Scriptures of the Sunday:
From Acts 1 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, throughout Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” When he had said this, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him from their sight
From Ephesians 1 May the eyes of your hearts be enlightened, that you may know what is the hope that belongs to his call, what are the riches of glory in his inheritance among the holy ones, and what is the surpassing greatness of his power for us who believe, in accord with the exercise of his great might, which he worked in Christ, raising him from the dead and seating him at his right hand in the heavens
Take Note: The Preakness Race of Horse Racing took place in Laurel Sat. night.
Our theme: It is “Believing in the greatness of His power.”
In tying today’s Ascension message with that of last Sunday’s one–when Jesus says to His believers that they will do great works ahead in His Name and as His instruments—we hear how the Ascension Mystery explains where this power is coming from to do the great works and how it comes about. This is it, in short: God the Son will reign in the heavens for us, and grant us mercy in His sacrifice, so that we may be able, in power, to truly receive His Spirit within us and be holy, and to live in Jesus’ life. ‘We get help from where? From Jesus on His Throne, that “in accord with the exercise of His great might” as Acts 1 says, Jesus can show Himself as alive in us now. The Ascension of Christ affords this “new phase” for the believers. Thank you St. Luke for that Acts 1 explanation. St. Paul will echo it in an Ascension allusion, too, as He says to the Colossians that Christ now reigns as “Head of the body, His Church.” (Col.1:27)
The readings today of the Ascension to the Pentecost Mystery does explain more about His holy power come upon us. In short: The Father has raised Christ, The One Who is Emmanuel, God with us. He is Lord of all of us believers, has seated Jesus Christ at His right hand, in a new divine manner–As God/man now! Our Advocate. Our Mediator. Our Savior. Our Redeemer. Thus, Jesus can extend His life into us on earth. Power from on high can connect down into to us now. Wow.
“Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth, as it is in Heaven” now makes deeper sense. How’s the kingdom power come so? It is from the Holy Spirit, Who is united to Christ the Son, while looking to glorify the Son via the Church. As Acts 1:8 quotes Jesus at His Ascension, He explains: “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you.” The Spirit comes and helps us serve the Kingdom of Christ.
I have given you exhortation to pray the Novena to the Holy Spirit. I said it last Sunday and I wrote of it then and in today’s bulletin. Do it.
In the Ascension farewell moment. Jesus adds on what should happen for this next phase of His work: He says “…and you shall be my witnesses over all the earth.” Or one could substitute “you shall be my instruments, as everywhere you are”. Last Sunday I spoke on how we are instruments for Jesus to show Himself to the world. Jesus has multiplied His effect by living on in our souls, all via the many billions of us in time in His body. That is what made Him say “you shall do greater things ahead in My Name.” We pondered that phrase last week—of doing “greater things” and all so because of doing it in His Precious Name. Did you get it? Are you invoking His Name and praying for the release of the Holy Spirit more in you? It’s time to do it.
So we don’t sell ourselves short. God believes in this project of “we, His people, living the gospel out, in His Name.” God believes in it.
Using the horse racing jargon, we should be comparing ourselves to the dark horse in a race. If we have the greatness of His power for believing in His Name, then you can run a good race for the faith.” Amen? Right?!
Recall what St. Paul said to his disciple Timothy, as Paul neared his end. He said: “I have fought the good fight, I have run the good race to the finish, keeping The Faith.” (2 Timothy 4:7)
I saw a “dark horse” win the 2026 Kentucky Derby. He was a 30 to 1 long shot. He was in dead last at the first turn but won down the home stretch, passing everyone in a furious finish. His name was Golden Tempo. The third place “show” horse also was a dark horse, running at 50 to 1. That horse was called Ocelli.
It has me preaching to you a “God of the dark horse” homily. We often look at the starting gate of life and place our bets on the obvious winners. We favor the pedigree, the privilege, and the proven track record. That put the horse Further Ado on many score cards to win—he finished 11th. Yet the Good News of Jesus consistently reminds us that God does not judge by human or worldly standards. God is the ultimate champion of the dark horse. Jesus is that surprise winner; The Glorified Son of The Father, running to win by the Spirit. But who had Him to win? Few.
In horse racing, such as May 16th’s Preakness Race just 5 miles from here, there is that illusion of the favorite. The favorite carries the weight of everyone’s expectations. They have the perfect stats, the best trainers, and the biggest cheering section and money backing. It’s easy to go with the favorite. Similarly, we often rely on our own visible strengths: Reputation, Wealth, Talent and natural abilities, to name some. But human advantages are fragile. A horse approaching the gate at the Derby went crazy and reared back and tilted over, nearly crushing his jockey.
He got cancelled from running. Even a favorite can do that, or throw a shoe, lose focus, or stumble at the start or final stretch. When we rely solely on what looks good on paper, we leave no room for grace.
Then there is the power of the unseen. A dark horse is not a horse without ability. Golden Tempo was in the best 40 horses in the competition, but not with wins before. A dark horse like him is simply a horse whose true potential is hidden from the crowd. They train in the early morning shadows when no one is watching. They carry a quiet, unnoticed resilience. In the Bible’s stories, think of young David that way, or Gideon, or of Mary, teen mother of Jesus, or think of young disciple Timothy to Paul. Of the saints, think of St. Therese. All dark horses, if we are to apply the term. In all of them, we see how God consistently bypasses the reigning champions of worldly power to choose the overlooked. When the world sees a blank stat sheet, God sees a champion in training, ready to be recognized for some greatness.
In horse racing, it does help a lot to have a good trainer.
In this homily, I’d like you to see that the Holy Spirit is your top trainer, and that he uses anyone else He sees fit to get you running right and at your best.
St. Paul uses the sports metaphor in a few places, and he tells his epistle readers to “strain forward to what lies ahead.’
The dark horse is not the color of the horse, as you know, but the spirited one to surprise us all, except not for God—He is not surprised. He has His anointing on you. So realize that: You can ignore the odds, the crowd’s poor opinions of you, or the talent in the lane besides you—but all you have to do is run your race. God only asks for your faithfulness in the dirt, your perseverance in the stretch, and your trust in His care.
Finishing in first with God may not be recognized as success from the world. Jesus commented: The world doesn’t know, it hasn’t caught on to what matters. I have revealed what matters to you. By My Spirit. (John 14:17) “Seek first the Lord’s kingship over you, and all things will work out for victory for you.” (Matthew 6:33) A formula for victory!
The next time you feel like a dark horse, the long shot—take heart. The grandstands may not be watching you , nor seeing you coming, but the Creator of the universe is driving you toward the finish line of your own life’s fulfillment in Him. Let the Spirit move you. You’ll win by many lengths.
Hear the prayer of our epistle today: May the eyes of your hearts be enlightened, that you may know what is the hope that belongs to His call, what are the riches of glory inheritance among the holy ones, and what is the surpassing greatness of his power for us who believe.
