Homily for the 6th Sunday of Easter, May 10, 2026. Gospel of St. John 14:15-21. Theme: Getting to Know Our Divine Defense Attorney
In today's Gospel, John brings us into the Cenacle, which is the name given to the upper room in a Jerusalem house where Jesus and His Apostles held the Last Supper. He shares with us some of his memories of the Lord’s farewell speech given to him and his eleven companions on that unforgettable night. You can sense a tone of deep love and concern in the words of Jesus, as He speaks to them about a future without Him physically present in it. But He sought to console and uplift them by speaking of several ways in which their relationship with Him would continue and actually deepen. Chief among these was the promise of the Holy Spirit.
Jesus called the Spirit a “Parakletos” which our Liturgy translates into English as “Advocate”. I find this extremely interesting because a “parakletos” was a Greek lawyer, a legal counselor, and more specifically a defense attorney. A paraclete stood next to his client, whispering into his ear what he was to say and how he was to act in the presence of a judge. Now, that makes me wonder …why in the world did Jesus think that we, His disciples, would need the services of a D.A. (which in this case stands for a Divine Advocate)? Well, it was because He knew that the world would treat us no better than it treated Him. He knew that those who worship the world’s “trinity” of power, money and fame would harass those of us who speak out for the persecuted, the poor and the vulnerable. He wanted us to know that when we are called to stand before the court of public opinion the Advocate would be right by our side, inspiring and enabling us to speak the truths that the world needs to hear.
And the most important truths that people today need to hear is that they are immensely and personally loved by God. Each and every one of them! As St. Peter tells us in our Second Reading, we need to share with them the story of Jesus Christ, who is the very reason for the hope that is within us. Because the sad reality is that so many of them have never heard this and do not know Him! They have no clue as to how precious they are in the eyes and heart of God. They have been misled by the world to believe that their worth and value is found in what they look like or in their social status or by how much money they have. And so it’s up to us to share the truth with them so that they, too, can begin to have joy in their hearts and hope for their future.
This is a big responsibility and an urgent task that we have been given for nearly half of the world’s population has never heard of the Good News of and about Jesus. But we can rise up to the task because we have been given an Advocate, the Spirit of Truth who dwells within us. He will empower us to speak and act. He will provide us with counsel and direction giving us the right words to say in every particular circumstance and to each particular person. However, our sensitivity to the Spirit’s inner voice will depend upon how well we have trained ourselves to listen to and follow His inspirations and directions. You see, this sensitivity can only develop within us to the extent that we devote time to the practice of daily personal prayer from the heart. To really hear our Paraclete we have to make room for solitude in our day and set aside time for prayer and meditation.
And this is why I think it's very appropriate that we are hearing this Gospel in the month of May which is dedicated to our Blessed Mother Mary. No other disciple of Christ was as open to the Spirit of Truth or as obedient to the counsels of the Advocate as she was. Her relationship with Him was so intimate, so total and so personal, that she has been called by analogy the “Spouse of the Holy Spirit”. One of the titles we Christians have given to her over the centuries is Our Lady of Solitude, which highlights her devotion to prayer and listening. We would do well to turn to Mary in our prayers this month asking for the grace to find space for this solitude in our own lives so that we can hear the Spirit more clearly and become better bearers of Christ to those who do not yet know Him.
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