Sunday, 24th May 2026: Homily by Bishop Joseph Galea-Curmi on Pentecost Sunday and the Confirmation of Adults. Parish of the Annunciation, Balzan.
Homily by Bishop Joseph Galea-Curmi
Pentecost is not simply remembering something that happened long ago in Jerusalem. Today, it is happening again. The same Spirit who descended upon the apostles like wind and fire is moving among us here and now. The same Spirit who transformed frightened disciples into courageous witnesses is descending today upon these nine sisters and brothers who will receive the Sacrament of Confirmation. And this is important: Pentecost is never merely a memory. Pentecost is an event. The Holy Spirit is never “history.” The Holy Spirit is always life, movement, renewal, surprise.
The apostles entered the Upper Room afraid and hesitant. They had seen the Risen Christ, yes, but still they remained behind closed doors. Fear still had power over them. Anxiety still shaped them. They still did not fully understand who they were meant to become.
Then the Spirit came, and everything changed. The doors that were closed were thrown open. The voices that were silent began to proclaim, and the hearts that were timid became courageous. Men who once fled at the moment of the Cross now stood publicly in the streets announcing Jesus Christ to the world.
That is what the Holy Spirit does. The Spirit changes people from the inside. And that is why today is such a beautiful and sacred moment for those receiving Confirmation. Because Confirmation is not a graduation from faith. It is not a ceremony of completion. Confirmation is not just a cultural tradition or, simply, a nice family occasion. Confirmation is a personal Pentecost. It is the strengthening of baptismal grace, the sealing of the soul with the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Today the Spirit says to each one of you: I have chosen you, and I am sending you. I will strengthen you, and accompany you. You are not meant to remain behind locked doors.
Not spectators
One of the dangers in Christian life is to become spectators, watching faith from a distance, admiring Jesus, but not following him deeply. There is the temptation to speak about Christianity as an idea rather than living it as a relationship.
But the Holy Spirit does not create spectators. The Holy Spirit creates disciples, witnesses, missionaries. When the Spirit descended at Pentecost, the apostles did not remain sitting comfortably in the Upper Room discussing theology. They went out, and encountered people. They preached, they loved, they suffered, they forgave. They changed the world. The Spirit always pushes the Church outward.
Dear candidates for Confirmation, today God is not asking you to become perfect overnight. But he is asking you to become available. Available to grace, to truth, to conversion, to the mission he has prepared for you. The world needs Christians on fire with the Gospel – Christians who forgive in a world of resentment, who speak truth in a world of confusion, who remain faithful in a world of compromise, who bring hope where there is despair, who carry light into darkness. That is your calling.
A fire that gives light and purifies
The Gospel and the Acts of the Apostles speak of “fire”. Fire is one of the great symbols of the Holy Spirit. It gives warmth, it gives light. But fire also purifies. And perhaps this is one of the deepest works of the Holy Spirit within us: the Spirit burns away whatever keeps us far from God.
Sometimes we carry anger for years, wounds become bitterness. Sometimes we become spiritually tired and faith becomes lukewarm. The Spirit comes not to condemn us but to renew us.
The beautiful thing about God is that he never tires of beginning again with us. Human beings often define one another by failures and past mistakes. But the Holy Spirit speaks a different language, the language of new beginnings. Think of Saint Peter. He denied Jesus three times. Yet at Pentecost he becomes the leader of the apostles and boldly proclaims the Gospel. Think of the disciples on Good Friday, scattered and fearful. Yet after Pentecost they become pillars of the Church.
God does not call the qualified. He qualifies the called. And so today, dear candidates, do not think that you must already have everything figured out before receiving the Spirit. The Spirit comes precisely because you need strength, because discipleship is difficult. The Spirit comes because holiness cannot be achieved by human effort alone.
Every language
One of the most beautiful moments in the first Pentecost is that every person heard the apostles speaking in his or her own language. This is deeply significant. The Holy Spirit unites without destroying diversity. The Spirit creates communion without forcing uniformity.
The Church is universal because the Spirit speaks to every people, culture, age, and story. The Spirit reaches the young and the old, the strong and the weak, the joyful and the broken-hearted. Perhaps one of the greatest miracles needed today is precisely this miracle of understanding. We live in a world full of noise, but often empty of listening. People speak past one another, families break apart, nations become polarised. Social media amplifies anger more than compassion.
The Holy Spirit is the one who can teach us again the language of love, truth, mercy, and communion. To receive the Spirit, therefore, also means to become builders of unity, to overcome division, hatred and exclusion.
It is a mission
Dear candidates, in a few moments, you will be anointed with sacred chrism. I will say to you: “Be sealed with the gift of the Holy Spirit”. A seal marks belonging. Today you belong to Christ in a deeper way. He entrusts his mission to you.
Notice something important: after Pentecost, the apostles were no longer concerned primarily with protecting themselves. Once the Spirit filled them, they became concerned with proclaiming Christ. That is the challenge for every confirmed Christian. These gifts are meant to shape daily life: how we speak, how we love, how we forgive, how we choose, how we suffer, how we hope.
Dear brothers and sisters receiving Confirmation today, do not be afraid to belong completely to Christ. The world may offer many voices and many distractions, but only the Holy Spirit can fill the deepest hunger of the human heart. You were made for more than comfort. You were made for holiness, for mission.
A Church alive
Today the Church rejoices becomes it becomes stronger through your “yes.” Every confirmed Christian is meant to bring new life into the Body of Christ. The Church is not alive because of buildings. It is alive because of the Holy Spirit.
And so, during this Eucharist, let us pray with great openness of heart: Come, Holy Spirit. Come into our fears, our weaknesses, our families, our communities, our wounded world. Set our hearts on fire with the love of Christ.
And to you, dear candidates for Confirmation: may the Spirit make you courageous in faith, joyful in hope, faithful in love, and never afraid to witness to Jesus Christ in every moment of your lives.
Joseph Galea Curmi
Auxiliary Bishop
Photo: www.knisja.mt/ritratti