Homily for the Solemnity of the Ascension
Let’s hang on to what we’ve got; don’t let go cuz we’ve
got a lot! Got a lot of love between us;
hang on, hang on, hang on to what we’ve got! A little Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons for our celebration today!
When life blesses us with those special moments, those
special events, we all want to hang on to them.
All of us Saints fans want to hang on to that magical Super Bowl season
and we certainly want the Saints to hang on to Drew Brees. When life confronts us with change, we often
want to hold on. Just a few weeks ago I
stood here quite emotional as we honored our graduating high school
seniors. As I listened to the plans of
these young graduates I knew that many moms & dads probably just wanted to
hold on to their sons & daughters.
My wife and I know that feeling as every time our children have moved away
to pursue their dreams, we just wanted to hang on. Wendy & I visited our #1 grandson last
month; we had a great time, but when it was time to go, we just wanted to hang
on to that precious little boy. Yes,
let’s hang on to what we’ve got!
As people of faith, as we celebrate the Solemnity of the
Ascension, we are called to hang on to what we’ve got. And we’ve got a lot!
Let’s begin by addressing some oddities about this
Solemnity. Should we have already
celebrated the Ascension this past Thursday?
Didn’t we actually call it Ascension Thursday? Why do we celebrate the Ascension today, on a
Sunday? Before we answer that question,
how many of us realized we just heard not one, but two accounts of the
Ascension in today’s readings. One
account came from the Acts of the Apostles; the other came from the Gospel of
Luke. Did we realize the difference; in
Acts the Ascension happened 40 days after the Resurrection and in the Gospel
the Ascension happened that very first Easter evening. How can this be? By the way, both Acts of the Apostles and
today’s Gospel were written down by the same man: St. Luke. So if St. Luke wrote two accounts, can we
forgive the Bishops if we celebrate Ascension Thursday on Sunday? I think we can because what is important is not
when Jesus ascended to Heaven but that Jesus indeed ascended to Heaven. Why is this important? Why did Jesus have to go? Remember that Jesus’ ministry always
fulfilled the will of the Father. To
continue His mission, it is the will of the Father that Jesus sits at the right
hand of the Father in Heaven. There, at
the Father’s right hand, Jesus judges the living and the dead. And by ascending to the Father, Jesus makes
room, if you will, for that special outpouring of the Holy Spirit that the
Church received at Pentecost. Remember,
Jesus promised his followers an advocate, the Holy Spirit, to help them when He
would no longer be with them.
Sure, it was natural for those early Apostles and
disciples to want to hang on to what they got; that physical presence of their
friend Jesus. But notice what today’s
Scripture tells us; when it came time to return home; they were filled with
joy. Jesus, before he ascended, blessed
them, assured them of the help of the Holy Spirit and then commanded them to be
His witnesses. We know that indeed,
after Pentecost and the gift of the Holy Spirit, they became that witness Jesus
commanded them to be; to the ends of the earth through the Church that they
helped build.
That blessing they received is our blessing we claim today. That witness they became is the same witness
we are called to be today. Proclaiming Christ crucified, risen and ascended to
Heaven are our marching orders today.
And the way we are called to be that witness, to carry out these
marching orders is through the Church, this Church that Jesus established and
left for all of us. Many reject the
Church, but you and I are called to embrace her; for in the Church we’ve got a
lot! On this Ascension, which happens to
fall on Mother’s Day, we are called to love Holy Mother Church and proclaim her
teachings that are truth.
In the week ahead, we can challenge ourselves, yes, even
us who come to Mass, to examine if we proclaim the truths of the Church by our
words and our life. Do we affirm that
the Church indeed speaks truth against the ever increasing secular world that
seeks to deceive us and lead us away from truth? Do we support the Church in her pro-life
efforts that affirms life begins at conception, that all people must be treated
with dignity and love, that marriage is between one man and one woman, that
artificial means of birth control are not life affirming, that euthanasia is wrong, that the death
penalty is only to be used in the rarest of circumstances, that the immigrant
should be treated with dignity and, if necessary charity, that government has
no place in trampling religious liberty and that all men should know the love
of the Christ. In the week ahead, as we
contemplate the Ascension and Pentecost, which we celebrate next Sunday, can we
ask for our own outpouring of the Holy Spirit?
Reflect this week; how open am I to the promptings of the Holy Spirit?
Ascension Thursday or Ascension Sunday; on Easter
evening or 40 days later; Jesus indeed ascended to the Father, in perfect
obedience to His will. May we be so
obedient! To the Father in Heaven did
Jesus ascend; where He went; may we so follow!
Let’s hang on to what we’ve got; because in the will of
the Father, the love of Jesus Christ, the power of the Holy Spirit and the
truth of the Church, we’ve got a lot!!!
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