If I Do Not Go Away
From a commentary on the gospel of John by Saint Cyril of Alexandria, bishop (c.376-444)
If I do not go away, the Comforter will not come to you
Narrated by Frank Dugan, Huntington Beach, California
After Christ had completed his mission on earth, it still remained necessary for us to become sharers in the divine nature of the Word. We had to give up our own life and be so transformed that we would begin to live an entirely new kind of life that would be pleasing to God. This was something we could do only by sharing in the Holy Spirit.
It was most fitting that the sending of the spirit and his descent upon us should take place after the departure of Christ our Savior. As long as Christ was with them in the flesh, it must have seemed to believers that they possessed every blessing in him; but when the time came for him to ascend to his heavenly Father, it was necessary for him to be united through his Spirit to those who worshiped him, and to dwell in our hearts through faith. Only by his own presence within us in this way could he give us confidence to cry out, Abba, Father, make it easy for us to grow in holiness and, through our possession of the all-powerful Spirit, fortify us invincibly against the wiles of the devil and the assaults of men.
It can easily be shown from examples both in the Old Testament and the New that the Spirit changes those in whom he comes to dwell; he so transforms them that they begin to live a completely new kind of life. Saul was told by the prophet Samuel: The Spirit of the Lord will take possession of you, and you shall be changed into another man. Saint Paul writes: As we behold the glory of the Lord with unveiled faces, that glory, which comes from the Lord who is the Spirit, transforms us all into his own likeness, from one degree of glory to another.
Does this not show that the Spirit changes those in whom he comes to dwell and alters the whole pattern of their lives? With the Spirit within them it is quite natural for people who had been absorbed by the things of this world to become entirely other-worldly in outlook, and for cowards to become men of great courage. There can be no doubt that this is what happened to the disciples. The strength they received from the Spirit enabled them to hold firmly to the love of Christ, facing the violence of their persecutors unafraid. Very true, then, was our Savior’s saying that it was to their advantage for him to return to heaven: his return was the time appointed for the descent of the Holy Spirit.
Source: The Liturgy of the Hours – Office of Readings
St. Cyril of Alexandria was Born at Alexandria, Egypt around the year 376 and was the nephew of the patriarch of Alexandria, Theophilus. He received a classical and theological education at Alexandria and was ordained by his uncle. He accompanied Theophilus to Constantinople in 403 and was present at the Synod of the Oak which deposed John Chrysostom, who was later restored and confirmed as bishop of Constantinople. Cyril succeeded his Uncle as patriarch of Alexandria in 412. Cyril began a series of attacks against the Novatians, whose churches he closed, and against the Jews whom he drove out of the city. In 430 Cyril became embroiled with Nestorius, the patriarch of Constantinople, who was preaching heresies denying Mary as the Mother of God, and opposing the doctrine of the Incarnation. A synod was held in Rome under Pope Celestine I which condemned Nestorius and his teachings. Refusing to recant his positions, Nestorius was excommunicated. In 431 Cyril presided over the third general Council at Ephesus, attended by some two hundred bishops, which condemned all the tenets of Nestorius and his followers. Nestorius was forced into exile.
Cyril wrote treatises that clarified the doctrines of the Trinity and the Incarnation which helped stem the spread of Nestorianism and Pelagianism from taking root in the Christian community. He died in 444 at the age of 68. He was the most brilliant theologian of the Alexandrian tradition. His writings are characterized by accurate thinking, precise exposition, and great reasoning skill. Among his writings are commentaries on John, Luke, and the Pentateuch, treatises on dogmatic theology, an Apologis against Julian the Apostate, and letters and sermons. He was declared a Doctor of the Church by Pope Leo XIII in 1882.