Today is the centenary of the birth of Pope St John Paul II. As we give thanks for his life, we ask also for his prayers for our Church, and for the world, this day.

From today’s Gospel reading: ‘But when the Counsellor comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness to me; and you also are witnesses, because you have been with me from the beginning’.

The ‘Counsellor’ is the Paraclete, the Advocate, the Holy Spirit. Increasingly, our gaze is drawn to the forthcoming Descent of the Holy Spirit. We wait, with Mary and the Apostles, in the Upper Room. On Thursday, along with the rest of the Church, we begin the oldest of Novenas, to prepare for Pentecost.

May God bless you in your waiting, with live expectancy.