157. The Ascension of Our Lord (I)

Meditations no. 203 (unofficial computer-aided translation)

Christ leaves us to go before us to our heavenly home.

Once more the liturgy reminds us of the final moment in Jesus’ life among men, his Ascension into heaven. Many things have happened since our Lord was born in Bethlehem. We have thought of him in the manger, worshipped by the shepherds and the Magi; we have contemplated those long years of unpretentious work in Nazareth; we have gone with him all through the land of Palestine, as he preached the kingdom of God to men and went about doing good to all And later on, during the days of his Passion, we have suffered on seeing him accused and ill-treated and crucified

Then, sorrow gave way to the joy and light of the Resurrection. What a clear and firm foundation for our faith! But perhaps, like the Apostles in those days, we are still weak, and on the day of the Ascension we ask Christ: Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom of Israel? Is it now that we can expect all our perplexity and all our weakness to vanish for ever?

Our Lord answers by going up to heaven. Like the Apostles, we remain partly perplexed and partly saddened at his departure. It is not easy, in fact, to get accustomed to the physical absence of Jesus. I am moved when I think that, in an excess of love, he has remained with us, even when he has gone away. He has gone to heaven and, at the same time, he gives himself to us as our nourishment in the sacred host. Still, we miss his human speech, his way of acting, of looking, of smiling, of doing good. We would like to go back and regard him closely again, as he sits down at the edge of the well, tired from his journey; as he weeps for Lazarus; as he prays for a long time; as he feels pity for the crowd.

It has always seemed logical to me that the most holy humanity of Christ should ascend to the glory of the Father. The Ascension has always made me very happy. But I think that the sadness that is particular to the day of the Ascension is also a proof of the love that we feel for Jesus Christ, our Lord. He is God made man, perfect man, with flesh like ours, with blood like ours in his veins. Yet he leaves us and goes up to heaven. How can we help but miss his presence?

Christ stays in the Bread and the Word, and wants us to draw close to him there.

Our Lord has gone to heaven, body and soul. We can no longer see his most lovable face, or hear his merciful words, or experience his welcoming presence. And yet even now he is at our side. I, the Lord, am with you always, until the end of the world.

Indeed, if we have learned to contemplate the mystery of Christ, if we make an effort to see him clearly, we will realize that now we can come very near Jesus too, in body and soul. Christ has pointed out the way to us clearly. We can be with him in the bread and in the word, receiving the nourishment of the Eucharist and knowing and fulfilling all that he came to teach us, as we meet and talk with him in our prayer. He who eats my flesh, and drinks my blood, abides in me and I in him. He who has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. But he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.

These are not mere promises. They are something real, the essence of a true life, the life of grace that leads us to relate to God personally and directly. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, as I also have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love. These words that Jesus said at the Last Supper are the best introduction to the day of the Ascension. Christ knew that he had to go away, because, in a mysterious way that we cannot fully understand, after the Ascension, a new outpouring of God’s love would bring the presence of the Third Person of the Blessed Trinity. I speak the truth to you: it is expedient for you that I depart. For if I do not go, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you.

Jesus has gone away. He sends us the Holy Spirit, who directs and sanctifies our souls. The action of the Paraclete within us confirms what Christ had announced - that we are children of God, that we have not received a spirit of bondage so as to be again in fear, but… a spirit of adoption as sons, by virtue of which we cry “Abba! Father!”

You see? This is the action of the Blessed Trinity in our souls. We Christians always have access to God, who dwells in the innermost part of our being, if we correspond to the grace that leads us to become one with Christ, in the bread and in the word, in the sacred host and in prayer.

Fostering the hope of heaven.

Lord, receive our offering as we celebrate the Ascension of Christ your Son. May his gifts help us rise with him to the joys of heaven, where he lives and reigns for ever and ever.

We have contemplated the second glorious mystery of the holy Rosary countless times, but today we would like to go even more deeply into its meaning. In the light of our Lord’s Ascension, we remember that our life on this earth is a pilgrimage towards our home in heaven. The Ascension of Christ is our gain, St Leo the Great teaches us, because, since the Head has gone before us into glory, the whole body is called to hope. Today not only have we been confirmed as possessors of Paradise, but we have also entered heaven in the person of Christ.

When we confess that Jesus Christ lives in glory in heaven, our heart is filled with confident faith, our hope is increased, and our charity becomes more ardent. Let us grow in hope, thereby strengthening our faith which is truly that which gives substance to our hopes, which convinces us of things we cannot see. Let us grow in this virtue, and let us beg our Lord to increase his charity in us; after all, one can only really trust that which one loves with all one’s might And it is certainly worthwhile to love our Lord. You and I know from experience that people in love surrender themselves unhesitatingly. Their hearts beat in a wonderful unison, with a single love. What then will the Love of God be like? Do you not realize that Christ has died for each and every one of us? Yes, for this poor little heart of ours, Jesus consummated his redeeming sacrifice.

The hope of heaven will fill our way on this earth with joy, even in the middle of difficulties. Our Blessed Lady is the best teacher of this supernatural hope. “Auxilium Christianorum!” - Help of Christians, says the litany of Loreto with confidence. Have you tried to repeat that aspiration in time of difficulty? If you do it with faith, with the tenderness of a daughter or a son, you will discover the power of the intercession of your Holy Mother Mary, who will lead you to victory.