The Manifestation of the Spirit, in Our Lady and in Religious Vocations

Homily of H.E., Most Rev. Charles John Brown, D.D., Apostolic Nuncio to the Philippines

25th Anniversary of Religious Profession of Sr. Candy Carmen M. Balverde, FMA and Sr. Ernielyn F. Deypalan, FMA

May 24, 2026 | Pentecost Sunday | Solemnity of Mary Help of Christians

My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, and especially our wonderful Jubilarian Sister Candy Carmen, Sister Ernielyn FMA, Salesian Sisters of Don Bosco:

For me, as the Apostolate Nuncio of the Philippines, it gives me a lot of joy and happiness to be with all of you this morning, to celebrate this wonderful moment, the 25th Anniversary of these two beautiful sisters' First Religious Profession. I want to thank, in a very special way, Sr. Teresita Padron, FMA, the Provincial Superior of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians (Salesian Sisters of Don Bosco), all the sisters who are gathered here in very large numbers, friends and family of Sister Candy Carmen and Sister Ernielyn, as we thank God for 25 years of their beautiful service to Christ and to His Church, their we can say manifestation of their vocation as Sponsa Christi, that is (Latin for) “Bride of Christ”.

The Manifestation of the Spirit

We heard in our Second Reading (1 Corinthians 12:3b-7, 12-13) this morning from Saint Paul that “there are different kinds of spiritual gifts, but the same Lord. There are different workings, but the same God who produces all of them in everyone. To each individual, the manifestation of the Spirit is given for some benefit.”

“The manifestation of the Spirit”, that's what we celebrate when we celebrate 25 years of religious profession of Sister Candy Carmen and Sister Ernielyn. We celebrate this manifestation of the spirit. “Manifestation” is “to show forth” something, to show something, to exhibit something to manifest something. They are manifesting in their beautiful vocation as Salesian Sisters of Don Bosco, they're manifesting the spirit, the gifts of the spirit.

Today is a beautiful day, because not only do we celebrate the 25 years of their religious profession, but we also celebrate the Feast of Pentecost and the Feast of Mary Help of Christians. So, these three themes converge in our joyful celebration this morning: Pentecost, Mary Help of Christians, 25 Years of Religious Profession.

When we think about Pentecost, we think about the Holy Spirit. We have to understand that the Spirit, as we will confess in our Creed in a moment, when I finish my very short homily, we will confess in The Creed that the “Holy Spirit is the Lord, the giver of life,” “the giver of life.” This idea is so important: life, life. The Holy Spirit is life, the life of God.

In the first book of the Bible, in Genesis, when God created the universe, it says that “the Spirit of God hovered over the waters” (Genesis 1:2), and then God created man. It says in the Book of Genesis that God breathed the spirit of life into Adam (Genesis 2:7). He breathed the spirit of life into Adam. Spirit is life. “Spiritus” in Latin means “breath”, breath, the breath which is associated with life. The breath. This idea of breath and life is so important. The life of God, the breath of God, that is what the Holy Spirit is.

On a physical level, on a biological level, in order to stay alive, we have to breathe. We stop breathing on a biological, physical level, we will last for maybe five or six minutes, and then our lives would finish. We need to breathe to have physical, biological life in us; but God is giving us another form of life in Jesus, spiritual life. It's life on a higher level, not just biological life—physical life, that all of us have, because we're human beings; but something more beautiful, more powerful: spiritual life, supernatural life. That is the Holy Spirit, the gift of the Holy Spirit, this gift of life.

Our Lady

This connects us also with Mary, with Our Lady. Because Mary, in a very beautiful way, and we celebrate her today as Mary Help of Christians. Mary shows forth in a beautiful way the power of God's life, the power of God's spirit. What does Angel Gabriel say to Mary when he comes to see her in Nazareth, and tells her that she's going to be the mother of God? He says what? “The holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you” (Luke 1:35). So, it's the Holy Spirit that comes upon Mary, and that Holy Spirit creates in her womb Jesus. Jesus, God made man. The life of God is in the womb of Mary by the power of the Holy Spirit.

