# Bishop Barron – How to Recognize When the Holy Spirit Is Working in Your Life

An episode of [Daily Sermons With Bishop Robert Barron](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/6783446284), 30 Sep 2026, 14 min.

Audio: https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/api.spreaker.com/download/episode/74742490/bishop_barron_s_how_to_know_the_holy_spirit_is_working_in_your_life_1.mp3



## Transcript

[0:00] Speaker 1: Peace be with you. Friends, we come to the sixth
[0:02] Speaker 1: Sunday of Easter, which means we're coming toward the end
[0:04] Speaker 1: of the Easter season, which means coming close to the
[0:07] Speaker 1: great feast of Pentecost, the coming of the Holy Spirit.
[0:10] Speaker 1: So the Church gives us a kind of little foretaste
[0:13] Speaker 1: of Pentecost by talking about the Spirit. And in all
[0:15] Speaker 1: three readings, we hear descriptions of the work of the
[0:18] Speaker 1: Holy Spirit. You know, it's said sometimes that, especially in
[0:22] Speaker 1: the Western Church, we overlook the Holy Spirit, that we
[0:25] Speaker 1: underplay the importance of the Spirit. I don't think that's true,
[0:28] Speaker 1: because Certainly in the Scriptures and then throughout the Church,
[0:31] Speaker 1: there are numerous descriptions of and celebrations of the Spirit.
[0:35] Speaker 1: The Holy Spirit, of course, sent by the Father and
[0:37] Speaker 1: the Son, is the animating spirit of the life of
[0:41] Speaker 1: the Church. Think of the Spirit as like the soul
[0:44] Speaker 1: of the mystical body. It's the animating principle of the
[0:48] Speaker 1: mystical body. So we see its work, we see his work,
[0:52] Speaker 1: all over the place. And the readings today give us
[0:56] Speaker 1: some indications. I want to mention five signs of the
[0:59] Speaker 1: Holy Spirit. Look now at our first reading from the
[1:03] Speaker 1: Acts of the Apostles. We hear about Philip going down
[1:05] Speaker 1: to the city of Samaria and proclaiming Christ to them. Now,
[1:09] Speaker 1: first of all, why is he going there? Well, because
[1:10] Speaker 1: of the persecution following the execution of Stephen. A little lesson, everybody.
[1:16] Speaker 1: When something goes really bad, even really bad in your life,
[1:20] Speaker 1: instead of saying, well, this is just awful, dumb suffering,
[1:24] Speaker 1: what's God up to? How can I see this as
[1:28] Speaker 1: a sign of God's providence? Because of the persecution in Jerusalem,
[1:32] Speaker 1: apostles and disciples were sent out to the wider world. Watch.
[1:36] Speaker 1: Watch how God can use even evil for his purposes.
[1:42] Speaker 1: But what I want to focus on is Philip proclaiming
[1:46] Speaker 1: Christ to them. Here's a first sign of the Holy Spirit.
[1:50] Speaker 1: Bold speech. Proclamation. Proclamation. on behalf of Christ. You know,
[1:58] Speaker 1: in our modern societies in the West, it's kind of
[2:01] Speaker 1: our etiquette that you don't talk that much publicly about religion.
[2:06] Speaker 1: You better keep it to yourself. We'll tolerate you, but
[2:10] Speaker 1: don't come out publicly with your religion and your views,
[2:12] Speaker 1: because that's just going to cause trouble. So we kind
[2:16] Speaker 1: of learn early on, don't talk about religion in the
[2:20] Speaker 1: public space. Well, he proclaimed religion. Christ to them. From
[2:26] Speaker 1: Philip and Peter and James and John all the way
[2:29] Speaker 1: up through Fulton Sheen and John Paul II, people filled
[2:33] Speaker 1: with the Holy Spirit can't keep Christ to themselves. They
[2:39] Speaker 1: have to speak. You know, when Paul says, woe to
[2:43] Speaker 1: me if I do not evangelize, it's like it was
[2:45] Speaker 1: this burning fire inside of him. He couldn't keep it
[2:48] Speaker 1: to himself. He had to proclaim Christ. So a sign
[2:53] Speaker 1: that the Holy Spirit is active in you. So yes,
[2:57] Speaker 1: the John Paul IIs and the Billy Grahams and those
[3:02] Speaker 1: who were kind of formally charged with proclaiming Christ. But
[3:05] Speaker 1: it's everybody. It's you. It's you, every baptized person. You've
[3:10] Speaker 1: been filled up with the Holy Spirit. And so bold
[3:13] Speaker 1: speech is one of your signs. Here's a second one.
