in power upon the first disciples.
As it was then, so it is now. We desperately need the Holy Spirit. And so the Church gives us these novena days in which to implore the Spirit to fall afresh upon us, both individually and as a Church. Let us use these days well, then, to beg the One who dwells in us as in a temple to transform us even as He transformed the early Christians, to use us as He used them, and to send us into a broken, dark and lonely world just as He sent them.
Come, Holy Spirit, and from heaven direct on man the rays of your light.
Come, Father of the poor, come, Giver of God’s gifts, come light of men's hearts
Kindly Paraclete, in your gracious visit to man’s soul you bring relief and consolation.
If it is weary with toil, You bring it ease. In the heat of temptation Your grace cools it.
If sorrowful Your word consoles it.
Light most blessed shine on the hearts of Your faithful, even into their darkest corners. For without Your aid, man can do nothing good, and everything is sinful.
Wash clean the sinful soul, pour Your grace on the parched soul,
and heal the injured soul.
Soften the hard heart, cherish and warm the ice cold heart,
and give direction to the wayward
Give Your seven holy gifts to Your faithful, for their trust is in You.
Give them reward for their virtuous acts.
Give them a death that ensures salvation.
Give them unending bliss.
Amen alleluia.