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The Ascension of the Lord - May 29, 2022

Dear Friends,

Today we celebrate the Ascension of the Lord. Christ is taken to heaven; he enters his glory and sits at the right hand of the Father. His ascension, says pope Francis, is a consoling reality in our own journey, because Christ opens the path to glory for us. However, the key to our participation is that we open our life and heart to Him.

In the feast of Ascension, we celebrate not only the glorification of Christ and our participation in it. We are also reminded that participation in the glory of Christ means commitment to discipleship. Both the first reading and the gospel reading enlighten us on this truth. In the first reading, the disciples are reminded that they do not have to be only in amazement about what has happened, meaning the ascension of Christ to heaven. They have to proclaim it through word and deed. The gospel abounds in the same sense; It is the day of the great commissioning: “You are witnesses of these things…” When Christ blesses his disciples before parting from them, he strengthens them and imparts to them the mission of being witnesses, which means the mission to go and proclaim repentance and forgiveness of sins in his name.

For forty days, He lived with them and trained them more deeply and profoundly. Now is the time of his departure. Yet, he reminds them that they will not be left as orphans. The Advocate will come. In the meantime, he blesses them and ask them to be prepared for the great mission they will be realizing under the power and guidance of the Holy Spirit.

Like the disciples in today’s first reading, we are tempted to be there and gaze upon the wonders of God in the world and our life. The feast of Ascension reminds us that we are not expected to be so. We are meant to go and proclaim the glory of Christ. The Ascension reminds us of the connection between contemplation and action. The disciples are lost in contemplation and forget that they have to go to put what they have learned into action. The Ascension is the combination of Martha and Mary: we are nurtured at the feet of the Lord, we learn from Him, and we go to put it into action. Our actions have their source in the listening of Christ and his teaching. Likewise, the Word of Christ will be barren if we do not put it into action. So, today, let us renew our commitment to discipleship by learning from Jesus Christ and putting everything he taught us into action. That way his Ascension will have a meaning in our lives and the lives of those around us.

As we are fed by Christ himself with his words and his body, and strengthened to go and bear fruit, let us continue to pray for one another and for our parish family.

Fr. Emery

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