Reflection on Jn 16:12-13

“I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. However, when He, the Spirit of truth has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.”

Jesus says these words on the evening before His death. It is good to read again and again the words of Christ spoken on the evening before His death (chapters 13-17). There is a great depth in these five chapters. We can read them over and over again. Each sentence communicates a deep mystery. No exegete, no scholar, no theologian, nor even a saint can bring you into the depths of these truths. This can only be done by the Author of the Gospel and of the whole Bible – the Holy Spirit. He proclaimed the Word of God through the sacred writers, and here He proclaims the words of the Saviour Himself who became man for our sake, took our sins on Himself and carried the just punishment for them, for each of us personally, and opened for each of us the gate to eternal life! These words are filled with God’s love and wisdom. The problem is in us if we fail to understand their depth and just float on the surface. Let us realize that these words spoken by Jesus were immediately followed by the events of chapters 18 and 19, which describe the suffering and death of Jesus, and then by the events related to His resurrection in chapters 20 and 21. Try to read at least one of the three chapters (14 or 15 or 16) once a week, e.g. after the holy hour, and perceive the deep truths which Jesus highlights repeatedly: we should abide in Him, He abides in us and we in Him – the parable of the vine and the branches. The word “abide” is important. It is not enough to begin something. We need to continue, to remain united to Christ, to abide in Him and in His name.

In our prayer during Lent, we repeated slowly the holy name of Jesus in the original Aramaic language: “Yehoshua”, and we emphasized the mystery of the Most Holy Trinity contained in this name! The given chapters likewise bring us into this mystery, speaking about the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. The truths concerning the Holy Spirit are emphasized above all in the verses which we are going to repeat this fortnight. Apart from prayer stops, we can repeat these words whenever we have the time, when travelling, before falling asleep, or while standing in a queue. We can, for example, repeat just part of these verses. Thus we allow the Holy Spirit to bring us little by little into the depth of the divine mystery. Are these words not addressed to you too? “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. However, when the Spirit of truth has come, He will guide you into all truth.” Deep truths concerning eternal salvation and eternal damnation are also connected with the mystery of original sin in us – special darkness holds sway over us and we philosophize, moralize, think we know it all, but we do not understand the most elementary things concerning eternity. All reasoning of philosophers about the meaning of life is, compared to the clear truths of the Gospel, just like deduction of blind leaders who lead the nation into an abyss. The so-called historical-critical method in theology has caused the most serious harm as it is based on atheistic philosophy and covertly denies all the supernatural in the Bible: Divinity of Christ, inspiration of the Scripture as well as historical and real resurrection of Christ. This philosophy of lies and death is a compulsory subject at all theological schools worldwide. Compulsory poison! It is the fruit of human pride which rejects the Holy Spirit!

We live in a time when the spirit of lies, the spirit of this world, has penetrated into the centre of the Catholic Church and occupies all key positions in the Vatican. Heresies which the Vatican has accepted have brought down a curse. It can be seen in Ukraine too: blindness, unwillingness to accept reality and fundamental truths – not theological but normal truths of sound mind. The greatest darkness falls through the leadership of the apostate hierarchy, which is obvious from the fact that people who do not go to church, even communists, accept sound opinion far more easily than apostate church-goers who are under the sway of the spirit of darkness. Telling them about repentance, salvation, heresies or betrayal is like talking to a brick wall. They won’t listen even in time of war or economic crisis. They will just repeat their phrases like zombies. If you tell them that they should think about, they start to shout, ridicule you and hurl insults at you. Meeting with such a response, you get personal experience of how it looks in practical life when otherwise good and polite Greek Catholics are under a curse. One must pray for them with patience, so that God would grant to them the grace of conversion. How to pray? Lift up the mountains of lies, demonic mountains, which like heavy clouds have covered all Ukraine. But Jesus has the last word. Spiritual resurrection of Ukraine is beyond human strength but: “With God nothing will be impossible.” (Lk 1:37)

In His speech before His death, Jesus encourages us so many times that we should ask in His name and it will happen. Surely, it will happen, but we must be in unity with Jesus. And when will it happen? Not after one day or one year. We must pray for the salvation of Ukraine with perseverance. We can not only pray but we also can and should suffer with Christ. Everyone must suffer, be it a believer or unbeliever, but the difference is with whom you suffer. You suffer either with the spirit of rebellion against God and people or with the Spirit of Christ. If you unite your light suffering to the suffering of Jesus, it becomes an atoning sacrifice. Someone humiliates or insults you or unfairly deprives you of possessions, or you suffer a misfortune or pain. We must learn to give thanks in such situations. When we start to give thanks, instead of anger or self-pity we receive the light – the Spirit of God works. In such critical moments, He will begin to reveal to you a certain mystery which you would otherwise not be able to understand. But the first step must be self-denial. Jesus says: “Deny yourself.” Denying yourself, you switch to the level of God, where there is light. But this step of self-denial is not easy. Sometimes you are so much hurt by injustice or misfortune that the poison which is deep in your stony heart comes to the surface. It is manifested by hatred, even towards God, blasphemy, resentment against people who have done you wrong, or outburst of anger and, consequently, depression and despair. It can sometimes be an outburst of strong emotion. If you feel anger or pain and cannot find peace, you need to find a place where you could tell it to God aloud, where you can talk to Him aloud. You can tell Him first: “Lord, You allowed a demon or a bad person to do me wrong and to lure me into a trap. That sin in me rebels against You, I feel hatred towards those who hurt me, and it is stronger than me.” And after you say these words, think about the following: Who am I and who is God? He created me, He loves me more than I love myself; He gave His Son for me! Then start to repent of revolt against God and neighbour. Whenever you suffer pain, the best thing is immediately to become aware of some sins from the past: “Now I feel innocent, but I accept this suffering as penance for my past sins.” And God will give you His peace, which the world cannot give. And not only peace, but through this way of the cross and death to yourself you will receive wisdom and light which no man can give you.

Download:  Reflection on Jn 16:12-13