If You Only Knew

By: Ivonne Hernandez

“He presented himself alive to them by many proofs after he had suffered, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God.While meeting with them, he enjoined them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for “the promise of the Father about which you have heard me speak; for John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.” (Acts 1:3-5)

 
MEDITATION:


This Sunday we celebrate Pentecost -- the Coming of the Holy Spirit, the promise of the Father.  “But I tell you the truth, it is better for you that I go. For if I do not go, the Advocate will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you.” (Jn 16:7) It is through this Spirit that we become adopted into the family of God. “God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.” (Rm 5:5) This is God’s gift to us, the gift of Himself, the gift of His Love.

A couple of years ago I bought my mother an iPad. She had seen me enjoying mine and had mentioned that it seemed much easier to use than her laptop.  When she opened her gift, she squealed with delight.  Now she had in her hands the same tool she had seen me use and enjoy.  A few weeks later I asked her if she was enjoying her gift, and she said yes, but her voice was hesitant.  She was grateful for my thoughtful gift, but she was disappointed. After listening to her I realized that she was only using it to read her email.  She did not know about all the hundreds of apps available to her. There was nothing wrong with the gift; she just didn’t know how to use it. Little by little she started learning, and today she is truly enjoying her gift.  Best of all, now, when she wants to do something new, she knows that very likely “there is an app for that”, and she knows to ask for what she needs.

“If you knew the gift of God and who is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.” (Jn 4:10) These words from Jesus to the woman at the well are addressed to each of us today. “The Holy Spirit is the living water ‘welling up to eternal life’ in the heart that prays.” (CCC 2652) Jesus asks us to give ourselves to him, so He can fill us with His Love. Each time we receive Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, we satisfy His thirst for us and He satisfies our thirst for God. It is in this reciprocal relationship, in this constant give and take, that we must remain. If we only knew all that we possess! If we only knew the gift of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament! If we truly knew, we would thirst for nothing else but for more of Him. “Ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be complete.” (Jn 16:24) “If you only knew the gift of God…”