So, Mary, in a very realistic way, does exactly what Saint Paul said in that reading that we heard. She manifests the Spirit, she manifests the Spirit in Jesus. Jesus is the manifestation of the Spirit, and Jesus is in her womb, the manifestation of God's life.

So we have this wonderful connection between the Feast of Pentecost and Our Lady: the idea of the Spirit as God's life, that life that is in Mary, in her womb, in baby Jesus, and Jesus comes into the world and tells us, “I am the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6). Jesus is giving us always this new life, this higher form of life.

Biological and Spiritual Life

It's interesting, brothers and sisters, biologists who study evolution and everything tell us that life on earth (I'm talking about biological life) that all of us share, whether it's a salamander, a fish, or a bird, or a mosquito, or you, or me. All of us have life in us, biological life. Biologists tell us that life only began once on earth. This is not a theological, religious point. This is a scientific point. It began once, and then it spread, manifested itself, and changed into all these different forms of life throughout the entire world. It tell us that life biologically probably began in the oceans, in water. That makes us think there's a beautiful connection, a correlation, how does spiritual life begin in us? In the water of baptism, in the water of baptism.

For us to stay alive biologically, we need to eat food, of course. In fact, it's interesting, we are alive biologically, physically, because we are eating food that keeps us alive. You know something, every calorie that we eat was something that was alive, all our energy, which is calories, all of it was alive. Whether it's the lettuce in our Big Mac, whether it's the bun with the grain, whether it's crispy pata, or lechon (which we all love here in the Philippines), all are calories with something that was alive.

So, on a biological level, on a physical level, we're alive this morning because we're absorbing life, we're eating life. Again, there's a beautiful correspondence to what we celebrate here this morning: the Holy Eucharist. If we want to be alive spiritually, alive on that higher level, we need to receive the Bread of Life. Which is not bread that gives us biological life, but the bread which is the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Jesus, which gives us supernatural life and allows us to live on a higher level, this level of God's grace, this level of supernatural life, this life that will never end.

So, everything is about life: life in the womb of Mary, life in the sacraments, Jesus our Way, our Truth, and our Life, and even Our Lady. We refer to her as “our life, our sweetness, and our hope”. Right? “Vita, dulcedo et spes nostra…”, because she gives us that life, which is Jesus.

Our dear sisters, who are celebrating 25 years, they also have manifested the spirit in their vocation. In a mysterious way through all the circumstances that God uses, that Jesus uses to call a young girl to follow Him, all the influences: in her families, their schools, their friends, in their prayer life, Jesus calls them, says, “Come, follow me, and I will give you the most beautiful thing, which is intimacy with me.”

Therefore, these sisters, the two of them, Sister Candy Carmen and Sister Ernielyn, are showing us the power of God's spirit. Because they said “yes” to the call of Jesus, to the call of the Lord to come and follow Him; and they show us by their vocation as Daughters of Mary, Help of Christians, they show us, they exhibit, they manifest the power of the Spirit. They manifest that life which is in them because of baptism and Holy Eucharist. That life which we then try to invite others in the world to follow: to know Jesus, to see Jesus, to receive Jesus, to be filled with His life, His joy. Because that life that Jesus gives us will carry us through this biological life that we're all living into “the life of the world to come.” That's the last thing we confess in The Creed, in a moment, when I finish my short homily. We confess “I believe in the life of the world to come”. That life of the world to come, that supernatural life is given to us from the Altar today. That's in us, living in us, calling us. That's what our sisters show us: the beautiful life of Jesus.

So, for me, as the Apostolic Nuncio, that means the representative of Pope Leo XIV here in the Philippines, it gives me a lot of happiness and joy to be with all of you this morning to say “Thank you” to God for 25 years of faithful service as Salesian Sisters of Don Bosco, of our dear Sister Candy Carmen and Sister Ernielyn. Congratulations, sisters!

Thank you for showing us the gift of God who is life.

Transcribed by Joel V. Ocampo

Photos by Salesian Sisters of Don Bosco - Philippines and Papua New Guinea