Vigil of Pentecost: Homily by St. Augustine, Bishop of Hippo

 

Vigil of Pentecost: Homily by St. Augustine, Bishop of Hippo

74th and 75th Tracts on John

By these words of the Lord: "I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter", He implies that he Himself is a Comforter. The Greek word used, namely "Parakletos," signifies also an Advocate, and is used in that sense where it is written "We have an Advocate Parakleton with the Father, Jesus Christ the Righteous." "Even the Spirit of truth, Whom the world cannot receive," because as we read elsewhere, "the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can it be" as we may say plainly nothing can make unrighteousness righteous. By "the world," in this place, we must understand the lovers of the world, a love which cometh not of the Father. And therefore, it is that this love of the world, which we strive to lessen and to destroy in ourselves, is contrary to "the love of God, which is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us."

The Spirit of truth Whom the world cannot receive, because it sees Him not, neither knows Him "for to love the world is to lack those spiritual eyes, which are able to see Him Who is invisible, the Holy Ghost. "But you know Him," says the Lord to His disciples, "for He shall dwell with you, and shall be in you." He will be in them to dwell in them, not dwell in them to be in them for one must first be in a place before one dwell there. But lest the Apostles should think that the words, "He shall dwell with you," signified that He should visibly abide with them for a while, as do guests in the houses of men, the Lord saith in explanation "He shall be in you."

Therefore is He seen That is invisible. If He were not in us we could have in us no knowledge of Him but He is seen in us, as we see our conscience. We see the faces of other men, but we cannot see our own but of consciences we see none save that within ourselves. But our conscience is never elsewhere but within us whereas the Holy Ghost may be without us, as well as within us. He is given to be within us, and, unless He be within us, we can neither see nor know Him, either within or without us. Then, after that He had promised the Holy Ghost, the Lord, lest they should deem that He was to give them that other Comforter instead of Himself, and that He Himself was to be no longer with them, said also "I will not leave you orphans I will come to you." Therefore, although the Son of God hath made us by adoption sons of His Own Father, and hath willed that the Same Who is His Father by nature should be our Father by grace, nevertheless, He shows that he Himself has toward us a love as of a Father, where He says "I will not leave you orphans."