May 24, 2026
The Gospel according to St. John, xiv. 23-31.
“At that time, Jesus said to His disciples: If any one love Me, he will keep My word, and My Father will love him, and We will come to him, and will make Our abode with him. He that loveth Me not, keepeth not My word; and the word which you have heard is not Mine, but the Father’s who sent Me. These things have I spoken to you, abiding with you; but the Paraclete, the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring all things to your mind whatsoever I shall have said to you. Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you; not as the world giveth do I give unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, nor let it be afraid. You have heard that I said to you, I go away, and I come unto you. If you loved Me, you would indeed be glad because I go to the Father; for the Father is greater than I. And now I have told you before it came to pass, that when it shall come to pass you may believe. I will not now speak many things with you; for the prince of this world cometh, and in Me he hath not anything. But that the world may know that I love the Father, and as the Father hath given Me commandment, so do I.”
Summary of the Morrow’s Meditation
We will transport ourselves to-morrow in thought to the cenacle, where the Holy Spirit descends upon the apostles; and we will consider: 1st, the reasons of His coming into the world; 2d, the wonders of His divine operations in heaven and upon earth. We will then make the resolution: 1st, with all our hearts to thank the Holy Spirit for all that He does for the good of the Church and for our own salvation; 2d, to offer ourselves to Him, to obey in all things His holy inspirations. Our spiritual nosegay shall be the words of the Psalmist: “Thou shalt send forth Thy Spirit, and Thou shalt renew the face of the earth” (Ps. ciii. 30).
Meditation for the Morning
Let us transport ourselves in spirit to the cenacle, where the Blessed Virgin and the apostles are assembled, awaiting in the fervor of prayer the descent of the Holy Ghost. Let us represent to ourselves the marvellous descent, the tongues of fire which rest on the head of every one of them, a symbol of the invisible transformation which takes place within, of the sacred flames of love and of zeal which fill the whole of their interior and change them into other men. Let us ardently desire to be ourselves kindled with the sacred fire, and let us call to us the Divine Spirit, the Author of all these wonders.
FIRST POINT
Why the Holy Ghost Descends upon Earth on this Day
If the Holy Ghost descends upon earth to-day, it is not to make us a passing visit; it is to remain there always with us throughout all ages; it is to found there, and there to govern, the holy Church; to preserve it always one, holy, catholic, and apostolic; to maintain it in the truth against all the attacks of impiety and of heresy; to assist it in its teaching, in such a manner that it shall always be able to say: “It has seemed good to the Holy Ghost and to us” (Acts xv. 28). It is to render it eternally fruitful and forever to engender in it saints and children of God, apostles to carry it over the whole earth, martyrs to confirm it by the testimony of their blood, doctors to enlighten it by their science, elect souls to edify it by their virtues. What a great and beautiful mission! It is only a God who could fulfil it. And this mission is the work of the Holy Ghost rather than that of the two other Divine Persons: 1st, because God, having already sent us His word, His thought, His intellectual image, He wills that His love should still come and visit us, in order that we may thoroughly understand that everything in the Trinity consists of love for us; power creates and preserves us, wisdom redeems us, and love sanctifies us; 2d, because the sending of the Holy Ghost characterizes and shows forth the spirit of the New Law. Jesus Christ does not will that we should suffer fear and servitude; He says to the substantial love which unites the Father and the Son, and who is God equal to both the one and the other, “O Spirit of love, go and teach them to serve Me by love; shed in their hearts the spirit of adoption of children, whereby they will call God their Father; the spirit of charity, the spirit of love.” Such, in fact, since Pentecost, has been the true character of religion. All in it is love; love is the whole of the Gospel; love flowing in every direction through the heart as the fountain of life, there is the whole of Christianity. Is this the idea we form of it? Do we endeavor to realize it in the whole of our conduct, above all in our exercises of piety and in the reception of the sacraments? Is it love which rules and inspires us? Is our life a life of love?
SECOND POINT
The Marvellous Operations of the Holy Spirit in Heaven and on Earth
We may consider these operations as a whole or in their details. 1st. If we consider them as a whole, they present a magnificent spectacle to us. They begin in the bosom of the Father, where the Divine Spirit alone perfectly loves the divine greatness, even as the Father alone is perfectly acquainted with them and the Word alone praises them worthily. This love ravishes the Father and the Son; it is their eternal felicity. If, from the bosom of the Father, we pass on to Mary, to the angels and the saints, we behold the Divine Spirit which moves and animates them all, which vivifies the whole of heaven, sets it on fire and makes it sing its magnificent canticles to the honor of God. If from thence we descend to the earth, we still see there the same Divine Spirit inspiring all holy souls, inspiring their hearts with innumerable noble sentiments, praises and love which rise ceaselessly to heaven; so that it is one and the same Spirit which makes all the saints pray in heaven and upon earth, which animates God Himself and His fragile creature, and forms, as it were, a magnificent concert, a sublime harmony to the glory of the three Divine Persons; a sweet truth, which ought to lead us to do everything, to say everything, and to think everything in union with the Holy Ghost and by His movements. 2d. The operations of the Holy Ghost, considered in their details, are not less admirable. What a marvel it is to see the eternal God occupied every day with the soul of every one of us, in order to sanctify it, knocking at the door of every heart when we will not open it to Him (Apoc. iii. 20), knocking at it whole years long without allowing His love to be discouraged by rebuffs; and when we receive Him, enlightening our intelligence, inflaming our will, reproving or encouraging it, sometimes attracting it by the sweetness of His unction, sometimes perfecting it by means of a seeming severity, but always at work to form Jesus Christ in us (Gal. iv. 19). Oh, how greatly do these marvels deserve all our praise, all our gratitude, and all our love, above all on the great feast of Pentecost!
Resolutions and spiritual nosegay as above.