Reflection on Jn 16:13

“But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all truth.”

The Spirit of God brings light. This enables you to realize a truth that you previously did not see at all, or saw only in a distorted way. For example, He reveals that what seemed like a coincidence in your life was not a coincidence at all; now, after several years, you recognize this. What you saw as a loss was actually a gain. The harm that troubled you turned out to be ultimately beneficial. What you saw as misfortune was merely a barrier that prevented an even greater misfortune. At the time, you couldn’t understand this.

The Spirit of God gives us understanding, particularly with regard to spiritual matters. He convicts us of sin. He opens up the Scriptures. Certain previously incomprehensible passages in Scripture suddenly touch your heart deeply, leading you to a personal awareness of sin and of God’s forgiving love.

The Spirit of God brings us into an intimate relationship with our Saviour, so that we may come to know Him better and love Him more. The greatest obstacle to loving God is original sin within us – our tendency to believe lies and commit evil. Without the Spirit of God, all truths, whether from Scripture or the catechism, are merely a letter that kills, as God’s Word says. But the Spirit gives life! (2Cor 3:6) Jesus said to the apostles, and He says to us as well: “I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all truth.” (Jn 16:12-13)

However, there is someone else now who says they want to guide us into the truth of Holy Scripture, yet instead they question and even mock all these truths. This is done by the so-called scientific historical-critical method, which has been used to brainwash students in Catholic seminaries since the Second Vatican Council. The fruits of this are already evident today: mass apostasy, the legalization of homosexuality, and paganism invading the Church. These false interpreters of Scripture question everything; they even deny Christ’s historical resurrection! Yet they take pagan practices seriously.

We need the Holy Spirit to expose the cunning of these liars, who use psychological tricks and abuse authority. The consequences are tragic.

“I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath … envy, murders, drunkenness … and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in the past, that those who practise such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.” (Gal 5:16-26)

Only when we have received the Spirit of God are we able to resist the system of sin and falsehood that lies at the root of our corrupt nature, and allow ourselves to be guided into all truth.

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