The Church hasn’t been just sitting around. Layer upon layer of protection against unclean spirits has been put in place, and remains in place to this day. We all walk by hundreds of people every day in whom Jesus is alive and vigorously active. There is a red candle burning next to the place where Jesus is physically present in Catholic Churches all over the world. Millions of people will receive the very life of Jesus in their hands today.

If any were to create a Christian and biblical portrait of Truth Seeking, they could do no better than a picture of a group of women and men in a room, with flames upon the head of each one, flames that burned, but did not injure or consume.

We are not called just to be good. We are called to be thin places, revelations – burning bushes, pillars of cloud and fire, places where people can reach out and touch the mercy of God, places where the inner life of God dwells, places where the voice of God speaks, and banishes anxiety, guilt, and fear.

The disciples didn’t have the Bible, the sacraments, and the Holy Spirit so they had to think it through, talk it through, and write it down. We have the opportunity with all those things to “get it”.

We who are criticizing the disciples for being dunces have a terrific advantage that the disciples didn’t have until after the Resurrection, viz., all of us who have been baptized and confirmed have received the Holy Spirit, as Jesus promised.

The disciples have seen Jesus do incredible works of power, they believe He has the words of eternal life, and now, when He says He is leaving, they don’t even want to know what the plan is?

This perfect love relationship between God the Father and God the Son is what we humans know as the Holy Spirit. And it is the Holy Spirit that Jesus says He will send to us.

St Matthias reminds us that we have to be running hard all the time just to keep up with the Holy Spirit .

In our lives there is much routine, but most people understand that it is very important that they do the routine things well.

And that same Jesus, in whom the fullness of God is still pleased to dwell, touches earth with heaven every day.