Ever felt overwhelmed when you’ve tried to learn something?
Good teachers know that learning is a gradual process.
And a good teacher will only teach what the students are ready to understand.
Teachers start with the basics.
And with time, helps them build on the lessons they learned before.
Jesus knew that.
As a good teacher, he knew that his apostles
couldn’t learn everything about the Truth all at once.
His Truth was too complex a thing
to expect anyone, even his disciples, to understand all in one sitting.
Like the good teacher he is,
Jesus is never going to overwhelm us with the Truth.
With time and experience and prayer,
more of the Truth will be made known to us by the Holy Spirit.
Just as St. Ignatius Loyola begins his Spiritual Exercises
with something called the “The First Principle and Foundation,”
so, too, does Jesus start with the basics with us.
Good News indeed!
—Fr. Raymond Guiao, S.J. serves as President of St. Ignatius High School, Cleveland, OH.