Paraclete,i.e. Comforter. They had then one Comforter, who comforted and elevated them by the sweetness of His miracles, and His preaching. DIDYMUS. But the Holy Spirit was another Comforter: differing not in nature, but in operation. For whereas our Savior in His office of Mediator, and of Messenger, and as High Priest, made supplication for our sins; the Holy Ghost is a Comforter in another sense, i.e. as consoling our griefs. But do not infer from the different operations of the Son and the Spirit, a difference of nature. For in other places we find the Holy Spirit performing the office of intercessor with the Father, as, The Spirit Himself intercedes for us. And the Savior, on the other hand, pours consolation into those hearts that need it: as in Maccabees, He strengthened those of the people that were brought low (1 Macc 14:15).
I will ask - He says, as being the inferior in respect of His humanity - My Father, with Whom I am equal and consubstantial in respect of My Divine natur...
Wherein He shows too that He Himself is the Comforter. Paraclete means advocate, and is applied to Christ: Wehave an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous (1 Jn 2:1).
Yet to show that His works are inseparable from His Father’s, He says below, When I shall go, I will send Him to you.
This is the Holy Spirit in the Trinity, Whom the Catholic faith professes to be consubstantial and coeternal with the Father and the Son.
Thus the world, i.e. the lovers of the world, cannot, He says, receive the Holy Spirit: that is to say, unrighteousness cannot be righteous. The world,i.e. the lovers of the world, cannot receive Him, because it sees Him not. The love of the world has not invisible eyes wherewith to see that which can only be seen invisibly. It follows: But you know Him, for He dwells with you. And that they might not think this I meant a visible dwelling, in the sense in which we use the phrase with respect to a guest, Headds, And shall be in you.
To be in a place is prio...
1. We have heard, brethren, while the Gospel was read, the Lord saying: If you love me, keep my commandments: and I will ask the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter [Paraclete], that He may abide with you for ever; [even] the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it sees Him not, neither knows Him: but you shall know Him; for He shall dwell with you, and shall be in you. There are many points which might form the subject of inquiry in these few words of the Lord; but it were too much for us either to search into all that is here for the searching, or to find out all that we here search for. Nevertheless, as far as the Lord is pleased to grant us the power, and in proportion to our capacity and yours, attend to what we ought to say and you to hear, and receive, beloved, what we on our part are able to give, and apply to Him for that wherein we fail. It is the Spirit, the Comforter, that Christ has promised to His apostles; but let us notice the way in which...
Note too, that when He calls the Holy Spirit the Spirit of truth, He shows that the Holy Spirit is His Spirit: then when He says He is given by the Father, He declares Him to bethe Spirit of the Father also. Thus the Holy Spirit proceeds both from the Father, and from the Son.
If ye love Me, &c. Christ here takes His farewell of His disciples, gives His last commands, which pertain to the exercise of the three chief theological virtues, faith, hope, and charity. Concerning faith He speaks in the1st verse, Ye believe in God, &c. Concerning hope in the3d, Whatsoever ye shall ask, &c. Now He speaks of charity, If you love Me, keep My commandments. And these three are united together. For faith begets hope, and hope begets charity. The meaning then Isaiah , If ye wish to obtain these My promises, and to gain what ye ask in My name, then love Me in return who love you, and persevere and grow in My love. If ye wish to please Me, and through Me obtain all that ye ask, keep My commandments. And if they do this, He promises them a great reward, saying,
Having ordained that when men pray they must ask in His Name and promising that He will Himself supply to them that ask whatsoever they desire to receive, He takes great thought not to seem to speak falsehood, having in view the unholy slanders of such as are wont to be captious. For a man can see, and best out of the Sacred Writings themselves, that some approach and ask earnestly in His Name, and notwithstanding in no wise receive; because God is not ignorant of what is fitting for each and profitable for the askers. Therefore to the end that our Lord Jesus the Christ might clearly exhibit who they are in reference to whom the word has been spoken and stands good, and to whom is due the grace of the promise; He straightway introduced the mention of the persons who love Him, in whose case the promise will assuredly be fulfilled, and conjoins with His saying the exactly-defined keeper of the law, showing that unto such and not unto others shall the promise of kindness and the bestowal ...
Instead of afflicting yourselves at our separation, and my going to the Father, you ought, if you truly love me, to testify your affection, by a faithful observance of my commandments. Behold, this is the best proof you can give me of your attachment: better far than any exterior sign of grief and tenderness. (St. Chrysostom)
The Holy Spirit kindles in every one, in whom He dwells, the desire of things invisible. And since worldly minds love only things visible, this world receives Him not, because it rises not to the love of things invisible. In proportion as secular minds enlarge themselves by the spread of their desires, in that proportion they narrow themselves, with respect to admitting Christ.
But if the Holy Spirit abides in the disciples, how is ita special mark of the Mediator that He abides in Him. We shall better understand if we distinguish between the different gifts of the Spirit. In respect of those gifts without which we cannot attain to salvation, the Holy Spirit ever abides in all the Elect: but in respect of those which do not relate to our own salvation, but to the procuring that of others, He does not always abide in them. For He sometimes withdraws His miraculous gifts, that His grace maybe possessed with humility. Christ has Him without measure and always.
Our Lord having said, Whatsoever you shall ask in My name, that I will do; that they might not think simply asking would be enough, He adds, If you love Me, keep My commandments. And then I will do what you ask, seems to be His meaning. Or the disciple shaving heard Him say, I go to the Father, and being troubled at the thought of it, He says, To love Me, is not to be troubled, but to keep My commandments: this is love, to obey and believe in Him who is loved. And as they had been expressing a strong desire for His bodily presence, He assures them that His absence w ill be supplied to them in another way: And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Comforter.
He says, I will ask the Father, to make them believe Him: which they could not have done, had He simply said, I will send.
But what had He more than the Apostles, if He could only ask the Father to give others the Spirit? The Apostles did this often even without praying.
That He may abide with you for ever. The Spirit...
1. We need everywhere works and actions, not a mere show of words. For to say and to promise is easy for any one, but to act is not equally easy. Why have I made these remarks? Because there are many at this time who say that they fear and love God, but in their works show the contrary; but God requires that love which is shown by works. Wherefore He said to the disciples, If you love Me, keep My commandments. For after He had told them, Whatsoever you shall ask, I will do it, that they might not deem the mere asking to be availing, He added, If you love Me, then, He says, I will do it. And since it was likely that they would be troubled when they heard that, I go to the Father, He tells them to be troubled now is not to love, to love is to obey My words. I have given you a commandment that you love one another, that you do so to each other as I have done to you; this is love, to obey these My words, and to yield to Him who is the object of your love.
And I will ask the Father, and...