[3:20] Speaker 1: The Holy Spirit by definition, expels wicked spirits. Remember, the
[3:28] Speaker 1: New Testament is very clear about this. Not all spirits
[3:32] Speaker 1: are holy spirits. We're involved, in fact, in a spiritual warfare.
[3:39] Speaker 1: There are creatures, these angels, higher realities, some of whom
[3:44] Speaker 1: have fallen. Just as there are good people and wicked people,
[3:48] Speaker 1: so there are good angels and wicked angels. Well, these dark,
[3:53] Speaker 1: malignant spirits do their work in the world. And I
[3:58] Speaker 1: could tell you stories from exorcists that I've known that
[4:01] Speaker 1: would curl your toes, but typically how these spirits work
[4:06] Speaker 1: is through temptation and through insinuation and so on. And
[4:09] Speaker 1: we all know that. We battle powers that we can see,
[4:14] Speaker 1: but we also battle powers that we cannot see. All right.
[4:18] Speaker 1: If the Holy Spirit is in you, He gets rid
[4:23] Speaker 1: of these dark spirits. There's a kind of expulsive power
[4:28] Speaker 1: to the Holy Spirit. If he takes up residence in you, well,
[4:33] Speaker 1: then these other spirits have to flee. Listen now. For
[4:38] Speaker 1: unclean spirits crying out in a loud voice came out
[4:43] Speaker 1: of many possessed people. Well, that's what happened when Philip
[4:47] Speaker 1: proclaimed boldly Jesus Christ. When Philip fill what the Holy
[4:52] Speaker 1: Spirit proclaimed, the Holy Spirit comes and then expels the
[4:57] Speaker 1: dark powers. One of the signs of the Spirit is
[5:01] Speaker 1: the fleeing of this darkness. Relatedly, listen. When they heard
[5:09] Speaker 1: it and saw the signs he was doing, there was
[5:13] Speaker 1: great rejoicing. The signs he was doing. The Holy Spirit
[5:19] Speaker 1: produces joy. miraculous effects. Now again, I'm not saying this
[5:23] Speaker 1: is the everyday reality of most believers. It's not. But clearly,
[5:28] Speaker 1: from the New Testament to the present day, one of
[5:30] Speaker 1: the marks of the Holy Spirit is extraordinary signs and wonders.
[5:36] Speaker 1: Paul speaks of prophecy and words of knowledge and speaking
[5:40] Speaker 1: in tongues. And yes, indeed, from Paul's time up to
[5:44] Speaker 1: the present day, those are realities in the life of
[5:46] Speaker 1: the Church. One of the signs of the Spirit are
[5:49] Speaker 1: miraculous manifestations. Something I've noticed that's very interesting to me.
[5:54] Speaker 1: You look at the history of evangelization from the New
[5:56] Speaker 1: Testament to today. Very often, the initial evangelization of a
[6:01] Speaker 1: people or a nation is accompanied by miraculous signs. And
[6:06] Speaker 1: you can see why. So someone arrives in a country
[6:08] Speaker 1: that had never heard about Jesus Christ, and yes, indeed,
[6:11] Speaker 1: preaching is involved in teaching. But you wonder at times,
[6:14] Speaker 1: what was it? that first got their attention? Whether it's
[6:20] Speaker 1: Patrick in Ireland, it's Boniface in Germany, or whatever. When
[6:24] Speaker 1: someone went to evangelize for the first time, or think
[6:27] Speaker 1: of the missionaries that went into parts of Africa in
[6:29] Speaker 1: the nineteenth century. What was it? What was it that
[6:34] Speaker 1: led the people to say, yeah, I'm going to listen
[6:36] Speaker 1: to this person? Well, there's lots and lots of testimony
[6:40] Speaker 1: throughout the tradition of miraculous signs. healings and wonders and
[6:45] Speaker 1: so on that accompanied these first evangelists. Doesn't surprise me.
