(The following homily was given by Arlington Bishop Paul S. Loverde at the Mass for the Ascension of our Lord at St. Timothy Church in Chantilly on May 23. This was also the annual Mass for Expectant Parents.)
Christ's Ascension gives us both the assurance of hope and the promise of glory. In today's Preface, we shall hear these words: “Today the Lord Jesus, the King of glory, the conqueror of sin and death, ascended into heaven while the angels sang His praises. Christ, the mediator between God and man, judge of the world and Lord of all, has passed beyond our sight, not to abandon us, but to be our hope. Christ is the beginning, the head of the Church; where He has gone, we hope to follow.” And the closing sentence of today's Opening Prayer echoed this assurance of hope and promise of glory: “"for His ascension is our glory and our hope.”
Yes, in Christ's Ascension, we find an enduring assurance of hope: “Christ"has passed beyond our sight, not to abandon us, but to be our hope.” How is Christ our hope? First, He now intercedes for us before God, His Father and our Father. We are continually being strengthened by Christ's prayer for us. Secondly, the Risen and Ascended Christ, with His Father, sends us the Third Person of the Blessed Trinity to be our helper and guide. The promise Jesus made to the first disciples just before He ascended into heaven and returned to the Father is also being fulfilled among us: “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, throughout Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” God the Holy Spirit is given to us in Baptism and again in Confirmation. God the Holy Spirit deepens within us Christ's own presence. With the strength that Christ's living within us gives, we can face anything. That is why we walk on with hope, for the source of our hope is the Lord Jesus Himself!
Yes, in Christ's Ascension we also find the promise of future glory: “Christ is the beginning, the head of the Church; where He has gone, we hope to follow.” Our ultimate destiny is to live forever, body and soul, in heaven. Because we are members of Christ's Body, we are meant to be where the head has already gone. In a sense, we are already with Him in heaven, although not fully present there. St. Augustine puts it this way: “"For just as He remained with us even after His ascension, so we too are already in heaven with Him, even though what is promised us has not yet been fulfilled in our bodies” (Sermo de Ascenione Domini, Mci 98, 1-7: PLS 2, 429-495). Christ's promise of future glory for each of us is real: one day, through God's grace and our free and obedient cooperation with it, we shall be in heaven with the Risen Lord Jesus " forever!
So then, the assurance of hope and the promise of glory are rooted in Christ's Ascension. What are we to do? We are to live in joyful hope as Christ's witnesses. Recall that is what Christ told the first disciples and us: “You will be my witnesses.” We are to witness to the Truth Who is Christ and to His Gospel of Truth. This is why continuing to grow in the understanding of our Faith and in the teachings of the Church is a lifelong privilege and responsibility. We come to witness to the Life Who is Christ and to His Gospel of Life. This is why we continue to raise our voices and use our persuasion and influence regarding all the issues of life, beginning with the protection and defense of life at its very beginning " at conception. We are to witness to the Love Who is Christ and to His Gospel of Love. This is why we continue to define and defend marriage as the union of one man and one woman and seek to strengthen the family, which is the basic call of all society and of the Church. Yes, we hear Jesus remind us: “You are witnesses of these things” " witnesses to Him and to His Gospel of Truth, Life and Love!
But if our witness is to be enduring and effective, it must be rooted in prayer, that is, in our ever-deepening union with Jesus. So, we are not to stand around idle. We must pray always! The “disciples returned to Jerusalem,” where, in the Upper Room, they “devoted themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary, the mother of Jesus, and with His brethren” (Acts 1:14).
Urged by angels to go from that breath-taking scene at Mt. Olivet to behind the closed doors of the Upper Room, from St. Timothy's to our own homes, we begin today a time of intense prayer. Behind closed doors in our Upper Rooms, we wait for “the promise of the Father about which” we have heard Jesus speak.
In this place " in this quiet Upper Room, in this hiatus between Ascension and Pentecost " any fear or doubt we have can be transformed into a burning zeal and boldness for the Lord.
So I remind us, “Why are we standing here?” Now is no time to stand around idle, looking up into the sky! Now is the time to pray that we will receive power from the Holy Spirit and thereby be empowered to be Christ's witnesses to the ends of the earth. May Mary, who was with the Apostles praying in the Upper Room, accompany us in our prayers, so that we may make Christ's presence visible and tangible in our world.
Expectant mothers and fathers in our midst, you are special witnesses for the rest of us " witnesses to the promise of life. We appreciate, honor, and are encouraged by the way in which your love for each other is " in a very real way " making Christ known to us. Our Holy Father has said, “You yourselves, dear fathers and mothers, are the first witnesses and servants of this rebirth in the Holy Spirit” (Letter to Families, 22). I pray that as you await the promise of your child and your child's birth in the Holy Spirit, you will also invite the Holy Spirit into your lives anew.
Brothers and sisters, Christ's ascension does not mean so much that He has left this world, but rather that He remains in the world through us, His Spirit-filled disciples " to the end of time! This is why today we rejoice and journey ahead, in joyful hope until Christ returns again! Yes, Christ's ascension gives us the assurance of hope and the promise of glory. Amen, Alleluia!
