Ascension of The Lord

--All

Today we celebrate the Ascension of the Lord, which marks the end of his physical presence with his disciples. It is never easy to say “goodbye” to loved ones. However, the Good News with the Ascension of our Lord is that Jesus actually prepared his disciples very well for this moment. In the past week during the daily Masses, we read about how he prepared his disciples by instructing them to stay united in love. He also told them that he would send the Holy Spirit to be with them. Jesus’ ascension into heaven was both a sad and a joyful moment for his disciples. While they were sad that Jesus was leaving them, they also looked forward to the coming of the Holy Spirit who would lead, guide and strengthen them to bear witness to him to the ends of the earth. Jesus also assured them that he would be with them, always, to the end of time (Matthew 28:20).

Before Jesus ascended, he entrusted his mission to the Apostles saying, “Go, therefore, make disciples of all nations” (Ma~ 28:19). The mission was to bear witness to the Good News of Jesus Christ to the ends of the earth, and to go into all nations of the world and proclaim the Good News to the whole creation. This mission was not only entrusted to the Apostles and their successors, the bishops and priests alone, but to all Christians. The document on The Missionary Life of The Church in the Second Vatican Council states:

“Divinely sent to the nations of the world to be unto them a universal sacrament of salvation, the Church, driven by the inner necessity of her own catholicity, and obeying the mandate of her Founder (cf. Mark 16:16), strives ever to proclaim the Gospel to all men.” The Apostles themselves, on whom the Church was founded and following in the footsteps of Christ, preached the word of truth and begot churches. It is the duty of their successors to make this task endure so that the Word of God may run and be glorified (2 Thess. 3:1) and the kingdom of God be proclaimed and established throughout the world. The pilgrim Church is missionary by her very nature, since it is from the mission of the Son and the mission of the Holy Spirit that she draws her origin, in accordance with the decree of God the Father (Ad Gentes 1 & 2). Every Christian is therefore, called to participate in the missionary life of the church at different levels, beginning from our families, our neighborhood, places of work and everywhere we go.”

Thank you and Remain Blessed.
Fr. James