Come Holy Spirit! Homily for the Sixth Sunday of Easter

My dear brothers and sisters, today the lectionary offers us an opportunity to reflect on the sacraments of Christian initiation, which including the Eucharist, begins with baptism, and ends with confirmation. In the first reading today, we read that:

They [the people of Samaria] had only been baptized [by Philip] in the name of the Lord Jesus.
Then they [Peter and John] laid hands on them
and they received the Holy Spirit.

In these words from the Acts of the Apostles we see that the people of Samaria accepted baptism, and became Christian, but they did not receive the gift of the Holy Spirit until hands were laid upon them by the apostles Peter and John.

Why was this?

Saint Bede explains to us that the Philip whom we read about in the Acts is most probably not Philip the Apostle, but Philip the deacon, the narrative of whose selection and ordination we encountered in the first reading last Sunday. St. Bede reasons that had it been Philip the apostle who baptized Samaria, then the Holy Spirit would have flowed immediately. But because the power to communicate the gift of the Holy Spirit is “reserved only to those of pontifical rank,” therefore, it required the presence of the apostles Peter and John for Samaria’s entry into the faith to come to conclusion.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches us that in case of a necessity, anyone can baptize a person into the Christian faith. But it is only a bishop, priest, or a deacon – like Philip – who can ordinarily baptize a person (CCC 1256). Further, it is only the Bishop, a successor of the apostles, who can confirm Christians in the faith. As the Catechism (CCC 1292) teaches us, the anointing by the Bishop:

expresses the communion of the new Christian with the bishop as guarantor and servant of the unity, catholicity and apostolicity of his Church, and hence the connection with the apostolic origins of Christ's Church.

This incident from the Acts of the Apostles illustrates perfectly what the Church teaches us about the sacraments of Christian initiation:

the reception of the sacrament of Confirmation is necessary for the completion of baptismal grace. For "by the sacrament of Confirmation, [the baptized] are more perfectly bound to the Church and are enriched with a special strength of the Holy Spirit.

We hear that at the time of confirmation, we receive the seal of the Holy Spirit, but what does this mean? The seal is like a brand. The process of branding involves the heating up of a metal design, that is then pressed onto flesh, so that the flesh, or skin, is permanently scarred and becomes an indelible sign. While today we only brand animals, to indicate to whom they belong, in the past the brand was imposed on slaves and on soldiers indicating that they belonged to a particular Master.

The symbology of branding illustrates wonderfully the process, and the result, of what takes place at confirmation. The Holy Spirit, which revealed itself at Pentecost in tongues of flame, is the fire that is pressed on our flesh, through the oil of chrism. This Holy Spirit burns our spiritual flesh, to demonstrate – primarily to the invisible world – that this individual now belongs, fully, and completely, to the Church of God, founded by Our Lord Jesus Christ. In other words, it is made crystal clear that we are servants of Our Lord, and our servitude is to Him alone, and no one else.

In the old days, the mark of one’s Master or Lord offered one certain privileges. If we belonged to a powerful Master, we lived in his shadow of his umbrella and no one would dare to mess with us, for fear of invoking the anger of the Master. With confirmation, we are supported by the graces of the Holy Spirit, able to fight off the temptations of the demonic world that surrounds us and seeks to distract us from the pursuit of our true home in heaven.

But, as in the old days, branding does not involve only benefits, but also obligations. We are obliged to serve our master. Similarly, with confirmation. As the Catechism of the Catholic Church (§ 1285) teaches us:

as true witnesses of Christ, [we are] more strictly obliged to spread and defend the faith by word and deed.

And;

it gives us a special strength of the Holy Spirit to … never to be ashamed of the Cross (CCC 1303)

This is question we must ask ourselves, therefore, dear brothers and sisters; how much do we do to fulfill this obligation to spread and defend the faith by word and deed?

(A version of this homily was first preached in Concanim to the faithful at the Cathedral parish of St. Catherine of Alexandria, Old Goa on 10 May 10, 2026.)

(Image reference: The Apostles Peter and John Blessing the People of Samaria, Giorgio Vasari, 1557, Gemäldegalerie, Berlin.)