[6:51] Speaker 1: So these signs, the expulsion of dark powers, the miraculous
[6:56] Speaker 1: manifestation of the Spirit, these are indicators. Here's a third
[7:02] Speaker 1: sign of the Spirit. I've already kind of alluded to it.
[7:04] Speaker 1: It says, there was great joy in that city. So
[7:09] Speaker 1: after Philip proclaimed. Joy is the principal flag of the
[7:16] Speaker 1: Holy Spirit. Let me say that again. Joy is the
[7:19] Speaker 1: principal flag of the Holy Spirit. As I record these words,
[7:23] Speaker 1: we just had the coronation of King Charles III. And
[7:27] Speaker 1: when the monarch is in residence in Buckingham Palace, they
[7:31] Speaker 1: fly the standard over the building. It's the sign that
[7:34] Speaker 1: the king, the monarch, is there. Well, I think that's
[7:37] Speaker 1: the flag that flies over the house of someone in
[7:42] Speaker 1: whom the Holy Spirit is dwelling. There are other signs,
[7:46] Speaker 1: other indicators, but the clearest one is joy. Spare me
[7:51] Speaker 1: from these sad and depressing and morose Christians. They might
[7:56] Speaker 1: be right about the moral life, or they might be
[7:58] Speaker 1: right about lots of things, or they attend to the
[8:00] Speaker 1: rubrics of Mass in just the right way, and all
[8:02] Speaker 1: that's fine. But the mark of the Holy Spirit is joy.
[8:09] Speaker 1: I've known some saints in my life, a handful, I think,
[8:12] Speaker 1: of people who are really saints. That's the mark. You know,
[8:17] Speaker 1: prayerfulness and everything else that we could name. But the
[8:20] Speaker 1: principal thing is their own joy, which becomes radiant and contagious.
[8:26] Speaker 1: And you know what I mean. When you're with someone
[8:29] Speaker 1: and you come away feeling more alive, that's the sign
[8:33] Speaker 1: of the Holy Spirit in that person. When you've caught
[8:37] Speaker 1: from them your own joy, the Holy Spirit's around. Be
[8:43] Speaker 1: attentive to that, everybody. Watch for it. Watch for it
[8:45] Speaker 1: in your own life. That's the sign the Spirit is
[8:48] Speaker 1: dwelling in you. Here's a fourth sign now, and I'm
[8:54] Speaker 1: going to go to our second reading, which is from
[8:58] Speaker 1: the first letter of Peter. And it's that great line.
[9:01] Speaker 1: I preached on it before at greater length. But always
[9:04] Speaker 1: be ready to give a reason for the hope that's
[9:07] Speaker 1: in you. And it's the great exhortation toward what we
[9:11] Speaker 1: call apologetics. Much in need today, right? When people have
[9:15] Speaker 1: questions about the faith, they're wandering away from the Church,
[9:19] Speaker 1: and they wonder, they ask questions. Well, Peter says to
[9:22] Speaker 1: his followers and to us, always be ready to give
[9:26] Speaker 1: a reason for the hope that's in you. So you're
[9:28] Speaker 1: a Christian. You're filled with the Holy Spirit. You have
[9:31] Speaker 1: these various powers and convictions. And someone asks about it. Hey,
[9:35] Speaker 1: what's that all about? Where's it coming from? Be ready
[9:39] Speaker 1: to give a reason for the hope that's in you. See,
[9:43] Speaker 1: I think everybody— and I'm going to name it as
[9:44] Speaker 1: a fourth sign of the Holy Spirit— is intellectual curiosity
[9:49] Speaker 1: about the faith. See, if the Spirit's in you, the
[9:53] Speaker 1: Spirit of Jesus is within you, you want to know
[9:56] Speaker 1: as much as you can about Jesus. You're fascinated by him.
[10:01] Speaker 1: You're in love with him. And so you're eager to
[10:04] Speaker 1: find out all you can. That's why John Henry Newman
[10:07] Speaker 1: says one of the marks of doctrine as it's properly
[10:11] Speaker 1: developing is the intellectual curiosity. You know, if suddenly I
[10:18] Speaker 1: don't care, I'm not asking questions anymore, I'm indifferent to it,
[10:21] Speaker 1: well then The Church is becoming corrupt. You're becoming corrupt
[10:24] Speaker 1: in your faith. Intellectual curiosity leading you to read and
[10:28] Speaker 1: to study and to pray over texts and to understand
[10:32] Speaker 1: the faith more deeply, that's a sign that the Holy
[10:36] Speaker 1: Spirit is at work within you. Can I give you
[10:40] Speaker 1: one more? And I save it for last. It's the
[10:43] Speaker 1: most important. And I'm relying here on the great Gospel text.
