Sunday the 10th of May 2026 - The Sixth Sunday of Easter

Acts 8:5-8, 14-17/ Ps 66(65) 1 Peter 3:15-18/ John 14:15-21

Imagine being in the work staff room having a break, when a colleague says, "I noticed you go to Mass. Can I ask you something? Why do you believe all that?" This comes out of the blue, no warning, no time to prepare. What would we say? We might mumble something about it being a family tradition, try to change the subject, wish for a moment that the ground would swallow us up. Without judging I would suggest this would be an awkward moment for most of us. Saint Peter, in the second reading, tells us this is the moment we should be prepared for, saying, "Always be prepared to make a defence to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you" Not occasionally, when it is convenient, but always. Where do we get the strength and confidence to answer such a question?

Now consider the first reading, Philip arrived in Samaria, a place despised by Jerusalem, a place of mixed worship and old wounds, and he began to proclaim the Gospel. Unclean spirits were cast out, the paralysed walk, and there was great joy in the city. This is what happens when the gospel message is preached confidently without fear to people with open hearts. The Apostles in Jerusalem hear that Samaria has accepted the word of God, and they send Peter and John to lay hands on these new believers, so they can receive the Holy Spirit. That might sound familiar to us because it is what the Bishop does when he comes to confer the sacrament of Confirmation on our young people. The practice is two thousand years old and is still alive in our dioceses and parishes today. The successor of the Apostles, our Bishop, comes to confer the Holy Spirit, and we are bound once again to the universal Church in a visible sign of unity.

This is who we are as a Church. We are not a loose association of likeminded people, we are a body, woven together by the Holy Spirit, in communion with our Bishop, with the Holy Father, Pope Leo, and through them with Peter and John. When we see the bishop trace the chrism on a young forehead at the Confirmation Mass, we are watching the passage from today's first reading unfold yet again. The Confirmation ceremony is not simply a sign or rite of passage; it gives those receiving it a mission to be always ready to explain to anyone why we rejoice in the hope the Gospel of Jesus gives us.

The Church has not always carried out this mission as Jesus intended. There have been times in history when conquest was confused with conversion, when nations were forced rather than invited. That has never been the way of Jesus. Saint Peter tells us exactly how the witness is to be given: "with gentleness and respect." The Gospel should always be proposed, never imposed. Love cannot be coerced; faith cannot be forced. The Holy Spirit moves in freedom or does not move at all. Gentleness and respect does not mean silence and retreat. The world today would rather we kept our faith private, locked behind the church doors, a personal interest that troubles no one. That is not the Christianity of the New Testament, the Christianity of the martyrs. On Monday last week we commemorated the English Martyrs, men and women who refused to keep quiet, who would not pretend their faith was meaningless, who paid with their lives for their loyalty to Jesus and to His Church. They did not seek martyrdom; they simply refused to deny the truth. The Holy Spirit who came down upon Samaria came down upon them as well, giving them words and courage when the world demanded their silence.

We may not face death but let us not pretend we face nothing. To speak of Jesus today is to risk being mocked, dismissed, called narrow minded or worse. To stand for the dignity of every human life, for the truth about marriage and family, for the poor and the unborn, is to invite ridicule from many quarters. Saint Peter saw this coming, saying, "It is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God’s will, than for doing evil." Jesus, the just one, suffered for the unjust, that He might lead us to God. If our Master walked that road, we, his disciples, should walk with him.

Where do we find the strength and confidence to speak up for our faith? It is where Jesus promised it is in today's Gospel. "I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper." An Advocate, the Paraclete, one who stands beside us, who pleads for us, who speaks within us when we do not know what to say. Jesus did not abandon His Church when He ascended to the Father. He remained with us through the Holy Spirit, more intimately than He could have remained in the flesh. He does not leave us orphans.

This is the mystery we will celebrate at Pentecost. The gift our young people will receive in Confirmation. This is the same Holy Spirit who came down on the Samaritans through the hands of Peter and John. The Holy Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, is not a distant unexplainable mystery, but the very life of the Church, flowing through our souls today. The Father loves us, The Son redeems us, The Holy Spirit dwells within us. At the end of today's gospel passage Jesus promises, "he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him." Jesus reveals Himself to those who love Him and keep His commandments. Not to the powerful, or those who shout the loudest in the public square, but to those who love God expressed by their fidelity. Love their neighbour expressed in patient witness. Love the truth expressed with gentleness and respect.

So let us go out from Mass today with the courage of Philip, the unity of Peter and John, the readiness of Saint Peter's encouragement, and above all with the gentleness and respect shown by Jesus. Let us not be ashamed of the hope that is in us. Let us not keep silent when the world tells us to be quiet. Let us channel the power of the Holy Spirit, who lives and breathes within us, into every corner of our lives, our homes, our workplaces, our community, so that the joy of Samaria may become the joy of the world around us. Pray that the Holy Spirit may come through us and renew the face of the earth.

God Bless Brendan