The Farewell Discourse, Part 2

6th Sunday of Easter (A); May 10, 2026

Acts 8:5-8,14-17 Ps 66 1 Pt 3:15-18 In 14:15-21

Deacon Jim McFadden

During the ‘50s (1956) a world famous psychoanalyst Erich Fromm wrote a remarkable book, The Art of Loving, which was a daring and

challenging prescription to learn how to love on a daily basis, which was a must-read on college campuses in later years.   I flashed back to this remarkable tome when I reflected upon this Sunday’s Gospel (cf. In 14:15-21) a continuation of Jesus’ Farewell Discourse in which he leaves us his last teachings before entering his Passion and death. At the cusp of that sad and dark moment, Jesus promises his friends, that after him, they will receive “another Paraclete” (v. 16). This Greek term derives from legal terminology for a defender, another counselor–someone who argues for a cause especially for a disarmed, vulnerable person who is undefended. Jesus is going to physically leave

us and we’re going to feel on trial in the world, whose “ways are not my ways, whose thoughts are not my thoughts” (cf. Isaiah 55:8). We will

feel alone, misunderstood, and overwhelmed that we can’t plead our own case in the court of the dominant consciousness of society.

Jesus anticipates that sad and lonely feeling by reassuring us that “I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you” (v. 18). Yes, Jesus will no longer be with us physically, but his words convey the joy of a new Coming of Christ that will be deeper than a historical presence. Jesus asks his heavenly Father to send the Holy Spirit as a friend, advocate, pleader, inspirer for all Christians. The Holy Spirit becomes the

PRESENCE of the absent Jesus! Now that Jesus is (physically) absent, he has to assure us that he is still present in a deeper, glorified way.

That’s why the Paraclete cannot come until Jesus ascends to his Father. In his “last will and testament,” Jesus is reassuring his disciples that

even when I am no longer physically present, I am still with you in a new form, which would be revealed as the Holy Spirit. This was the way

of assuring and protecting the first Christian community; the Advocate will plead our cause and stand next to us. The Counselor will be with us forever. The Spirit of Truth who the self-referential world can never receive, but we can because we know him because he is with you, within you.

Today as we meditate on these dynamic words of Jesus, we see through the eyes of Faith that we the People of God are in communion with the Father and with Jesus. How so? Through the Holy Spirit!

Everything is now ready. Christ has died, Christ is Risen, Christ will come again. And, what does the Church do? She now has the inexhaustible source and power to evangelize: to live her mission to baptize all nations and proclaim the Good News. And, how do we do that? The mission of Christ, which is the exact same mission as the Church, is achieved through love. In this mystery of communion with

the Triune God, Jesus says in today’s Gospel: “Whoever has my commandments and observes them is the one who loves me. And whoever loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and reveal myself to him” (v. 21). So, it is the “art of loving”, of practicing self-gifting that introduces us to the knowledge of the Risen and glorified Jesus.

People of God, today our Lord Jesus is calling us to generously respond to the Gospel’s call to love. To do that, we must place God at

the center of our lives, in which our life is now about him and not us. If we love Jesus, we will feed his sheep: we will dedicate ourselves to the service of our brothers and sisters, especially those most in need of support and consolation.

So, we need to walk into our hearts, pray, and be with the Holy Spirit.  So, we ask ourselves, “How can I learn the art of loving every day?” How can I use my gifts and talents for God’s praise and glory and the good of others? What is the Holy Spirit empowering each one of us to do for the Mission of the Church? There’s probably no greater questions  we can ask ourselves than that these.  Amen.