“These things I have spoken to you, while I am still with you. But the Counselor / Comforter (ὁ παράκλητος), the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance (ὑπομνήσει ὑμᾶς, will remind you) all that I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid…” (Jn 14: 25-27)
The Holy Spirit “reminds” us of all that Christ has said to us, because we tend to forget. It is not only on a weekly basis, at the celebration of the Eucharist, that the Holy Spirit helps us to “do” in “remembrance” of Christ, (as He commanded, “Do this in remembrance of Me,” 1 Cor 11: 24), but also daily. It is in and by our communion with the Holy Spirit that, on a daily basis, the “memory” of the Lord’s word is kept alive and active on our cross-carrying journeys, both “teaching” us “all things” and granting us Christ’s “peace” throughout our ups and downs.
Let me open my heart to the Holy Spirit this morning, and be teachable. I am not left alone in “the world,” to fend for myself amidst its merely-human fears and ambitions. The Lord has already given me His “peace,” – and “not as the world gives,” under certain conditions. No, He gives me His peace unconditionally, regardless of my personal, professional, financial, or other circumstances. But of course He does not give me His peace against my will; if I choose to block it out. So let me open up to Him today, in some heartfelt prayer, because I can. And let me “remember” His word, carrying it with me throughout this day: “Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.”