Sunday 10 May 2026
Lectio Divina:*
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‘ You know him,
because he abides with you, and he will be in you’. (John 14:17)
We are drawing ever closer to that most wonderful of celebrations: Pentecost Sunday—the feast on which, once again and anew, the Holy Spirit comes among us in a special way, even as the Spirit is at work in our broken and wounded world day by day. As we remember the first great outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon the disciples and apostles shortly after the death and resurrection of Jesus—events that are inextricably bound together—we open ourselves to a fresh gift of the Spirit’s peace, joy, and freedom.
When the good news was
proclaimed to the Samaritans in today’s reading from Acts, “there was great
joy in the city” (Acts 8:8). Joy, peace, and freedom are sure signs of the
presence of God’s Holy Spirit. And even when our faith leads us into rejection,
misunderstanding, or exclusion, we are encouraged by the words of Saint Peter
in today’s second reading: honour the Lord Jesus in our hearts, keep a clear
conscience, and continue to do good—even when that faithfulness brings
suffering—following the path first walked by Christ himself.
In the Gospel we hear
Jesus say, “I will not leave you orphaned; I am coming to you” (John
14:18). Widows and orphans hold a special place throughout Scripture. God’s
heart is especially drawn to those who, for any reason, find themselves without
support, security, or companionship. As the letter of Saint James reminds us: “Religion
that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after
orphans and widows in their distress.”
Jesus goes on to speak
of a presence who will live with us and within us. This is not a fleeting
feeling, a pious thought, or a wishful hope. It is the real and living presence
of God’s Spirit—an active and compassionate power that flows from the heart of
God himself. How, then, can we open ourselves to this precious presence? The
answer is hinted at in the verses leading into this promise:
“I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you for ever” (John 14:16).
Keeping the
commandments, Jesus tells us, is not simply a matter of obeying a list of
prohibitions. It is an active, ongoing, and authentic way of living—one rooted
in compassion and expressed through concrete, loving actions.
If we are seeking
light, insight, and companionship, this is where it begins: compassion lived
out in the ordinary practices of daily life. Dorothy Day, co-founder of the
Catholic Worker Movement, expressed this beautifully when she wrote:
True love is delicate and kind, full of gentle perception and understanding, full of beauty and grace, full of joy unutterable. There should be some flavour of this in all our love for others. We are all one. We are one flesh in the Mystical Body as man and woman are said to be one flesh in marriage. With such a love one would see all things new; we would begin to see people as they really are, as God sees them.
The witness of the
Holy Spirit in our hearts and minds is the sign or our hope. We are enabled by God’s Spirit to always ‘make your defence to anyone who demands from you an account
of the hope’ that is in us.
Collect
of the Word for this Sunday (Church of Ireland)
O God, you have prepared for those who love you, joys beyond our understanding: pour into our hearts such love for you, that, loving you above all else, we may obtain your promises that exceed all we can desire: through Jesus Christ our Lord, who is alive and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
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