Posted on 05/17/2026 9:12:55 PM PDT by fidelis
The disciples said to Jesus, “Now you are talking plainly, and not in any figure of speech. Now we realize that you know everything and that you do not need to have anyone question you. Because of this we believe that you came from God.” John 16:29–30
Throughout John’s Gospel, Jesus often speaks in allegories and metaphors that the disciples struggle to comprehend. Among these, He referred to Himself as the Good Shepherd, the Bread of Life, the Light of the World, the True Vine, and Living Water. However, during the Last Supper, Jesus speaks clearly and openly, without the veiled language they were accustomed to. He speaks of the Father’s love for them, His imminent departure and return to the Father, and how He would send the Holy Spirit—the Spirit of Truth—to guide them into all truth.
As the Apostles listened to Jesus speak plainly, they rejoiced in a newfound clarity, indicating that their faith had reached a deeper level. At this pivotal moment, just hours before Jesus’ arrest and Passion, their new insight must have amazed even them: “Now we realize that you know everything…we believe that you came from God.”
This new level of understanding was just the beginning of a journey that would lead them deeper into all Truth in the years to come. However, despite their new understanding, Jesus quickly adds that they will soon “be scattered” and leave Jesus alone. Their newfound clarity would quickly come face to face with the Cross.
The experience of the Apostles teaches us much about our own spiritual journeys. Prior to the Last Supper, the Apostles grew in faith through years of listening to Jesus, grappling with veiled language, and witnessing miracles... He did this, in part, because He knew they would be traumatized by His Passion—and indeed, they were.
In each of our lives, we find a similar pattern. As we learn to pray, meditate on the Gospels, and study divine truths, we are encouraged as we begin to realize the treasure we have discovered. We might then experience a moment of clarity, sensing God speaking directly to us. When that happens, it’s easy to assume that everything in life will immediately be easier. Yet the Cross often comes next. Like the Apostles, we might stumble, become confused or fearful, and scatter.
The lesson taught by the Apostles is one we must grasp. When we are gifted with spiritual insights and consolations, finding that life...God needs to purify our faith and strengthen our wills. He does this by preparing us for a fuller participation in His Sacrifice.
When we face a heavy cross, our first response is often to resist it. We might wonder where God is and why this suffering has afflicted us... The momentary confusion and affliction must give way to God’s power to deepen us in ways that good spiritual feelings and insights alone cannot.
Once the Holy Spirit descended fully on the disciples at Pentecost, their clarity and consolations were even greater, but so were the crosses they endured... We need consolations so that our wills are strengthened when strength is needed the most.
Reflect today on your own journey ahead. As you look to the future, know that God wants to teach you much and lift the veil from His divine truths. He does so not because He wants everything to be easy or one unending consolation, but because He wants you to share in the sacrificial love revealed through His Passion. In the end, it is that purified love that has the potential to make us holy and share in the glory of the saints.
My revealing Lord, You lifted the veil to divine mysteries for the Apostles during the Last Supper as a way of preparing them for Your coming Passion and the confusion they would endure. As I journey through life, I trust that You will continually reveal Yourself to me so that I can share more fully in Your sacrificial love, which is the only way to the glory of the Resurrection. Jesus, I trust in You.
Dear FRiends,
We need your continuing support to keep FR funded. Your donations are our sole source of funding. No sugar daddies, no advertisers, no paid memberships, no commercial sales, no gimmicks, no tax subsidies. No spam, no pop-ups, no ad trackers.
If you enjoy using FR and agree it's a worthwhile endeavor, please consider making a contribution today:
Click here: to donate by Credit Card
Or here: to donate by PayPal
Or by mail to: Free Republic, LLC - PO Box 9771 - Fresno, CA 93794
Thank you very much and God bless you,
Jim
Please keep in mind that this is a Catholic Caucus/Devotional thread for the purpose of prayerful reflection on the Sacred Scriptures and is closed to debate of any kind. Per FR policy on Religion Caucus threads, off-topic, argumentative, and abusive comments are not allowed and will be submitted to the Mods for deletion. Thanks, and God bless you.
The Month of May is Dedicated to Devotion to Mary, the Mother of God.
