He Will Guide You to All Truth

Gospel Reflection for May 8th, 2024

Courtesy of EWTN.

Today’s Gospel is a short section from the Last Supper Discourse in the Gospel of John, which is a continuation from the last week of Gospel readings. It is an interesting thing that St. John is the only Gospel that does not record an institution narrative during in his recording of the Last Supper. This may have to do with the fact that John’s Gospel is the last Gospel written,¹ and so St. John was offering what the other Gospels left out, namely, this long discourse including the High Priestly prayer, revelation, and promising of the Holy Spirit, the giving of the New Commandment, etc. In place of the Institution Narrative, we find John’s great Bread of Life Discourse in chapter six.

With this in mind, we can look at today’s Gospel and see the significance of it. St. John is communicating under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, a very important revelation from Our Blessed Lord. It is here that Christ gives His divine promise to the Apostles, and by extension to the entire Church, that the Holy Spirit will guide the Church to all truth:

“When the Spirit of Truth comes, He will guide you to all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak, and He will declare to you the things that are to come.” John 16:13

This divine promise is the basis for the importance of the Magisterium of the Catholic Church. It is important to note, as I said above, that the guidance of the Holy Spirit, in its proper sense, is given to the Apostles, as it is only the twelve that are present at the Last Supper. Now, it is for the benefit of the Church that they are given the guidance of the Spirit, but that benefit is given through the office of Apostle.² Thus, it is here that we can see the importance of Magisterial Authority in the life of the Church.

Our Blessed Lord intended through this promise that the Church would be guided by the Holy Spirit through the office of the Apostles and their successors. This is what preserves doctrinal purity. Without the Magisterium, the church would be reduced to the whims of private interpretation. There would be no guarantee of an authentic theological interpretation handed down for 2000 years. It is the living Magisterium of the Catholic Church that guarantees that the beliefs of the Church in the 21^st century line up with the beliefs of the Church in the 1^st century. This is the work of the Holy Spirit who guides the Church to all truth.

This is the fundamental difference in authority between the Catholic Church and the Protestant Ecclesial Communities. The Catholic Church has the benefit of the 2000-year-old Magisterium to guide the people in what Christ has taught. Unfortunately, since the time of the Reformation, the Protestant communities have relied on private interpretation of Scripture alone for their beliefs.³

This is a question that matters. God desires the salvation of all mankind and, as St. Thomas tells us, that which is found in Divine Revelation is necessary for salvation.⁴ In that desire, God reveals to man that which is required for salvation. At the end of the day, we have to ask ourselves which is more likely to bring about the salvation of souls: The Holy Spirit guiding the successors of the Apostles to the truth that He desires or countless humans interpreting the scriptures for themselves?

The Last Supper discourse also emphasizes the unity of the Church:

“…that they all may be one; even as you, Father, are in me, and I in you…” John 17:21.

I would submit that personal interpretation does not lend itself to unity but, instead, to division over the multiple interpretations that would ensue. Today’s Gospel recounts the divine promise given by Our Lord that His Church will remain guided by the Holy Spirit until His second coming. This, He ensures, for the salvation of its members.

1. Most scholars place the date of composition sometime near the end of the first century, by the year 100 AD. With that said, there is some textual evidence that allows one to argue for a mid 60’s AD writing. Either way, both dates are after the generally accepted dates of the Synoptics.

2. I use the term office here since it is what St. Peter uses when speaking about Judas’ loss and the need to replace him in the Acts of the Apostles. See Acts 1:20 quoting Psalm 109:8.

3. I am aware that not all Protestant communities hold to an absolute sense of Sola Scriptura. I think this reality alone shows the issues with it. If the Bible alone becomes the sole arbiter of what is believed and yet, not all communities hold to this premise, there is an inherent contradiction. Combine this with the premise of Sola Scriptura also being self-defeating, ie, it fails its own test as it is not found anywhere in Scripture, it requires a serious theological search into what the Apostolic Church actually taught as willed by Christ.

4. See St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae Ia, q. 1, a. 1.