Jesus clearly finds it hard to leave us and for this reason he promises the Holy Spirit to act as our guide.
The Spirit, the Essence of Life, is breathed into us many times during our journey of faith; we are energised by the sacraments and particularly the Sacrament of Pentecost – Confirmation – when we agree that we are prepared to live out the message of Jesus ourselves – that the breath of our ‘yes’ is returned by the Spirit’s own acknowledgement – that each breath we take will remind us of God within us.
Within us however, does not mean just ‘for’ us. We are brothers and sisters; we must love as we would wish to be loved; as leaders we must be peace bringers; as community we must hold that peace sacred above all else.
After all this is the message Jesus leaves us with – you are my friends – here is my strength and my gift – be redeemed – change your expectation and judgements – forgive and be forgiven – be together in unity with each other, for each other.