“And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and she exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! And why is this granted me, that the Mother of my Lord should come to me?” (Luke 1:41-43)
Pope Leo XIV’s prayer intention for the month of May, 2026:
That everyone might have food
Let us pray that everyone, from large producers to small consumers, be committed to avoid wasting food, and to ensure that everyone has access to quality food.
Today’s First Reading
From: Acts 19:1-8
Disciples of John the Baptist at Ephesus
----------------------------------------
[1] While Apollos was at Corinth, Paul passed through the upper country and came to Ephesus. There he found some disciples. [2] And he said to them, "Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?" And they said, "No, we have never even heard that there is a Holy Spirit." [3] And he said, "Into what then were you baptized?" They said, "Into John's baptism." [4] And Paul said, "John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in the one who was to come after him, that is, Jesus." [5] On hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. [6] And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Spirit came on them; and they spoke with tongues and prophesied. [7] There were about twelve of them in all
. Paul's Preaching and Miracles at Ephesus
----------------------------------------
[8] And he entered the synagogue and for three months spoke boldly, arguing and pleading about the kingdom of God.
***********************************************************************
Commentary:
1-7. This presence in Ephesus of a group of disciples who had received only John's baptism is open to various interpretations. The text seems to imply that they were not, properly speaking, Christians but people who followed the Baptist's teaching and whom Paul regarded as incipient Christians, to the point of calling them disciples. We say this because in the New Testament being a Christian is always connected with receiving Baptism and having the Holy Spirit (cf. Jn 3:5; Rom 8:9; 1 Cor 12:3; Gal 3:2; Acts 11:17; etc.).
2. Leaving aside questions as to the origin and composition of this group of disciples, their simple statement about knowing nothing about the Holy Spirit and his part in fulfilling the messianic promises points to the need to preach Christian doctrine in a systematic, gradual and complete way.
Christian catechesis, John Paul II reminds us, "must be systematic, not improvised but programmed to reach a precise goal; it must deal with essentials, without any claim to tackle all disputed questions or to transform itself into theological research or scientific exegesis; it must nevertheless be sufficiently complete, not stopping short at the initial proclamation of the Christian mystery such as we have in the kerygma; it must be an integral Christian initiation, open to all the other factors of Christian life" ("Catechesi Tradendae", 21).
3-4. "The whole teaching and work of John," St Thomas Aquinas writes, "was in preparation for Christ, as the helper and under-craftsman are responsible for preparing the materials for the form which the head-craftsman produces. Grace was to be conferred on men through Christ: 'Grace and truth have come through Jesus Christ' (Jn 1 :17). And therefore, the baptism of John did not confer grace, but only prepared the way for grace in a threefold way--in one way, by John's teaching, which led men to faith in Christ; in another way, by accustoming men to the rite of Christ's Baptism; and in a third way, through penance, which prepared men to receive the effect of Christ's Baptism" ("Summa Theologiae", III, q. 38, a. 3).
5. "They were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus": the view of most commentators is that this does not mean that the Trinitarian formula which appears in Mt 28:19 (cf. note on Acts 2:38) ("in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit") was not used. The reference here may simply be a way of distinguishing Christian Baptism from other baptismal rites which were features of Judaism in apostolic times--particularly John the Baptist's rite. Besides, Christian Baptism was administered on Jesus Christ's instructions (cf. Mt 28:19), in union with him and using his power: Jesus' redemptive action is initiated by the Father and expresses itself in the full outpouring of the Holy Spirit.
6. This passage speaks of the laying on of hands, something distinct from Baptism, as seen already in Acts 8:14-17, whereby the Holy Spirit is received. This is the sacrament which will come to be called Confirmation and which has been conferred, from the beginnings of the Church, as one of the sacraments of Christian initiation.
Referring to Confirmation, John Paul II has said: "Christ's gift of the Holy Spirit is going to be poured out upon you in a particular way. You will hear the words of the Church spoken over you, calling upon the Holy Spirit to confirm your faith, to seal you in his love, to strengthen you for his service. You will then take your place among fellow-Christians throughout the world, full citizens now of the People of God. You will witness to the truth of the Gospel in the name of Jesus Christ. You will live your lives in such a way as to make holy all human life. Together with all the confirmed, you will become living stones in the cathedral of peace. Indeed you are called by God to be instruments of his peace [...].
