Some time ago our cry was “He has risen” Today our cry changes to “Come Holy Spirit!”

And our voice is not one blowing in the wind. We are relying on the promise of Jesus Himself when He told us that He would send the Spirit, the Advocate, the Counselor. Christ told us that the Spirit would remind us of His teaching and will guide us back to the Father.

In our world of today we need the discernment and guidance of the Spirit. There is a cacophony of voices, not all leading to truth, vying for our allegiance. We need help distinguishing one from the other. We need to allow for the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, the breath of God to come through clearly. That breath of God gave humanity life, inspired prophets and kings and caused the Incarnation and impelled Jesus to His public life and to His Passion, Death and Resurrection. Now the Church awaits the Spirit's work today.

Some will receive the Spirit in Confirmation while the rest of us renew our commitment to listen and act under the Spirit's tutelage. Let us all never forget that we are not alone on this journey. The Spirit walks with us and leads us back to God.

Audio recordings of the daily Mass readings from the New American Bible are being provided by the U.S. Bishops' Catholic Communication Campaign (CCC) in association with the Confraternity of Christian Doctrine. Information on downloading the audio versions of the readings can be found on the popular "Daily Readings" section at www.usccb.org/nab.

General: Administrators of Justice. That administrators of justice may act always with integrity and right conscience.
Mission: Seminaries. That seminaries, especially those of mission churches, may form pastors after the Heart of Christ, fully dedicated to proclaiming the Gospel.

For reflections on these intentions go to Pope's Prayer Intentions at www.apostleshipofprayer.org.