ASCENSION SUNDAY

Today is Ascension Sunday. In the Gospel reading Jesus said to his disciples, “Thus
it is written, that the Messiah is to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third
day, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name
to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. And
see, I am sending upon you what my Father promised; so stay here in the city
until you have been clothed with power from on high.' Then he led them out as
far as Bethany, and, lifting up his hands, he blessed them. While he was blessing
them, he withdrew from them and was carried up into heaven. And they
worshipped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy; and they were
continually in the temple blessing God.
In one of his reflections on Ascension Sunday, Pope Francis observed that in all
stages of Jesus’ life, he prays. Thus, in the last hours of his life, he prays, in the
sorrowful moments, as he prepares to take leave of his disciples and this world,
Jesus prays for his friends. This even as he bears all the sins of the world, the Holy
Father said.
By praying, Jesus is keeping the faith. Even in the last moments of his earthly life,
as he is to ascend to heaven to the Father, he keeps his faith by praying. This is
also what he is telling his disciples who, knowing that he is leaving, must be
feeling disheartened and dejected. Yet, as the Holy Father observes, Jesus, in
every moment looks up to heaven and pray.
Jesus’ ascension also teaches that even as he is to go to heaven, he never really
abandons his disciples. He remains with them as he promises to send the Holy
Spirit, the third person of the Triune God, who will shower the faithful with the
plenitude of spiritual gifts, gifts that will sanctify, strengthen and make him yearn
more and desire more intensely the love of God. It is for this reason that the fear,
anxiety, grief, and gloominess of his leaving is transformed into profound hope,
hope that someday, they will be together with God in paradise.
As the Holy Father said “We need to keep the faith lest we yield to grief or plunge
into the despair of those who no longer see a way out. In the Gospel, John tells us
that Jesus, before uttering a word, “looked up to heaven” (Jn 17:1). In these, the
final hours of his life, Jesus is weighed down by anguish at the prospect of his
passion, conscious of the dark night he is about to endure, feeling betrayed and
abandoned. Yet in same moment, he looks up to heaven. Jesus lifts his eyes to
God. He does not resign himself to evil; he does not let himself be overwhelmed
by grief; he does not retreat into the bitterness of the defeated and disappointed;
instead, he looks to heaven.”
As already said, Jesus returns to the Father. But he promises to send an Advocate
that will endow his Mystical Body with sanctifying gifts. This very same promise
turns the disciples’ trepidation into joyful hope knowing that Jesus’ leaving is not
a form of abandonment, but the ultimate manifestation of His divinity. "They
worshipped him." The Scriptures says. By his ascension, the physical Body of Jesus
disappears from view so that, by sending the Holy Spirit, his Mystical Body
appears to us. Ascension is therefore a loss as it transforms into joyful hope.
In sending the Holy Spirit, Jesus becomes our advocate. As the Holy Father once
reflected:
“We have One who always defends us, who defends us from the snares of the
devil, who defends us from ourselves and from our sins,” said Pope Francis. He
added “Let us not be afraid to turn to him to ask forgiveness, to ask for a blessing,
to ask for mercy! He always pardons us, he is our Advocate: he always defends us!
Don’t forget this! The Ascension of Jesus into heaven acquaints us with this
deeply consoling reality on our journey: in Christ, true God and true man, our
humanity was taken to God. Christ opened the path to us. He is like a roped guide
climbing a mountain who, on reaching the summit, pulls us up to him and leads us
to God. If we entrust our life to him, if we let ourselves be guided by him, we are
certain to be in safe hands, in the hands of our Saviour, of our Advocate.”
In the same reflection, the pontiff gives the real meaning of Christ’s Ascension:
“ . . . the Ascension does not point to Jesus’ absence, but tells us that he is alive in
our midst in a new way. He is no longer in a specific place in the world as he was
before the Ascension. He is now in the lordship of God, present in every space
and time, close to each one of us. In our life we are never alone: we have this
Advocate who awaits us, who defends us. We are never alone: the Crucified and
Risen Lord guides us.”