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May 10, 2026Today being the Sunday before the Ascension of Jesus, the readings focus on the gift of the Holy Spirit who will continue the work of Christ in the world through his disciples. The first reading shows the apostles carrying out the sacrament of confirmation, the calling down of the Holy Spirit, on new believers. It is meant to emphasize the importance of receiving the Holy Spirit in the life of the believers.
In the gospel, Jesus teaches his disciples on the person of the Holy Spirit and the condition for keeping his presence in their lives. He calls the Holy Spirit the Advocate, the comforter, one who teaches, one who like a father and mother will go with the disciples so that they will not feel like orphans.
How will believers get this abiding presence of God? Jesus said that knowing and keeping the commandments obliges him to ask the Father to send the Holy Spirit to those who know and keep the commandments. The first thing is knowledge, the inseparable second thing is action, living according to the knowledge of the tenets of the commandments.
In the history of God and his people there have been people who lost the abiding presence of the Spirit of God by opting out of the obedience to the commandments after they have received the Spirit. A case in mind is Saul who, in his envy, decided to kill David. The Spirit of God left him, and an evil spirit took over. Another case was Solomon who was blessed with divine wisdom, one of the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit. He preferred the pleasures of the flesh which led him to abandon God. The Spirit of God left him and the kingdom of David collapsed because of his sin. It means that we must strive to keep the Spirit otherwise he will abandon us.
From today till Pentecost Sunday, much emphasis will be laid by the liturgical readings on the Holy Spirit. As an advocate, the Holy Spirit does not lose any case before God. As a teacher, the Holy Spirit leads to the whole truth.