May 21, 2023: Solemnity of the Ascension Sunday

The Resurrection is a great feast, and the Ascension is another that summons forth more exuberance for another part of the Paschal Mystery.

The Risen Christ entered an even more glorious state when He ascended to Heaven.  Before doing so,  He left His disciples with important words:  They would receive power from the Holy Spirit to fulfill a mission of proclaiming what Christ taught them to all the world.  They would make disciples.  And in the powerful words that end the Gospel according to St. Matthew, He would be with them always.

St. Paul profoundly describes the marvelous work of God when Christ rose from the dead and then went to Heaven to be seated at the right hand of the Father. And where the Head of the Church has gone, we, as the Body of Christ, will follow.  We join with St. Paul's prayer that God will give us a Spirit of wisdom and revelation so that we can faithfully do the work of His mission and on our way to Heaven, experience it now.

My home church of Ascension in Oak Park has a great patronal Feast, especially to inspire us to take up this mission.