Good morning good people!
May the Lord give you peace and blessings. It is 27th May 2025. We reflect on Acts 16:22–34 and John 16:5–11. We celebrate the memorial of Saint Augustine of Canterbury, Bishop, who reminds us, “Take care not to grow weary in proclaiming the Gospel. The harvest is waiting; it is not the sowers who fail, but the labourers who fear.”
The first reading recounts the dramatic imprisonment of St. Paul and Silas, and the miraculous conversion of the jailer who witnessed the power of God in the midst of suffering. After healing a young girl possessed by an evil spirit, the apostles were falsely accused, stripped, flogged, and thrown into prison. Yet, from the heart of that prison cell, their voices rose in prayer and praise—a witness to a faith that no chain could bind.
This is the essence of true missionary zeal: a willingness to suffer for Christ, to walk into the fire of trials with songs on our lips and the Spirit in our hearts. Such boldness draws the power of the Holy Spirit upon us—a Spirit who can shake even the foundations of our captivity and bring freedom not only to us but to those who witness our faith.
Our prayers and songs offered in suffering are not in vain. They do more than sustain us; they evangelize. They reach the ears of others, like the jailer who, struck by what he witnessed, cried out, “What must I do to be saved?” (Acts 16:30). Our faith is not merely personal—it is contagious. It must inspire, attract, and lead others to Jesus Christ.
As the Psalm today proclaims with unwavering confidence:
“You stretch out your hand and save me, O Lord.” (Psalm 137:7)
In the Gospel (John 16:5–11), Jesus speaks of the Holy Spirit, the Advocate, who will come when He departs. The Spirit does not come to entertain or comfort alone, but to convict—to open our eyes to the truth of our hearts. He reveals to us our need for grace, our distance from righteousness, and the weight of sin. He is the gentle fire who purifies and the piercing light who illuminates our conscience.
The Holy Spirit is the soul’s divine companion. When we welcome Him, He reshapes us from within and makes us agents of transformation for others. To walk with the Holy Spirit is to be led into the truth that frees, heals, and restores.
Like Paul in prison, like Augustine under the weight of his past, we too can be transformed when we open our lives to the Spirit’s whisper.
Let us then submit ourselves to the Spirit of Truth. Let Him cleanse us, fill us, and lead us to deeper union with Jesus. May our lives become hymns of freedom and testimonies of grace.
May the Holy Spirit set your heart ablaze today. Have a blessed and Spirit-filled day.