June 1, 2025: Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord

The Risen Christ ascended in glory to Heaven while the Apostles were watching.  Yet, as Father Carl mentioned in his homily at Mass today at Ascension Church in Oak Park, His Ascension didn't mean He became absent.  Rather, Christ became present to us in a mystical and more powerful way.

As St. Paul writes, Christ is the Head of the Body, the Church, and by His Ascension, He is now exalted, yet He is still present with His Body.

The One Who conquered death has rejoined the Father, mounting His throne, and ruling mightily over all.  Furthermore, He is still at work in our lives and in our world as we embrace His rule and seek to build His Kingdom, waiting upon the power He grants us through the Holy Spirit, the sign that He abides with us.

At the beginning of this month of the Sacred Heart, we know His beating heart in His Presence that is so close to us here on Earth, even as this reality points us toward Heaven where Christ has gone with our human nature that we, on our way to glory, can share in it now.  Furthermore, we have hope, because we know He hasn't left us, but is still with us, and reveals the glory which we can share by faith.