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Online GivingAround holidays, people tend to look fondly back on past celebrations and romanticize old relationships. Remembering the past may be the best part of their holiday. That is the image we get from the first reading this Sunday as the apostles look up to heaven after the Ascension. They think it is Jesus’ last Resurrection appearance and that they will never see him again.
We too sometimes look at the great feasts of Christmas and Easter in that way. We may dwell on the beauty of the decorations, on the innocence of the baby Jesus, on the horror of his passion and death, or on the wonder of his resurrection. Then when the holy day is over, we go back to our normal routine. Perhaps we need an angel to chide us for “looking at the sky.”
The angels were trying to tell the apostles two things. One was that Jesus would return as he left—in glory. This was not a time to say goodbye but a time of hope; the Lord who had changed their lives so radically would change the world next. Once they received the Holy Spirit, they would see how Jesus was present in the church, the mystical Body of Christ.
The second thing the angels were telling them was to begin following Jesus’ command to spread the Good News to all nations. They would soon realize that Jesus was alive in them, not just as a fond memory, but with the power of his Spirit. With this power they would do mighty deeds in Jesus’ name and be his witnesses to the world.
Because of what the apostles accomplished, we are now Jesus’ witnesses to the world. We celebrate his death and resurrection not as a fond memory, but to encourage each other to spread the Good News. We too have the hope of seeing Jesus come in glory, even as we see him now with the eyes of faith. -Tom Schmidt, Diocesan Publications
TREASURES FROM OUR TRADITION
There was a curious custom years ago that perhaps developed in an age when Easter was seen less as a baptismal season than as a kind of tour through the deeds of the Risen Christ. The paschal candle, sign of Christ’s presence, was removed from public view on Ascension Thursday, banished to the baptistery.
Ascension Day does speak of the hidden aspects of Christ’s life among us, but it does not have much to do with God’s absence. Christ has not shed his human life like an inconvenient shell but rather has taken humanity into heaven. The theologian Karl Rahner said that it is a festival of “the nearness of God.” In vanishing from our sight, Christ has become utterly available to all at every time and every place and is “closer to us than he ever was.”
Today is the feast of believing that beyond our final breath is a presence that waits for us, a banquet prepared, a tender homecoming embrace. Rahner said that today is a festival of the future of the world, a day for anticipating the world’s true destiny, and therefore hardly a day to be going around hiding candles!
-Rev. James Field, Diocesan Publications
May 22nd – SAINT RITA OF CASCIA (1381-1457)
If you’re ever in Philadelphia on May 22, forget parking anywhere near Saint Rita’s shrine. Cars line streets and fill medians as throngs pack a candlelight vigil and six Masses, honoring this patroness of lost causes, hopeless situations, and—as her statue in countless churches built by twentieth-century immigrants testifies—difficult marriages, troubled homes, and alienated children. Wise people warn, be careful what you pray for. “Divine Savior,” Rita prayed, “let me suffer like you!” Obedient to parents who refused her wish to become a nun, Rita married a man who returned her devotion with twenty years of abuse. When enemies murdered him, Rita’s two sons swore revenge. Paintings depict her pointing the angry boys toward Christ crucified, whom she begged to restrain them. Within the year, both sons died. Alone now, Rita went to the convent but was refused. The nuns feared violence, since one of them was related to the murderer. Rita arranged peace between the families, made vows, and became much sought after as a counselor and intercessor for forty years on earth—and ever since in heaven.
—Peter Scagnelli, Diocesan Publications
On Saturday, May 23, four men will be ordained to the priesthood for the Diocese of St. Augustine—each with a different story, each responding to the same call. Their journeys began in ordinary places, work, family life, moments of searching, but led them to something more. All are invited to witness this powerful moment in the life of the Church and pray for these men as they begin their ministry.