Safe Haven

 In simple terms, Jesus is saying, "I'm telling you now, so you're not surprised." And these are the final things that Jesus wants to teach them directly. The Holy Spirit will come, and He will teach us the rest. Sometimes, we forget about the Holy Spirit, because we think a lot about the Father, and the Son. This isn't wrong, but we need to embrace the fullness of God. We should also remember that while the Holy Spirit will guide each of us, his main purpose is to guide and protect the Church. When the Holy Spirit reminds us of what Christ taught us, he does this in a special and powerful way. We know that we can trust whatever the Church offers to us as a part of faith, because that's what Jesus promised he would do. (See also Matthew 16:18) The Holy Spirit is carrying out a promise that Jesus made to us. The Holy Spirit is indeed powerful, and he does more than comfort us, as we will see. He helps us to think and to understand. We should seek His wisdom alw...

 Ever since we heard about the Incarnation--Jesus becoming man--we have had the opportunity to consider the prophecy from Isaiah: "and they shall call his name "Immanuel," which means, "God is with us." In some translations, it is simply "God with us." It is an intimate and special thing for Jesus to do this, but this section prepares us for a deeper intimacy with God than simply Jesus sharing our human flesh. Jesus says that God Himself--the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit--will live within us. The theologians and teachers call this "the divine indwelling." There is still great mystery here that we will not understand in our lifetimes, but apparently sharing in the life of God will not be symbolic or metaphorical. The other Judas asked him how the apostles will know Jesus and his mysteries, without everyone else knowing the mysteries. In a certain way, that question answers for us another question, which is, "Why doesn't Jesus...