Ascension Sunday

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In the Apostles Creed the only ancient statement of Christian beliefs, one of the twelve articles of which the Creed is comprised says: “he ascended into heaven where he is seated at the right hand of God the Father..” Jesus ascended and was not assumed. Indeed, Elijah in the Old Testament was assumed in a fiery chariot into heaven and Mary the Mother of Jesus would be assumed at the end of her earthly life. The words differ significantly, to be assumed means to be taken or lifted up by another, while to ascend means to go by one’s own power. So Jesus who rose by his own power – being God – now by his own power ascends to the Father. There he is seated at the right hand of the Father. One may ask how can that be since God the Father has no right hand, nor does he have a left hand, or a leg or head, for that matter. God the Father is a pure Spirit, an uncreated Pure Spirit for only the Son took upon his divine nature a physical and now glorious body. So these words ‘at the right hand’ are metaphorical and mean he occupies the most honourable place. Being seated infers equal possession of royal and supreme power in glory with God the Father.

That is WHAT happened. Now WHY did Jesus ascend? We can assert these four reasons:

1). He ascended because His mission was finished and His glorious body warranted a place of glory.

2). He ascended to possess the kingdom which He had merited by His blood on the Cross.

3). He ascended to prove that H

is kingdom is not of this world. For the kingdoms of this world are earthly and transient, and are based upon wealth and the power of the flesh; but the kingdom of Christ is not.

4). He also ascended into heaven in order to teach us to follow Him in mind and heart.

Upon his departure on that day, he did not leave us as orphans. We are not alone, left on our own. St Augustine adds that God’s Son when he came to us at the incarnation did not really leave the Father in heaven for he was always with the Father, and did he not say, “the Father and I are one.” Just as he did not leave the Father in heaven as he returns he does not really leave us on earth. His presence somehow remains. In what manner does he remain then? Well, since he is not physically present (the exception being the Sacred Host in the Tabernacle), he must be then spiritually present to us. This spiritual presence is allied to sanctifying grace and this grace is connected to the virtues.

The three theological virtues which were infused into our souls at Baptism portray the presence of Christ to us: faith is What we believe, hope is Who we desire and love is How we arrive. Today let us examine the virtue of hope. Hope is a supernatural virtue in the will and not in the mind or intellect. It embraces our desires and wants of the heart. As a virtue – a disposition to moral action it needs to be exercised, like muscles in the body need movement lest they whither. How do we exercise it and make acts of hope? By willing our heart that which Christ wants for us. How often do we pray to be filled with hope? If we are not filled with hope then we become hopeless. This notion of hopelessness is fed by the cancers of despair & presumption – depression and arrogance.

Remember hope depends on a person – it is personal! In Whom do you hope? Who do you trust?

One woman, one mother, this being Mother’s day who was source of hope was Gianna Molla. Gianna (1923-1962) risked her life in order to save her unborn child. An Italian woman who loved skiing, playing piano, attending concerts in Milan was a dedicated physician and devoted wife and mother who lived life to the fullest. When she was diagnosed with uterine tumors during her fourth pregnancy, she refused a hysterectomy that would have lost the child. Herself a medical doctor, Gianna did give birth to the child, but succumbed to an infection and died. The child born was given the name Gianna and, in time, also became a medical doctor. Gianna was canonized in 2004 by St John Paul II. The only time in history when a saint was proclaimed with her husband and children present! Her husband Peter could truly say my wife is a saint! What an example of hope, what a woman of love.

On this mother’s day we express our gratitude to our mothers for their gift of our life. We thank them in words be they living or dead, if the former by some contact today, (a text message or email is not good enough – real communication is persons to person) if the latter by praying for them at this Mass. We thank them not merely for what they have done for us, which shall be noted in heaven, but more so for who they are. We only have one mother, and we owe them our love.

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