Ascension

Ascension of the Lord, B

Happy feast day, brothers and sisters. Happy solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord. Pope St. Leo the Great describes our joy when he says that "we are commemorating that day on which our poor human nature was carried up, in Christ, above all the hosts of heaven, above all the ranks of angels, beyond the highest heavenly powers to the very throne of God the Father."

Yes, Jesus Christ has taken on our humanity, and, in his Ascension, has brought it into the presence of God the Father in heaven. This means that, in our communion with the Body of Christ here at the Eucharist, we are already seated in heaven and, in some sense, our ultimate destiny is already accomplished. We can now rejoice because our own bodily death, when it comes, will mean nothing more than a continuation of the communion with Christ that we celebrate here at Holy Mass.

In fact, we are living between two great moments in the history of the world, between the Resurrection and Ascension of the Lord on the one hand, and his coming again at the end of time on the other. When will this Second Coming of the Lord come to pass? We don't know. In fact, in the first reading we heard from the Acts of the Apostles, Jesus himself tells us that it is not for us “to know the times or seasons that the Father has established by his own authority.” Rather, the Risen Lord promises: “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.”

Our era of history, this period between the Ascension of the Lord and his Second Coming in glory, is thus marked by the presence and guidance of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit conceived each of us as Christians on the day of our baptism, and the same Spirit raises up in us his gifts, that we may live, as St. Paul exhorts us today in the second reading, “in a manner worthy of the call you have received, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another through love, striving to preserve the unity of the spirit through the bond of peace.”

In this way, living in humility, supporting one another in love, we, as members of the mystical Body of Christ, will arrive, as St. Paul continues, at “the full stature of Christ.”

Let us pray that the Holy Spirit continues to inspire us to live in humility and generosity, that our life in this world may be a proclamation of Christ. In this way we will fulfill the commandment of the Risen Lord to “proclaim the gospel to every creature.”