The Holy Priest-Martyr Patrick, Bishop of Prussa, and Those with Him (361- 63)
Acts 23:1-11; John 16:15-23
Read John 16:15-23
We can certainly understand the questioning of the Lord’s disciples. It is only after the passion, death, and resurrection of our Lord that they understood with clarity what the Lord had stated to them. In the midst of their sorrow, when the authorities had taken the Lord from them, had Him tortured and put to death, they couldn’t see past that sorrow. All that the Lord had taught them seemed to be crashing down around them, and their hope was tested. Like the analogy that our Lord gives of a woman giving birth, their pain born out of sorrow was forgotten in the light of the resurrection of our Lord. In its place—joy! This is the joy with which we have been celebrating since the Feast of feasts, Pascha!
There are times in our life when we feel that the Lord has gone missing. In our prayer, we become aware that we do not sense the presence of the Lord. It can be painful and it can be sorrowful. It can be like carrying the cross, or even being crucified—feeling abandoned. It is times like this when we need to trust the Lord even more than before. It is THE time to call upon the Holy Spirit, the Heavenly King, the Giver of Life, who is everywhere present and filling all things. By His action, we are brought out of this abandonment, and we are given a deep joy, an awareness that the Lord is present. And like the disciples, there will be peace!