[00:00] In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, amen. In the Gospel today, Jesus reminds us of the spiritual rebirth that takes place through baptism, and the necessity of baptism to enter the Kingdom of God. "Unless one is born from above, one cannot see the Kingdom of God," and so our Lord is reminding us of the gift of baptism that we are to be renewed in each day, and by which

[00:35] we are transformed as, through baptism, the Holy Spirit enters our soul and dwells in our soul as a divine guest to sanctify us and to lead us on the path that is before us, and to guide us on that path where we are to love and serve God. And our Lord reminds us of this when He says, "as you do not know where the wind comes from or where it goes, so it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit," that the Holy

[01:07] Spirit transforms us, but also He guides us on that path by which we are to serve God. And that path we are never, you know, we ourselves may be surprised in what the Holy Spirit asks of us or where He guides us, and so it's a reminder to us to be united to the Holy Spirit, to listen to the Holy Spirit, and to allow the Holy Spirit to guide us, to allow the Holy Spirit to truly be the one who directs us on our path.

[01:39] Above all, this Easter season is a reminder to us of the renewal that comes to us through baptism, and as we renewed our baptismal promises at Easter, and that we continue to renew these promises by which the Holy Spirit more deeply enters our soul and unites ourselves and guides us as He unites Himself to us, that we may truly allow the Holy Spirit to guide us. Today we honor in the liturgy Pope St. Martin I.

[02:12] Pope St. Martin I is a very interesting pope to reflect upon. He is considered the last pope who was martyred, and Pope St. Martin I died in 656. He was the pope who defended the chief teachings of the Church specifically against the heresy of monotheletism, which denied the human will of Christ. This heresy believed that Christ only had a divine will, not a human will, and this

[02:45] heresy was held by the emperor Constans II, the Byzantine emperor, and because the pope called the Lateran Council to declare this a heresy and defend the teaching that Christ had both a human and divine will, the emperor had the pope kidnapped and brought to Constantinople where he was tried in a court and then he was exiled to Crimea where he died of starvation

[03:15] and maltreatment, but he would not change the teachings of the Church. He would not conform to the emperor. It just shows his courage and strength in defending the teachings of the Church and the truth of the Church, even in the midst of great suffering, great suffering, great suffering, and so he's a wonderful pope for us to call upon, a wonderful saint for us to call upon for courage in defending the teachings and truth of the Church. May Pope St. Martin I continue to intercede for us that we may be bearers of that truth

[03:51] and bring the light of Christ in this Easter season to the world. In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, amen.