The Ascension of Our Lord...

I know you'd all rather be talking about the Wuflu (not!), but today we celebrate the Ascension of Jesus Christ to the Father in Heaven 40 days after His resurrection.

Why is this important?

Simple version:

The Christian (in my case Catholic) religion is Trinitarian.  We believe in God - the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

At first glance, the Ascension would seem to be a sad day. Christ in his human body is leaving the world for the last time. But we need to take our cues from the liturgy. This is a joyful feast; it is the fulfillment of Christ’s salvific mission. The Ascension is the final leg of the Paschal Mystery: Passion, Death, Resurrection and Ascension into heaven (as mentioned in the Eucharist Prayer of the Mass). It is not until Jesus ascends and returns to His Father that His act of Redemption is completed. Our place in heaven is prepared at this feast—we will now share in Christ’s glory. That is why our hearts should sing with Psalm 47 as it repeats 3 days in a row, “God mounts His throne to shouts of joy: a blare of trumpets for the Lord.” source

However, even more important, in my opinion, is that without the resurrection of Jesus we would not have Pentecost when the Holy Spirit descended on the Apostles 10 days after the Ascension.

     “These things I have spoken to you while abiding with you. “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you. “Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.

The Holy Spirit is sort of like the drummer in a rock band - indispensable, but usually ignored.

The Holy Spirit, while being one with the Father and the Son, is our holy delivery system for the grace that flows from God through Jesus Christ. 

When we are confirmed we receive the gifts of the Holy Spirit - wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, and fear of the Lord. 

This is certainly not the first time in history that we have required a huge dose of fortitude.  The problem is with the ongoing war on Christianity many people are unprepared to withstand the assault.

However you celebrate the Ascension, please keep in your prayers those who do not have the fruits or gifts of the Holy Spirit for they shall surely perish.



And now... 

 no day is complete without a kitteh. 

Ascenesion Thursday

The Ascension of Our Lord, which occurred 40 days after Jesus Christ rose from the dead on Easter Sunday, is the final act of our redemption that Christ began on Good Friday. On this day, the risen Christ, in the sight of His apostles, ascended bodily into Heaven (Luke 24:51; Mark 16:19; Acts 1:9-11). 

From Father Speekman:

Today's readings are for all those among us who have come to realise that they are not in control.

This may seem a rather banal comment to make but it constantly surprises me how the older I get the more I realize, each time at a deeper level, my utter powerlessness to direct the unfolding circumstances of my own life, let alone those of others. More and more I feel like the Apostles in the first reading, a mere onlooker to the unfolding plan of God.   read the rest

 From Father Longenecker:

C.S.Lewis once wrote that in the end there will only be two kinds of people. Those who said to God, "Thy Will be done" and those to whom God says, "Thy will be done." This stark choice is the choice we are give by God because he really does grant us free will. Because we are created in His image and he is omnipotent he gives each one of us a little scrap of his omnipotence. We really can do what we will.  read the rest

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Art: Brian Jekel