Carmelite homily for Monday (Easter V), May 25, 2020 – Lectionary 297 (John 16:29-33)
In today’s Gospel Jesus tells the Apostles they’re going to be afraid; they’re going to run; they’re going to abandon him; they’re going to go to their homes. But he tells them, ‘take courage and be not afraid.’ But they don’t see the bigger picture; they don’t see the hand of God; they don’t see the plan of God. They don’t see Jesus for who he really is. Blessed Titus Brandsma writes, “Carmel, unlike the children of our day, is not afraid of the mystical life.” That’s the call of today’s Gospel – the mystical life, the spiritual life. To connect heart to Jesus, to connect mind to Jesus, to take on the mind of Jesus. To see the deeper plan, to see God’s hand. And when we see that, and live that, we cannot be afraid.
