but will speak to you plainly about the Father. When that day comes, you will ask in my name;
and it will not be necessary for me to ask the Father for you, for the Father himself loves you,
because you have loved me, and you believed that I came from the Father. As I came from the Father,
and have come into the world, so I am leaving the world, and going to the Father.”

REFLECTION:
Just as our knowledge of things accumulates and our mastery of skills and our understanding of life and existence don’t
happen all at once but in stages, so the Church’s understanding of the truths that Jesus came to reveal was also not a “one-shot” deal.
Rather, it happened in stages, guided by the Holy Spirit’s inspiration and help. Even while he was with the disciples,
Jesus did not teach them everything all at once, rather he taught them gradually,
beginning with simple things and then moving on to things that were far more difficult for them to comprehend and embrace,
such as his teaching on his Body and Blood, or the fact of the Resurrection. At times,
our desire to know and understand things all at once hinders the work of the Spirit,
as we impatiently try to “skip” the initial stages of the journey of faith and the spiritual life in a kind of mad rush to get to our destination,
to achieve the results we want. In the face of such hurry, today’s readings encourage us to patiently wait.
In God’s own time, we will be led to greater clarity and truth.

© Copyright Bible Diary 2020