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IRENAEUS:

The Son reveals the knowledge of the Father through his own manifestation. For the manifestation of the Son is the knowledge of the Father, since all things are manifested through the Word.

HILARY OF POITIERS:

It was not the carnal body that he had received by birth from the Virgin that could manifest to them the image and likeness of God. The human aspect that he wore could be no aid toward the mental vision of the incorporeal God. But God was recognized in Christ by those who recognized Christ as the Son on the evidence of the powers of his divine nature. And a recognition of God the Son produces a recognition of God the Father. For the Son is in such a sense the image as to be one in kind with the Father and yet in a way that indicates that the Father is his origin. read more

Jesus has two different ways to present His departure during the last supper in the Gospel of Saint John.  He speaks of the mansions or places of the Father and then speaks about how it is good for Him to leave so that the Holy Spirit can come.  There is a separation from Christ that is not due to sin, it is due to His own initiative and in order to strengthen our hearts.  There is at the same time a leaving of Christ and a coming of the Holy Spirit.  If we allow Christ to leave He prepares a place for us in the bosom of the Father.  This place in the Bosom of the Father we begin to inhabit already by the new presence of the Holy Spirit. read more

Since the Resurrection is the reality and fullness of new life, it also marks a definitive break with the past.  This comes out especially in the Gospel narratives where we encounter the risen Christ.  He no longer looks the same, He is only really recognizable in the Word and the Eucharistic Bread.  He encourages His disciples to look forward to the new gift: the Paraclete.  “It is good for you that I go, because if I don’t, the Holy Spirit will not come to you.”  Jesus focuses on His relationship with the Father and encourages His disciples to be “in Him” just as He is in the Father.  Christ is the same yesterday today and forever, but our relationship with Him as with God is something that must constantly be evolving and deepening. read more