DAILY MEDITATION: "For the Holy Spirit will teach you at that time what you have to say"

Liturgical day: Saturday 28th in OrdinaryTime

Gospel text (Lk 12,8-12): Jesus said to his disciples, "I tell you, whoever acknowledges me before people, the Son of Man will also acknowledge before the angels of God. But the one who denies me before others will be denied before the angels of God. There will be pardon for the one who criticizes the Son of Man, but there will be no pardon for the one who slanders the Holy Spirit.

"When you are brought before the synagogues, governors and rulers, don’t worry about how you will defend yourself or what to say. For the Holy Spirit will teach you at that time what you have to say".

"For the Holy Spirit will teach you at that time what you have to say"

+ Fr. Albert TAULÉ i Viñas
(Barcelona, Spain)

Today, Jesus' words inviting us to acknowledge him before men, reverberate once more: "I tell you, whoever acknowledges me before people, the Son of Man will also acknowledge before the angels of God" (Lk 12, 8). We live a time when public life vindicates the lay status, forcing believers to express their faith only within the range of their private confines. When a Christian, a priest, a bishop, the Pope... have something to say publicly, even though it may be full of common sense, it is widely criticized, simply because it comes from that particular person, irrespective of the fact that we —as everybody else!— are also entitled to say what we think. But, no matter how much of an inconvenience it may be for some, we cannot help announcing the Gospel. In any case, "the Holy Spirit will teach you at that time what you have to say" (Lk 12, 12). In this respect, St Cyril of Jerusalem emphasized it while affirming "the Holy Spirit, who dwells in those well predisposed, teaches us, as a doctor, what we have to tell".

The attacks we suffer, may have a different materiality, because it is not the same to reprove a member of the Church (at times, quite rightly because of our many shortcomings), than attacking Jesus Christ (when observed only in his human dimension), or slandering the Holy Spirit, whether by blasphemy or by disavowal of the existence and attributes of God.

With respect to forgiving the offense, even if the sin is light, it is necessary a previous inner attitude of contrition. If there is no ruefulness, there cannot be any exculpation, for the bridge is broken at one end. This is why Jesus says there are sins that not even God will forgive, unless there exists the humble attitude on the sinner's side to admit his sin (cf. Lk 12, 10).

Source: evangeli.net