May the Eyes of Your Hearts Be Enlightened!

The Ascension by Salvador Dali

Feast of the Ascension of the Lord
Acts 1:1-11/Eph 1:17-23 or Eph 4:1-13/Mk 16:15-20

The Feast of the Ascension, typically celebrated 40 days after Easter, is transferred to the following Sunday in many dioceses in the United States. Whether celebrated on Thursday or Sunday, this Feast is of great significance as it give us, as disciples of Christ, our "marching orders."

Not to be left as a 'story' from the New Testament written a couple of thousand years ago, this command by Christ is given to us as well today. Also called "the Great Commission", it is our vocation to go and make disciples--to "proclaim the Gospel to every creature. Whoever believes will be saved" (Mark 16:15-16).

When you think about it--there is an urgency to the message. Christ is our salvation. It was through His death and resurrection life triumphed over death and the great victory was won. It is only through belief in Jesus that we are saved.

One of my young adult children asked me not too long ago why it was so important to me that she went to Church. A million thoughts were running through my mind--Scripture passages, quotes from the Catechism, writings of saints, but in the end, it came to this: " I love you so much that I want you know Jesus intimately, because I want you to know eternal happiness--I want you in Heaven."

I say there is an urgency to this message because so many in our world today choose to live contrary to the Will of God, to the teachings of Christ and His Church. We can make a million excuses why this is the case, but in the long run, I think it is because we aren't open to the Advocate whom Jesus also sent to give us the strength to be witnesses for Him in the world.

People cannot know Christ if they do not see Him present. Pope Paul VI wrote in his Apostolic Letter on Evangelization in the Modern World, Evangelii Nuntiandi, that: "Modern man listens more willingly to witnesses than to teachers, and if he does listen to teachers, it is because they are witnesses (#41)." Problem is we have convinced ourselves, as a society, that it is politically incorrect to talk about our faith and beliefs publicly. We have bought into the notion that if we do, it will be off-putting to others. We have stripped our charitable works of the image of Jesus in our midst. If we truly believed every single person's salvation depended on encountering Christ, would we continue to be timid? Would we continue to silence the Good News? I venture not--for our own salvation also hinges on whether or not we proclaim what has been given to us. The question, therefore, becomes, where do I find the confidence and strength to live as Christ commands?

Jesus didn't just send His Apostles and disciples out unarmed to preach, teach, and heal, but at the Ascension He instructed them to go back to the Upper Room and wait, "for 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" (Acts 1:8). Jesus knows our weaknesses and thus, promises to send an Advocate. The Person who gives us the strength, courage, ardor, and zeal to be bold witnesses of the faith is the Holy Spirit. Those who received the Holy Spirit on Pentecost became fearless witnesses of Christ's love. They courageously proclaimed the Gospel, despite fear of persecution. The communities of faith founded by believers, as written in Acts 2, grew in love and number due to this great witness. What would our families, parishes, and society look like if we realized the power of the Holy Spirit in lives? I daresay, drastically different than they do today!

What we often don't realize is that we receive the same Holy Spirit given to the disciples at Pentecost in our baptism--one of water and the Holy Spirit. In baptism, we have been given the gifts and charisms (given for ministry to others) and our vocation (our marching orders) to live as disciples, proclaiming the Gospel to all we encounter. The question then becomes, how do we stir within us the ardor and zeal to be bold witnesses of Christ in today's world, re-igniting the Spirit? How do we discover those charisms given to us so that we may serve God and others as He intends? How do we open our hearts and minds to the Good News so we can follow in the footsteps of the saints and holy men and women, who throughout the centuries, have been witnesses for the people of their times?

To quote St. Catherine of Siena, "Do not be satisfied with little things, because God wants great things" (Letter T127). We can do great things when we realize the power of the Spirit has been given to us! Let us pray, "Come, Holy Spirit, come! Stir within us and rekindle the flame of love in us so that it consumes us--so that we may go forth and proclaim Your Good News to all!"