May 12, 2013: Ascension of Our Lord (C)
Do you have friends in high places? Do you know some important people whom you can ask for support or a favor in getting what you want or need? A few months ago when I was with a small group from Donaldsonville, we learned that we have friends in high places when we were trying to celebrate a private mass at St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City. There are some prominent altars within the basilica that are very popular for celebrating mass and therefore are very difficult to be assigned to. Examples are the altar nearest to the tomb of St. Peter, altar where the incorrupt by of John XXIII lay, and most recently, the altar where Blessed John Paul II's body lay. Our Italian guide took me to the sacristy to vest and receive our altar assignment. She spoke to the attendant, and I could tell that she knew him well. On the way out of the sacristy, our guide winked at me and said that we will be celebrating mass at the altar of Blessed John Paul II! When the rest of our group learned this news, they were ecstatic. I thanked Jesus and Blessed Mother, our friends in very high place of Heaven, for arranging this.Do you ever think of Jesus as your personal friend in the highest place, that you could personally converse with Jesus or Heavenly Father, the Creator of the Universe? The mystery of the Ascension of Our Lord makes it possible.
For forty days after his resurrection Jesus appeared numerous times to his disciples to assure them that he had risen, and to prepare them for the task of carrying on the work which he began. He then ascended to Heaven to the right hand of the Father promising his disciples that he would send them the Holy Spirit who would anoint them with power, just as Jesus was anointed for his ministry at the River Jordan. While it was the end of Jesus' physical presence with his beloved disciples, it marked the beginning of Jesus' presence with them in a new way. Jesus promised that he would be with them always to the end of time. When the Lord Jesus departed physically from the apostles, they were not left in sorrow or grief. Instead, they were filled with joy and with great anticipation for the coming of the Holy Spirit. But how does Jesus sitting at the right hand of the Heavenly Father affect our day-to-day life?
What if your friend in the high place knew of your daily challenges and difficulties? Would that friend be interested in helping you out? Certainly! Holy Spirit groans in us and inspires us to enter into a dialog with Jesus. Jesus fully knows our human weakness, our challenges, and sufferings. Perhaps you are thinking, "Jesus doesn't speak to me. Maybe he doesn't even like to talk to me. Maybe he speaks only to special people, holy or religious people." That questioning and perhaps doubting reveals something about you--that the Holy Spirit in you desires to talk to God. The reason anyone anywhere at any time has ever been moved to talk to God is because God, by His Holy Spirit, was drawing the person toward him. Jesus says as much when he tells his disciples that, "no one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him” (Jn 6:44) Did you know that God desires our dialogue of prayer with Him more than we do? But how do we enter into a dialogue with him? One way is through sacred scriptures.
Many of us overlook that Jesus speaks to us through the Sacred Scriptures. Right on the shelf in our homes is a bible that we may not have opened up in a long while. When you read just a small passage, slowly and sit with it, you’ll be surprised how Jesus talks to us. We live in a fast food society where we don't take time to chew food to enjoy and savor the flavor. We hurry away to another thing. If we were eating a $50 steak at an upscale restaurant, we would take time wouldn't we? Likewise Jesus invites us to take up his precious words in the Scriptures, chew on them, and savor them. Our thirst and hunger in our souls will be filled if we take up the scriptures.