[10:47] Speaker 1: During the Easter season, we often read from the Gospel
[10:50] Speaker 1: of John and these wonderful manifestations of the Lord. I mean,
[10:54] Speaker 1: the night before he died and then the risen Lord
[10:57] Speaker 1: speaking to his disciples. And we find this. Jesus said
[11:03] Speaker 1: to his disciples, if you love me, you will keep
[11:06] Speaker 1: my commandments. Whoever loves me will be loved by my Father,
[11:10] Speaker 1: and I will love him and reveal myself to him.
[11:15] Speaker 1: The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Jesus sent by
[11:20] Speaker 1: the Father and the Son, the animating principle of the Church. Therefore,
[11:27] Speaker 1: the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of love. God so
[11:32] Speaker 1: loved the world, the Father, so loved the world, he
[11:34] Speaker 1: sent his only begotten Son, so that we all might
[11:38] Speaker 1: be gathered into the love that God is. Who is
[11:41] Speaker 1: the Spirit? The Spirit is the love that connects the
[11:45] Speaker 1: Father and the Son. the love into which we've been invited. Therefore,
[11:54] Speaker 1: the mark of all the five I've mentioned, the most
[11:58] Speaker 1: important mark of the Holy Spirit, is love. What's love?
[12:02] Speaker 1: I know those who've been listening to me over the
[12:05] Speaker 1: years could probably say it, but heck, put it on
[12:08] Speaker 1: my tombstone, because there's nothing more important that I've ever taught.
[12:11] Speaker 1: I just derive it from Thomas Aquinas, who derived it
[12:14] Speaker 1: from the great tradition. To love is to will the
[12:17] Speaker 1: good of the other. That's it, everybody. That's the mark
[12:24] Speaker 1: of the Holy Spirit. Hey, you can have all the
[12:26] Speaker 1: things I've mentioned, and they're all great. They're all great.
[12:28] Speaker 1: But if you don't have this, you don't have the
[12:32] Speaker 1: Holy Spirit. That's why Paul can say there are three
[12:34] Speaker 1: things that last, faith, hope, and love. But the greatest
[12:37] Speaker 1: of these is love. I could have faith enough to
[12:40] Speaker 1: move the mountains, Paul says, but I have not love.
[12:43] Speaker 1: I'm nothing. That's it. That's it. That's the mark of
[12:49] Speaker 1: the Holy Spirit, is love. You know, I accuse myself here,
[12:54] Speaker 1: but a lot of religious people, we can have a
[12:56] Speaker 1: lot of things in us, but if we don't have
[12:58] Speaker 1: love in us, then the spirit dwelling in us ain't
[13:01] Speaker 1: the Holy Spirit. It's some other kind of spirit. This
[13:05] Speaker 1: is the mark. Willing the good of the other. John
[13:10] Speaker 1: of the Cross says, in the evening of life we'll
[13:12] Speaker 1: be judged on the basis of love. I mean, that's
[13:15] Speaker 1: what it comes down to, you know. What kind of
[13:16] Speaker 1: life did I live? Oh, I accomplished this and that.
[13:18] Speaker 1: I got this degree, and I had these friends and
[13:21] Speaker 1: these connections. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Who cares? Who cares? Did
[13:24] Speaker 1: you love? Was your life marked by willing the good
[13:28] Speaker 1: of the other? That's the principal sign of the Holy Spirit.
[13:34] Speaker 1: So how about those five? People filled with the Spirit,
[13:37] Speaker 1: they proclaim the Lord boldly. People filled with the Spirit
[13:40] Speaker 1: often manifest signs. People filled with the Spirit— joy. People
[13:45] Speaker 1: filled with the Spirit, they got intellectual curiosity about the faith.
[13:49] Speaker 1: People filled with the Spirit, they will the good of
[13:52] Speaker 1: the other. And God bless you.

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