I used to have a friend who had grown up in a good Catholic family, but as he entered his
teenage years, he began to drift away from the Church. He started hanging out with the
wrong crowd. He stopped going to Sunday Mass. However, one day after making many bad decisions,
he realised that his life was spiralling out of control, and he needed to make a change. He turned
to Jesus in prayer and experienced his loving presence. He decided to attend church again.
He went to the Sacrament of Reconciliation. He joined our parish youth group called “Light-Life”
and started coming to Bible Study group after Sunday morning Mass. He was very grateful to
our youth group that welcomed him with an open and non-judgmental attitude. Also, he started
coming to Wednesday Adoration nights. After a few months living according to God’s commandments,
he noticed a significant change in his life and found himself becoming a better person.
Brothers and Sisters, maybe you had a similar journey of faith. At a time when you were far
away from God you experienced a moment of enlightenment, and you realised that Jesus’
love was always there for you. You understood that his love was connected to the commandments.
You wanted to respond to his love, so you decided to live according to God’s call to holiness.
In today’s Gospel, Jesus tells us, "If you love me, you will keep my commandments" (Jn 14:15).
He knows that we are unable to practice the commandments if we will not have a support
from above. This is why he said, "I shall ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate to
be with you for ever” (John 14:16). With the help of that Advocate - the Holy Spirit - we are able
to live in love and to spread the Good News to the whole world. Through the presence of the Holy
Spirit, the Lord is always with us. He assures us, "I will not leave you orphans" (John 14:18).
So many people feel isolated and orphans in our times! People go through a family crisis
and are abandoned by their closest friends. Many lose their faith in the loving presence of God.
If you are one of them, I encourage you to renew your faith in our heavenly Father.
Let me use Saint Paul’s words: "May the God of hope bring you such joy and peace in your faith
that the power of the Holy Spirit will remove all bounds to hope" (Romans 15:13).
In 1994, together with other Salvatorian seminarians from Poland, I went to Lithuania
and Belarus to share the faith with those who had to live under the communist regime for many years.
I met a few Catholic communities without a priest. They kept the faith in such a difficult situation.
Many of them were persecuted because of professing their belief publicly.
I asked them how they survived without sacraments? They said,
"The Holy Spirit was with us, and we felt the love of God present in our hearts."
They had not forgotten the promise of the Lord that he would not leave his followers orphans.
No matter what you go through, you are never abandoned by God and his Church. No matter how far
you may stray from Jesus, you can always turn back to him and experience his love and mercy.
Brothers and Sisters, let us remember, when we decide to follow the Lord and keep his commandments,
we open ourselves up to the guidance of the Holy Spirit. We are empowered to live according to
God's plan for us. So, let us never reject that grace and enjoy God’s loving presence every day.