6th Week of Easter – Wednesday C

Jesus recognizes that the disciples, and by extension all of us, have limitations in our capacity to grasp divine mysteries upon being presented with them. His words remind us that spiritual growth is a journey, often requiring patience and openness to divine guidance. The coming of the Holy Spirit is the fulfillment of this promise—a guide who leads us into deeper truth, understanding, and relationship with God.

In the first reading (Acts 17:15, 22—18:1), Paul stands in Athens and speaks to a culture eager for knowledge and spirituality but often lacking understanding of the true God. Paul’s insight—that God is the creator and sustainer of all—mirrors Jesus’ promise that the Spirit will guide us to the full truth. Paul recognizes that the Athenians, despite their religiosity and many shrines, are seeking the divine. His speech invites them to move beyond their ignorance and idol worship to the true God, who is near and accessible.

This is a perfect example of how the Spirit works in history and daily life: guiding people to discover truth they might not yet fully see. The Athenians, like various cultures before and after, are grasping for meaning, and the Spirit helps them find the true path.

Later in history, for example, the Enlightenment was a period marked by an intense search for truth through reason and science. While it led to many advances, it also faced limitations—sometimes overlooking the spiritual dimension. The Holy Spirit’s guidance reminds us that truth is not only in empirical evidence but also in divine revelation which in turn sheds light on that empirical data.

In daily life, think of a person who is seeking purpose or healing and perhaps someone struggling with addiction or grief may not see hope immediately. But through the gentle guidance of the Spirit—through prayer, community, and reflection—they begin to discover inner peace and truth about their worth and purpose and those who have gone on before us.

The Holy Spirit is often called the Advocate, the Comforter, and the Spirit of Truth, for as the trusted guide that He is, He leads us beyond superficial knowledge to a deeper understanding of God’s love and plan. Just as Paul was guided in Athens to speak truth into a culture of idolatry, the Spirit guides each of us in our personal and communal lives to avoid seeking, and worshipping the false gods of our current world.

We are called to be open to the Spirit’s guidance. This means cultivating silence and prayer, listening with an open heart, and being willing to accept truths that challenge our assumptions. It also means sharing the truth we discover—like Paul—so that others may come to know the true God.

Today’s Gospel reminds us that Jesus promises the Holy Spirit as our guide into all truth because even when it came to his own identity, Jesus knew his contemporaries and the billions yet to come, would be apprehensive. He knew that believing God, the Creator of the Universe, himself “stepped foot” on this tiny little planet (in comparison) would be a challenging reality for people to embrace. This is why he was also careful after performing the first miracles of his public ministry, to ask the recipients of those miracles to not go around and testify yet to what they encountered, because if people began asking who He was, He would eventually need to drop the bomb, or drop the mic, both are applicable here… that He was none other than God himself. It is a truth he needed to reveal gradually and even then, He was sentenced to die the most horrible death for it, while vindicating himself in the resurrection. Slowly, but surely, the Apostles began to get it.

Let us pray then, for a renewed openness to the Holy Spirit, that we may be guided in truth and in love, bringing the light of Christ into our world with patience, tenderness, love and mercy.

Most Holy Mother, Queen of Tenderness, pray for us who have recourse to thee. Amen.