Ascension of the Lord

I would like to present a guest blogger for my blog-site, Arlene B. Muller.

Arlene B. Muller, OSF, is a Professed Secular Franciscan, lector & Extraordinary Minister at St. Pancras Church, Member of St. Margaret's Choir, Itinerant Speech/language Therapist, & Caregiver for her elderly mother.

 

The scripture readings for the Ascension of the Lord can be found at http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/053019-ascension.cfm

I must confess that I feel a little sad on Ascension Thursday. For JESUS it is a totally glorious event because His mission on earth has been completed & He is returning to His home in heaven & the glory He has enjoyed with the Father & the Holy Spirit since the world began of which He emptied Himself & laid aside during His earthly mission of 33 years. But like the disciples who stood looking up, feeling somewhat lost & bewildered, I would tend to wish that the Risen LORD JESUS could remain with us in His glorified body so I could see Him with my human eyes, hear His actual voice speaking His words with my human ears, and to touch Him, as St. John describes in His first letter. I know that His Ascension is one of the Glorious Mysteries, but in my human weakness I feel a little sad that a face to face encounter with Our LORD JESUS will not be my experience until I hopefully meet Him either at my death or His return.  Does anyone else share this feeling?

Of course, this is just the reaction of my human emotions, but learning Scripture, especially the Scripture readings of the past few weeks, learning the teachings of the Church, coming into a personal relationship with JESUS CHRIST & receiving the sacraments, especially Baptism, Confirmation & the Eucharist (the Real Presence of the Body, Blood, Soul & Divinity of JESUS we can receive at every Mass), cause me to realize that because JESUS CHRIST not only suffered, died & rose from the dead but also ascended into heaven, the LORD is actually with us now in a more deeply intimate way--His life is WITHIN us--& He can work in the lives of millions of people at the same time in a way that was not possible when He was limited to walking in a specific geographical area. 

In the last discourses in St. John's Gospel that we have been reading over the past few weeks JESUS has assured us that it was necessary for Him to leave so that He could send us the Holy Spirit to be with us, in us and upon us and enable us through the mission of the Church to do even greater things than He did in His earthly ministry.

Many disciples, both men and women, along with Mary, the Blessed Mother of JESUS who was the first to experience the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in her virginal conception of JESUS, obeyed the command of JESUS to wait & pray together for about 9  or 10 days until the Holy Spirit came. What was it like to watch, wait, & pray with expectation of what JESUS called His Father's promise, the descent of the Holy Spirit upon each of them!  I imagine the presence of Mary gave them some comfort & bolstered their faith. Though some may have felt lost & bewildered, they knew from experience (especially of the Resurrection) that JESUS is faithful to His Word, & they were not disappointed, because the Holy Spirit came & that has made all the difference! In their waiting I am sure they found comfort & confidence in JESUS' final words in St. Matthew's Gospel, the same words that can give us comfort & confidence in our times of trial & confusion: "Behold, I am with you always, until the end if the age."

So as we celebrate the feast of the Ascension let us remember & trust that although JESUS ascended into heaven He will never leave us or forsake us,  no matter how difficult our life circumstances may be, and let us be grateful for the gift of the Holy Spirit that us the very life of God living within us.