The Ascension of the Lord

The Ascension of the Lord reveals how God works in our lives during times of transition and change. May our trust in Christ help us to respond to divine grace, especially in those awkward and uncomfortable moments that are part of daily life.

He Ascended into Heaven…

Jesus’ Triumphal Procession

Living Multiple Ascensions

There is more than one ascension. If we examine the history of our faith and our own experience, we can identify multiple ascensions. Thus it is appropriate on this Feast of the Ascension to ask ourselves what these numerous ascensions might mean. The ascension which marks today’s feast is the great ascension, the one that is described in the Scriptures. There after his death Jesus is taken up into heaven and sits at God’s right hand. This great ascension is Jesus’ final victory, when he leaves behind all of the pain and imperfections of this life and enters into glory.

Ascension (Year B) Homilies

Signs of the Kingdom
Passing a Milestone in America
The Garbage and the Flowers
Making Jesus More Available

The Mystery that Summons Us

We cannot allow anything to destroy the presence of Christ within us. We cannot give ourselves over to the forces of evil that wage war on the Lord. The battles of the Book of Revelation continue daily. The early Church believed that every Mass, every prayer, every work of charity, was a skirmish in the fight against evil. Like every difficult enemy, the forces of evil continually finds new ways to wage war.

• The eighteenth century saw this in the Enlightenment when rationalism challenged faith.
• The nineteenth century saw the enemy embrace the industrial revolution as a way to turn people against each other, against God, and toward the worship of materialism.
• The first half of the twentieth century saw the battle change to the political front with the ideals of socialism, fascism and communism twisted to eliminate the presence of the Lord.
• The second half of the century and continuing into this century suffers from the attack of evil upon personal holiness through the misuse of technology.

The battle for or against the Gospel continues. The Lord fights with us. His power, His presence is greater than all evil, even the evil we come up with ourselves.

Let’s look at the Ascension from three perspectives:

I. The Fact of the Ascension
II. The Fellowship of the Ascension
III. The Fruitfulness of the Ascension

SOURCE: LifeIssues.net Homily Archive

Bridging the Gap

Bottom line: Jesus has bridged the gap not only between us and him but among each other.

RELATED HOMILIES:

2017 (Year A): Life in Christ Week 7: Mission
2016 (Year C): Gift of Honor
2015 (Year B): Disciple Makers Week 7: Be Part of the Story
2014 (Year A): Journey to Hope Week 7
2013 (Year C): The Way He Opened
2012 (Year B): He Took Prisoners Captive
2011 (Year A): The Personal Center
2010 (Year C): Disappear vs. Leave
2009 (Year B): What Good-Bye Means
2008 (Year A): Ascension Quotes
2007 (Year C): Separation of Church and State
2006 (Year B): Whoever Believes and is Baptized
2005 (Year A): There the Action Lies
2004 (Year C): Forgiveness – In His Name
2003 (Year B): What Does “He Ascended” Mean?
2002 (Year A): Finding the Way Home (Ascension & Mother’s Day)
2001 (Year C): Submission to Jesus
2000 (Year B): Beyond the Secular Paradigm
1999 (Year A): A Wake Up Call
1998 (Year C): Jesus’ Rule Vs. Cafeteria Catholicism

Gathered around Our Lady after Jesus’ Ascension

After Jesus’ ascension, the apostles returned to Jerusalem and stayed in the upper room where they had celebrated the Last Supper. We read about this in the Acts of the Apostles just after our first reading today (Acts 1:12-14). Luke the evangelist, who wrote the Acts of the Apostles as well as the Gospel, tells us who were present. The only names he specifically mentions are the names of each of the remaining eleven apostles and Mary the mother of Jesus. He tells us that others were also present, but he doesn’t tell us their names. He mentions by name each of the eleven apostles and Our Lady.

The Contest of Faith

7th Sunday of Easter — The reality principle of the world around us often has contempt for the mystery of love. Its scorn is revealed in those special insults: “You do-gooder,” “you bleeding heart,” “you good Samaritan,” “you turn-the-other-cheek-er.” The most telling ridicule the world heaps upon a believer appropriately slurs the gospel. Of course, “God so loved the world as to give God’s only Son.” But the world also rejects the Word made flesh—and his ilk.

Where He Goes We Hope to Follow

Does your company or place of employment have a mission statement and a vision statement? For a long time I had a hard time in my head trying to discern the difference between the two because mission and vision statements sound similar. It has been explained to me that vision statements are where you want to go. Mission statements are how you get there.