It’s the night of the Last Supper. Jesus’ heart is filled with fear and foreboding: in just a few hours’ time He will face that most gruesome of fates – death by crucifixion. And yet His thoughts are centered not on himself but on His disciples, “my friends,” He calls them. He knows how devastating His death will be for them. And so He reassures them with the promise, “I will not leave you orphans,” and says, “I shall ask the Father and He will give you another Advocate to be with you for ever.” The Greek word for advocate is rich in meaning – a comforter, a consoler, a counsellor. Jesus has been all these to His friends, and now He assures them that someone will continue His work. This special helper, joint gift of Father and Son, is of course the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of love and truth; the Spirit who, as love, is at the heart of the Church. Today’s other readings give us glimpses of the Holy Spirit in action. In the first reading the Spirit enables Philip to proclaim, to announce fearlessly, the good news of Christ to the people in Samaria. And then, through the coming of the Holy Spirit in the Sacrament of Confirmation, the newly baptized are strengthened in their faith and their desire to share it with others. The second reading suggests that gentleness accompanies the gift of joy.
The need of the Holy Spirit has not dimnished with the passing of the decades. The word “Advocate,” used of the Holy Spirit seldom gatecrashes: the Spirit normally waits to be called in, waits to be invited. Of course, the Holy Spirit has been with us since baptism; and so what we are really praying for is that we may open our hearts and respond ever more generously to our divine guest. In that way we shall be renewed both as individuals and as Church.