“Truth suffers, but never dies."

Christ said, “I am the Truth”; he did not say “I am the custom.” - St. Toribio.

Gospel text (Jn 16,12-15): 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,
he will guide you to all truth.
He will not speak on his own,
but he will speak what he hears,
and will declare to you the things that are coming.
He will glorify me,
because he will take from what is mine and declare it to you.
Everything that the Father has is mine;
for this reason I told you that he will take from what is mine
and declare it to you.”

Today, once again, our Lord, wants to open our eyes for us to realize that more often than not we miss the mark. «The Spirit of truth comes, will guide you into the whole truth» (Jn 16:13), what the Father made known to the Son.

How odd!, rather than letting the Spirit (a great unknown of our lives!) guide us, what we do is, either ignore him or “impose upon him” what we have already decided. But what we are told today, instead, is rather the contrary: to let him guide us.

What is truth? Is it simply a construct of the human mind, a concept that we use to try and make sense of each other and the happenings of the world around us? Is it something that is relative to each individual, dependent upon his or her situation, personality, frame of mind, and upbringing? Is there an absolute truth, either accessible or inaccessible to a questing human heart?

Christ provides us with the answer, offering us freedom from the weight of the questions. He does not ask us to stop considering them, to stop seeking wisdom, he is simply offering us respite from the impossible task of trying to reconcile the world with how we want it to be.

The answer is love.

We are loved and we are called to love. If we accept the security that comes with such a profound revelation we can rise up as free men and women, open to face the challenges of the world, seeking wisdom with open minds and yearning hearts.

«I still have many things to tell you» (Jn 16:12). —Do not refrain, Lord, from speaking to us and revealing to us our own identities! Let your Spirit of Truth help us recognize what is false in our lives while giving us the necessary courage to get rid of it. Let him light up our hearts so that we can also recognize, whatever authentic is there inside us, which already shares your Truth. And that, by recognizing it, we know how to thank you for it and live up to it with joy.

Spirit of Truth, open up our hearts and our lives to Christ's Gospel: that this light be the light to lighten our daily existence. Holy Spirit, our Helper, make us strong to live Christ's truth, thereby giving testimony to everyone by our very lives.