The Solemnity of the Ascension seems to me very fitting this year and at this time in my life and at this time in the parish. Today is the day we commemorate Jesus leaving His Apostles in bodily form. We would think that they would be weeping yet today it says they went home rejoicing. They waited in Jerusalem for the coming feast of Pentecost. It seems that in life we will have to go through many such leavings but the call from God is not to merely mourn but to rejoice as well because it means we have entered on a new path and new light will be shed on our path. I am not saying that my leaving you is as, or even close to as, significant as the Ascension, however, that we can take it like the Apostles and profit from it, meaning that these moments in our life are here to help us grow and develop new areas of our lives.
Imagine if Jesus would have stayed there with them. Would the Apostles have gone very far to bring the Good News? It is unlikely. However, there were many changes. At first they stayed together, worshiped together. Then they went forth, inspired by persecution, and brought many other souls and formed many other Christians with the message of salvation.
God makes or allows all thing to happen and we, as Christians, must have the grace to ask ourselves where God is inviting us to grow. Of course, we can stay stuck and say, “This isn’t how I wanted it,” and become bitter. Yet, in each moment, the Lord is here to bring new light, new life. It is our closeness to the Lord that allows us to profit from these situations. Now, the truth is, that if I were to stay harm would be done to this community because I would not be trusting that God is good and can take care of you. God will bless you in different ways as I leave but we must be open to this. One way God can bless us is if we, like the Apostles, use this to build a strong Christian community. A community that works hard to worship God and bring His message. We have already started with some of our programs, but each of us must take ownership of the message and play our part in the Church. What part are we playing now in our community? How does our presence here build up St Ann’s and the Universal Church? These are questions that we must ask ourselves.
This week is dedicated to the Holy Spirit. There is a novena to the Holy Spirit that you can pray to get ready for Pentecost. You are a day or so late, but I ask you to pray it anyways to ask the Lord what your part is in the resurrected Church of St Ann’s. If we act like this yes, for sure, we will experience losses and we can grieve them. But, on the other side, we must, like the Apostles, profit by them. Next week we will celebrate the feast of Pentecost which reversed the tower of Babel where everyone went their separate ways and did their own thing. Their community fractured. Only if you and I use the Holy Spirit will our community of believers grow and take off again. What is the part of each of us? Please take this Novena to the Holy Spirit and pray it to start this new chapter of the Church.