Homily: May 10. 2025, fourth Sunday of Easter (Good Shepherd)

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 “The disciples were filled with joy and the Holy Spirit.” 

This line always impacts me greatly. Imagine being filled with both joy and the Holy Spirit, especially while facing intense rejection and persecution. That’s not something ordinary. That’s something supernatural - something that comes only from God.

I have five sisters. One of my sisters will start singing without a care in the world and won’t stop – when she drinks just a glass of wine! Another sister becomes the queen of jokes, jokes one after another, creating a funny scene – simply after having a glass or two.

What about me? I just have a good sleep when I get more drinks. The point is, they’re not normally like that. Normally they are too shy to sing or too dull to say anything funny. But wine or alcohol seem to melt away their mental or social blocks making them mentally high and socially carefree.

In the Acts of the Apostles, we see Peter and the other apostles giving their first big preaching, and people thought they were drunk. They said, “They’ve had too much new wine!” Why?

Because they were so lively, joyful, and carefree. They were so unaffected by the reality of their circumstances, they did not seem to worry about persecutions or rejections. It seemed unusual. But they were not drunk on alcohol, they were drunk on the Holy Spirit.

Who can be so joyful in the face of suffering? Who can remain fearless knowing people are waiting to kill them? Who can walk freely and preach with boldness, despite getting threats?

Only those who have been fired up by the Holy Spirit.

Those who are in Christ are a new creation. They think, act, and live differently from the world. When they open their hearts to the Holy Spirit and allow the Spirit to work in and through them, they become an effective and powerful instrument of God to preach His Word and build His kingdom on earth. The apostles became a new creation once they received the Holy Spirit. They no longer lived for themselves; they lived for Christ.

Each of us became a new creation at our Baptism. But the question is: are we allowing the Holy Spirit to work in and through us? Do we want to be an effective and powerful instrument of God?

We live in a world where the teachings of Jesus and the values of the Gospel are often compromised or pushed aside. Political and ideological beliefs oftentimes take priority over the precepts of our faith. Many people resist the voice and guidance of the Holy Spirit.

Thankfully, we have wonderful role models, the apostles and countless saints who provide good examples for us to follow. Think of St. Francis of Assisi, St. Maximilian Kolbe, or St. Francis Xavier. They didn’t live comfortable lives, they lived bold lives, Spirit-filled lives. They followed the teachings of Jesus, the Good Shepherd, fervently and faithfully, but with humility too.

Let us pray for the grace to do the same. Let us open our hearts to the Holy Spirit, and allow Him to make us fearless, joyful, and faithful disciples of Jesus our good shepherd. 

I repeat today’s opening prayer: "Almighty ever-living God, lead us to a share in the joys of heaven, so that the humble flock may reach where the brave Shepherd has gone before."

Amen.


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