Tenderness and Pentecost go together. In his farewell speech (John 14: 17-18, 25-27; 16: 7-8), a tender Jesus knows the loss his disciples will face when he dies. Jesus speaks for and with the Father to assure the disciples — and us today — that we will always have the presence of the Lord close to us, not only in our heads but in our feelings. In Greek the word for spirit (paraklesis) is properly translated as comfort, the word that is in the older versions of our hymn, Come Holy Ghost: O Comforter, to thee we cry. The God of all comfort is a central message of 2 Corinthians. This God abides with us (John 14:17) and is poured into our hearts through the Spirit given to us (Rom 5:5). There are many other insights about this Holy Spirit we could explore today, but perhaps this is the one we need — to feel God’s comforting concern for the troubles and challenges of our lives right now.
– Blog entry by Sister Mary Garascia