"You, too, are strengthened inwardly today by the gift of the Holy Spirit, so that each of you in your own way can carry the Good News to your companions and friends. [...]. The same Holy Spirit comes to you today in the sacrament of Confirmation, to involve you more completely in the Church's fight against sin and in her mission of fostering holiness. He comes to dwell more fully in your hearts and to strengthen you for the struggle with evil [...]. The world of today needs you, for it needs men and women who are filled with the Holy Spirit. It needs your courage and hopefulness, your faith and your perseverance. The world of tomorrow will be built by you. Today you receive the gift of the Holy Spirit so that you may work with deep faith and with abiding charity, so that you may help to bring to the world the fruits of reconciliation and peace. Strengthened by the Holy Spirit and his manifold gifts [...], strive to be unselfish; try not to be obsessed with material things" ("Homily at Coventry Airport", 30 May 1982).
As is the case with Baptism and Holy Orders, Confirmation imprints an indelible mark or character on the soul.
8-10. This summarized account of Paul's activity in Ephesus is filled out by the account we are given of the Apostle's farewell to the elders of that city (cf. 20: 18-35) and by information contained in his letters to the Corinthians. Paul made Ephesus the base for his missionary work in the surrounding region, for which he counted on help from Timothy, Erastus, Gaius, Titus and Epaphras of Colossae.
During his stay in Ephesus he wrote 1 Corinthians and the Letter to the Galatians.
8. Paul returns to the synagogue where he taught previously (cf. 18:19-21); the Jews' resistance and lack of understanding do not lessen his zeal.
From: John 16:29-33
Fullness of Joy (Continuation)
------------------------------
[29] His (Jesus') disciples said, "Ah, now You are speaking plainly, not in any figure! [30] Now we know that You know all things, and need none to question You; by this we believe that You came from God." [31] Jesus answered them, "Do you now believe? [32] The hour is coming, indeed it has come, when you will be scattered, every man to his home, and will leave Me alone; yet I am not alone, for the Father is with Me. [33] I have said this to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world."
***********************************************************************
Commentary:
25-30. As can be seen also from other passages in the Gospels, Jesus spent time explaining His doctrine in more detail to His Apostles than to the crowd (cf. Mark 4:10-12 and paragraph)—to train them for their mission of preaching the Gospel to the whole world (cf. Matthew 28:18-20). However, our Lord also used metaphors or parables when imparting instruction to the Apostles, and He does so in this discourse of the Last Supper--the vine, the woman giving birth, etc.: He stimulates their curiosity and they, because they do not understand, ask Him questions (cf. verses 17-18). Jesus now tells them that the time is coming when He will speak to them in a completely clear way so that they will know exactly what He means. This He will do after the Resurrection (cf. Acts 1:3). But even now, since He knows their thoughts, He is making it ever plainer to them that He is God, for only God can know what is happening inside someone (cf. 2:25). Verse 28, "I came from the Father and have come into the world; again, I am leaving the world and going to the Father" summarizes the mystery of Christ's Person (cf. John 1:14; 20:31).
31-32. Jesus moderates the Apostles' enthusiasm, which expresses itself in a spontaneous confession of faith; He does this by asking them a question which has two dimensions. On the one hand, it is a kind of reproach for their having taken too long to believe in Him: it is true that there were other occasions when they expressed faith in the Master (cf. John 6:68-69; etc.), but until now they have not fully realized that He is the One sent by the Father. The question also refers to the fragility of their faith: they believe, and yet very soon they will abandon Him into the hands of His enemies. Jesus requires us to have a firm faith: it is not enough to show it in moments of enthusiasm, it has to stand the test of difficulties and opposition.
33. The Second Vatican Council teaches in connection with this passage: "The Lord Jesus who said `Be of good cheer, I have overcome the world' (John 16:33), did not by these words promise complete victory to His Church in this world. This sacred Council rejoices that the earth which has been sown with the seed of the Gospel is now bringing forth fruit in many places under the guidance of the Spirit of the Lord, who is filling the world" ("Presbyterorum Ordinis", 22).
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
