It is to your advantage (Tuesday, Easter 6, 2021)

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It is just two days to the Solemnity of Ascension: a day on which we solemnly commemorate Christ’s ascension into heaven. It was not and could never have been a good feeling for the disciples to part ways with their Master especially when the bond was already strong. The emotional pains it brought about couldn’t have been easily assuaged. At such a time, a counselor was needed to fill the gap, reinforce hope and build up morale. The counselor is the Spirit of Truth.


We must acknowledge the fact that certain experiences, no matter how unpleasant they may be, are meant to build us up not to keep us down. Little wonder then why Christ told the disciples: “It is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you” (cf. Jn. 16:5-11). As we go through the Acts of the Apostles, we cannot but learn that it was really to their advantage that Christ ascended and consequently sent the Counselor.


If the Counselor did not come, how would they have got the power to shake the foundations of the prison (cf. Acts 16:22-34)? If the Counselor didn’t come upon them, would they have been instrumental in bringing about the conversion of the jailer and his entire household? If the Counselor did not come, would they have got the power to go beyond frontiers amidst pains and persecutions persuading men and women to surrender to Christ?


We can redirect our thoughts from the so-called “village people”; take our minds away from pessimism and negativity and begin to see God working through events of life for our good, making a way for us even when there appears to be no way. We need faith and discernment in order to understand. The quality of one’s thought reflects the volume of the person’s faith!


Prayer:

Lord, that we may see and understand! 


Have a blessed day.



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