He will abide with you: sermon on Whitsunday

By a Dominican Friar   |   4 June 2025

“The Paraclete, the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things.”

At the Last Supper, on the last night of our Lord’s mortal life, we find mention of two gifts. One of these gifts is given, and the other is promised. The gift that is given is the Blessed Sacrament.  Christ gave His own Body and Blood to the apostles at the Last Supper, under the appearances of bread and wine. They receive it and are strengthened. The gift that is promised is the Holy Ghost, the Paraclete, whom the Father will send to the apostles in Christ’s name. This promise was fulfilled fifty days after Easter Sunday, on the feast of Pentecost.

Why does Christ wait for these seven weeks before giving them the second gift? It’s so that He can first ascend into heaven. That way, the apostles will understand that it is Christ also, and not the Father alone, who sends the Holy Spirit from heaven, and hence that Christ is enthroned with the Father in majesty.

Now, there are two similarities and one difference that we can notice between these two gifts, the Blessed Sacrament and the Holy Ghost. Let’s look first at the similarities. First of all, neither of them is some created gift, but rather each of them is a divine Person. The Blessed Sacrament, as we know, is Jesus Christ. It is He Who is really present under the appearances of bread and wine. But our Lord is a divine Person. He is the second Person of the Blessed Trinity. He proceeds from the Father eternally, as the Father’s eternal Word.

And the Holy Ghost, who was given at Pentecost, is also a divine Person. He is the third Person of the Blessed Trinity. He proceeds eternally from the Father and the Son. He is Their love, or rather, He proceeds from Their love, somewhat as heat proceeds from a flame.

That’s the first similarity between these two gifts: each is the gift of a divine Person. The second is that each of these gifts involves a real presence. We all know about the real presence of Jesus in the tabernacle, and wherever the Blessed Sacrament is carried, for example, when it is brought to the sick, or placed in the monstrance. This real presence lasts for as long as the appearances of bread remain intact.

But there is also a real presence of the Holy Spirit in the soul of the believer. That is why we are called His temple. When we have been baptised, the Holy Ghost, the third divine Person, really dwells within us. How long does this presence last? It lasts as long as sanctifying grace remains intact. Only mortal sin can drive out sanctifying grace, and so the Holy Ghost, from our soul. If we commit smaller faults, they may make us for a while less conscious of the Holy Spirit’s presence within us, but He is still there, dwelling the innermost part of our soul as once He dwelled in the innermost chamber of the temple in Jerusalem. 

Since we have the Holy Ghost within us, we can enjoy a friendship with Him, speaking to Him as we speak to Christ in the Blessed Sacrament. And while we may be sometimes unable to get to a church as often as we wish, we can always enter our own souls. As a way of deepening their friendship with the third Person of the Trinity, some people like to consecrate one of the days of the week to Him. For example, since we think of the Resurrection every Sunday, we may like to consecrate Monday to the Holy Spirit, since Monday follows Sunday as Pentecost follows Easter. 

But finally, there is also a difference between these two gifts. The Blessed Sacrament is given to us only while this world lasts. It is the bread of wayfarers, given to strengthen us on our journey. In heaven, there will be no more sacraments, since we shall see face-to-face. But of the Holy Ghost, Christ says, “He will abide with you”, that is, in your souls, “forever”. He is the fountain of life, whom our Lord promises to the Samaritan woman, whose waters never fail.