Beloved Brothers and Sisters, Today we celebrate the Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord. So what is a solemnity you ask? Solemnities are days that rank above any other day in terms of the celebration being kept. These are days so important to us that we observe them and celebrate them to the fullest extent. In our present liturgical calendar we observe 3 kinds of solemnities, one of which are the Solemnities of the Lord. These are days that celebrate a specific aspect of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. In the case of the Solemnity of the Ascension , we celebrate Christ’s ascension into heaven and all that, that event means in our lives. The preface for today’s Mass captures for us what the scension means, “Where he has gone, we hope to follow.” The ascension is a critical part of God’s saving plan that we call the paschal mystery. Theology tells us the ascension is expressive of our conviction that Christ’s death has lifesaving ramifications. Summarizing a sermon of St. Leo the Great, he explained the importance of the ascension for our lives this way; In order that people of every time and place might have access to the saving presence of Christ, it is necessary that the earthly body of Jesus, limited to time and space, be replaced by his sacramental presence. And it is precisely the ascension that makes possible the gift of Christ’s Sprit in the sacraments. Thus, the ascension is not about the removal of Christ from the Church; rather it is about a new form of his presence, for He is still intimately present to and active in the Church, in the sacraments and us the Body of Christ. So how do we become such an important part of Christ’s ascension? The answer is found in today’s Gospel reading from Matthew (Mt. 28:16-20). This reading is known in tradition as “the great commission.” Jesus comes to his disciples and says to them “All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.” This is the commission Christ gave to his disciples and gives to each of us, each and every day. In our Catholic culture we know that the ascension is one of the glorious mysteries of the rosary, and in both the Apostles Creed and the Nicene Creed we profess “…He ascended into heaven…” I searched for a quote to end with but my search seemed to be in vain but Christ stepped in while I was listening to some music. A song by Matt Maher came on with the words “Where did you go, Jesus where did you go? You flew into the clouds…” Thereafter the song continues with the words “until you return, I’ll leave a light on for you my Lord, your Spirit inside burning bright…” Appropriately the song is called “Leave a Light On”. I commend it to you. Leaving a Light On, Faithful
Posted on: Sun, 01 Jun 2014 05:34:53 +0000
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