6TH WEEK OF EASTER

When he comes, the Spirit of truth, he will guide you to all truth.

Think of all the ways technology helps us communicate with one another. We receive emails, text messages, voice and video calls. How do we understand all these messages? With the five senses and the brain that God gave us, of course!

That’s how we hear from one another. But how do we hear from God? In today’s Gospel, Jesus tells the disciples that God will speak to them and lead them into “all truth” through his Holy Spirit (John 16:13). In other words, the Spirit will be their counselor, their comforter, and their encourager.

Now, the disciples may have wondered exactly how they would hear the Holy Spirit. Jesus had spoken directly to them, teaching them for three years. Would they hear an audible voice coming through the clouds? Or get an otherworldly message spoken by an angel?

We may wonder, too. How are we supposed to hear from a purely spiritual being? We’re just ordinary people. And will he speak to us at all?

The good news is that we can hear the Holy Spirit. How? Just as God gave us five physical senses, he has given us something like a spiritual sense, since we are made in his image and likeness. We can recognize his voice and hear him speaking to us because he speaks to our hearts (Catechism, 2562–63). In a way, he has “wired” us internally to communicate with him.

Even more amazing is that through our Baptism, the Holy Spirit lives in us. Stop and think about that for a moment. You are a living temple of the Spirit, and he longs to speak to you!

Today in prayer, listen for the voice of the Spirit. If you are reading Scripture, take a moment afterward to be silent. What is the passage stirring up in your heart? Or sit quietly in front of the tabernacle or with a crucifix or icon. As you focus on the Lord and allow the concerns of your busy day to fade, take note of your thoughts or feelings. See if the Spirit wants to communicate something to you through them.

As you take the time each day to listen to God’s voice, you’ll get better and better at recognizing when he is speaking to you. And the more you listen, the more you will hear!

“Holy Spirit, help me to quiet my heart and listen to you!”

Acts 17:15, 22–18:1
Psalm 148:1-2, 11-14
John 16:12-15