Proverbs 8:22-31
1. Who is talking when the First Reading says, “Then was I beside him as his craftsman, and I was his delight day by day, playing before him all the while, playing on the surface of his earth?” Is there a similarity between this ancient reading and the opening of John’s Gospel, “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God … ”?
2. This reading says in God’s voice, “I found delight in the human race.” Did God create the human race with some wisdom? What responsibility does the human race have to use the gift of wisdom to keep the earth “from transgressing God’s commands” in the climate crisis?
Second Reading
Romans 5:1-5
1. “The love of God has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit.” If God’s love is the source, what has been poured into your own heart? Can you sense the presence of the Holy Spirit there?
2. Why would God include us intimately in the divine love of the Trinity? Does that give reason to hope? What would the world look like without hope?
Gospel
John 16:12-15
1. Does the Spirit change your understanding of revelation? What is the source of your own sympathies? Can understanding of divine love be exhausted? Have you ever reached a place where “you could not bear” more knowledge of love?
2. Jesus said to his disciples: “I have much more to tell you, but you cannot bear it now. But when he comes, the Spirit of truth will guide you to all truth.” According to Pope Francis, what is the first advice the Holy Spirit gives us?
The first advice offered by the Holy Spirit is, “Live in the present.” The present, not the past or the future. The Paraclete affirms the primacy of today, against the temptation to let ourselves be paralyzed by rancor or memories of the past, or by uncertainty or fear about the future. The Spirit reminds us of the grace of the present moment. There is no better time for us: now, here and now, is the one and only time to do good, to make our life a gift. Let us live in the present!
Pope Francis Homily
May 23, 2021