Pentecost Sunday, C Adult Confirmation Mass June 8, 2025
Fr. Alexander Albert St. Mary Magdalen, Abbeville
Jesus says the word “peace” 23 times in the gospels. A few times are as part of a lesson. A few times are when he uses it like a simple farewell, “go in peace.” A few are when he tells the apostles to wish peace to the houses they visit while going on mission. The only time he gives peace directly to the Apostles, however, is the last supper and here. At the last supper, he says “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you,” but even that is really part of his promise to send the Holy Spirit to them later. So, when he shows up in the upper room after his death is the first time he says outright “peace be with you.”
It’s no longer a promise of what he will do, he’s doing it. He has done it. After the second “peace be with you,” he says, “as the Father has sent me, so I send you.” The Father has sent. It’s already done. Jesus is saying, “I’ve accomplished what I was sent to do, here’s the peace that comes from that, now you bring it to others.” Then he breathes the Holy Spirit upon them and empowers them to forgive sins.
Do you see all the strands here? Jesus’ death and resurrection has accomplished the mission given him by the Father, which is to bring peace to his people by granting them the forgiveness of sins. Now that he’s done that, he calls upon his apostles to do the same by the power of the Holy Spirit. The Father – the cross – the resurrection – the forgiveness of sins – the Holy Spirit – Peace. This is the bundle, the package you and I are commissioned to give to others.
To receive the Holy Spirit is to receive the peace of God, which is not like the peace of this world. It is not merely getting along or avoiding conflict. It is a deep, abiding communion made possible only by forgiveness of sins through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. You’ve received that reconciliation in Baptism, your Confirmation means you’ve been given the mission to bring it to others. Not to baptize or hear confessions – that’s the sacramental capstone to a much larger building – no, your part in the mission is all that must come before that capstone can be placed. It is to convince others that such reconciliation exists, that it’s necessary, and that it can be found in its fullness only in the Catholic Church. Your words, your actions, your lives are to proclaim peace so compellingly that those who do not know Christ will be drawn to the Church to find him and the peace only he can give.
How, though? How do you carry out such a mission? The same way Jesus did, by cooperating with the Holy Spirit. Although Jesus is God, he’s also human. While on earth, Jesus’ humanity allowed the Holy Spirit to guide and work through him. That’s why he made a point of being baptized and having the Holy Spirit show up like a dove. Jesus isn’t flexing his own divinity as the Son, but showing how human beings cooperate with the Holy Spirit. Jesus outright says that, with the help of the Holy Spirit, his disciples will do what he did and even more.
It’s a pretty amazing and humbling thing, really, to think Jesus the God-Man promised us the ability to do what he did so long as we follow the Holy Spirit he has given us. Amazing, but still, what does that actually look like? Practically speaking, how exactly do I go about following the Holy Spirit? Pick up your cross and follow Jesus. While you do that, here are 3 practical things to consider.
The first is the most important and straightforward: follow the Church. Jesus gives the Holy Spirit to the Apostles who are the bishops of the Church. Scripture makes it clear that Jesus’ own authority and the power of the Holy Spirit will always remain with the Church. Obey the successors to the apostles, stay united to the Pope and Bishops, and you will be following the Holy Spirit. Despite the many weak and wicked men who have sometimes become leaders of the Church, we have not fallen, have not lost the teaching of Jesus Christ, and have not stopped producing saints. The Sacraments and the Teachings of the Church are clear, easy-to-see ways to follow the Holy Spirit.
The second is less clear, but probably the most exciting: works of power. Sometimes the Holy Spirit lights us up like a bolt from the sky, setting our hearts and minds on fire and the emotional reaction is immense. I’ve been knocked to the floor, overcome with laughter, and perhaps more than anything else, moved to tears by his presence. God made us a body-soul unity and has redeemed our entire human nature, which includes our emotions. It’s important that we learn how to accept that and respond to it. In this category, I include the more obvious miracles like healing and speaking languages you don’t know because these almost always evoke a profound, tangible, emotional response. Overwhelming conviction of sin and contrition, joy and peace beyond words, impossible courage in the face of suffering… these and more are very real. For some people and some times, they’re absolutely necessary. Believe they’re possible, ask for them, accept them when they come.
A word of caution, though. God is not the only one who can touch our emotions. Although the world and the devil can never do it as directly or with as much purity, they can evoke emotions so intense that we confuse them for the divine touch. Demons can also produce supernatural events to mislead us. Emotions and supernatural phenomena are a sign of the Holy Spirit, but they are not the only or most reliable sign. As scripture itself tells us, we must discern the spirits in our lives. We must examine our experiences in the light of Church teaching and in light of the clearer parts of our relationship with God. Human beings are rational animals. Animals feel, but rational ones can reason and think about what we feel before acting on it.
The third and perhaps least understood way to follow the Holy Spirit is virtue. Virtue is a good habit, a capacity for good that we build up through practice. Virtue is the “second nature” we develop rather than simply inherit. Exercising good judgment, practicing self-control, striving to be fair and honest, developing endurance in difficulty… the more we do these, the more we become like God. I’ve experienced tears and laughter and powerful emotions from the Holy Spirit. Well, I’ve also seen him in the very ordinary and boring effort to sit down and write a homily, in my “best guess” giving advice in the confessional, and in some day-to-day decision making. When living a life of prayer and striving to be virtuous and good, the Holy Spirit sometimes “sneaks up” on you and works powerfully in ordinary moments. You may feel basically nothing but one day look back and realize, “wow, that very ordinary conversation changed a life.” Many a Christian writer has looked back on their own writings years later to say “wow, I wrote that? That’s way beyond me. Must have been inspired.”
You see, God doesn’t want puppets driven by external forces or well-trained animals simply obeying instinct and emotion. He wants authentic human persons, thinking and acting freely as they develop more and more to be like Christ himself. Not artificial copycats, but authentic children who resemble their father yet remain uniquely themselves. The Holy Spirit dwells in us for a reason.
So, how do I follow the Holy Spirit? Strive to become a saint, to become the unique saint you were made to be. Obey the Church as a clear and objective reference point. Receive with gratitude and share with generosity the extraordinary acts of power given by God. Each day, follow Jesus Christ by building up the habits, the virtues of choosing what is better and better again and again until your every action becomes simply the natural expression of what you already are: a child of God.