Questions for reflection

As you slowly read this Gospel passage, allow its words to soak into your mind. You may want to light a candle to help you ponder the passage, reflect on the image above or on the words of Pope Francis below. You might want to imagine that you are in the upper room at the Last Supper listening to Jesus giving you his peace and reflecting on the emotions stirred up in you as he tells you not to let your hearts be troubled.

1. What is this passage saying to you?

2. What word(s), sentence or phrase in this Gospel passage most caught your attention; most touched your heart; most challenged you; most comforted you? Is there anything in this passage that you found uncomfortable or startling?

3. ‘If anyone loves me, he will keep my word’. How does the word of Jesus guide you in your daily life? Are there any parts of Jesus’ teaching that you struggle with?

4. ‘We will come to him and make our home with him’. Where do you find the presence of God?

5. ‘The Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things’. How do you relate to the Holy Spirit? Do you ask for her help to put the words of Jesus into practice in your daily life?

6. ‘Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you’. Is there anything at the moment in your life that needs the peace of Christ? Where do you find the peace of Christ amidst the turmoil of your daily life?

7. ‘Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.’ When do you most feel troubled and afraid? How does Jesus help you address these worries and fears?

Pope Francis tells us:

At the moment in which he is about to return to the Father, Jesus foretells of the coming of the Spirit who will first teach the disciples to understand the Gospel ever more fully, in order to welcome it in their existence and to render it living and operative by their witness. While he is about to entrust to the Apostles — which in fact means “envoys” — the mission of taking the Gospel to all the world, Jesus promises that they will not be alone. The Holy Spirit, the Counsellor, will be with them, and will be beside them, moreover, will be within them, to protect and support them. Jesus returns to the Father but continues to accompany and teach his disciples through the gift of the Holy Spirit.

We are not alone: Jesus is close to us, among us, within us! His new presence in history happens through the gift of the Holy Spirit, through whom it is possible to instil a living relationship with Him, the Crucified and Risen One. The Spirit, flowing within us through the Sacraments of Baptism and Confirmation, acts in our life. He guides us in the way to think, to act, to distinguish between what is good and what is bad; he helps us to practice the charity of Jesus, his giving of himself to others, especially to the most needy. We are not alone! The sign of the presence of the Holy Spirit is also the peace that Jesus gives to his disciples: “My peace I give to you” (v. 27). It is different from what mankind hopes for or tries to achieve. The peace of Jesus flows from victory over sin, over selfishness which impedes us from loving one another as brothers and sisters. It is a gift of God and a sign of his presence. Each disciple called today to follow Jesus carrying the cross, receives within him- or herself the peace of the Crucified and Risen One in the certainty of his victory and in expectation of his definitive coming.

We shall now spend 10 minutes reflecting on this scripture passage by reading, repeating, responding and resting as described above. We will then share what we thought, felt etc. only if you are comfortable to do so.