Pastors Corner: May the spirit of Jesus be with you always

OK, here is the deal. This Sunday provides us with options for our Sunday readings.

Normally this is the Seventh Sunday in Easter and we would be using Acts 7:55-60, Revelations 22:12-14, 16-17, 20, and John 17:20-26 for our reading at Mass this weekend. Because Easter Sunday (being a moveable celebration) came as it did this year we will be using the readings for the Ascension of the Lord this Sunday for our readings at Mass: Acts 1:1-11, Hebrews 9:24-28; 10:19-23, and Luke 24:46-53.

If you are a reader who takes the time to read through the Scripture verses noted above, you will find that while they differ in their location in the Bible, they carry very much the same message (at least they do when I read them this time). I realize that Scripture is the Living Word of God and being such, it has the power to provide each of us a different message each time we read it so perhaps you will not arrive at the same conclusion as I did when you read the Scripture mentioned above. That is part of the mystery and gift of the Holy Spirit.

As we go through life, we will experience separation from those we love. It takes different forms. Sometimes someone we love will simply move away or leave home and sometimes someone we love will die. When this happens, we feel a sense of loss and loneliness. We feel as though we have been deprived of a part of ourselves. The depth and intensity of these feelings is greatly affected by our faith and how we understand the meaning of the Ascension.

In 1974 my dad died suddenly. At that time, I could say I believed in God and had a relationship with him but that sure didn't show in the way I responded to my dad's death. I was angry and resentful toward God, and I felt as though I could never feel close to dad again. In 1992 my mom was killed in a car accident and my response to her death was totally different than when my dad died - because my head and my heart had gone through a great change in my understanding of and my relationship with God.

I credit the change in my response to death to a more complete relationship with God through the person of Jesus and the fact that Jesus the Son of God a human being is in heaven with God. A real physical being body, soul and divinity is in heaven with God. As Stephen, in the Acts 7 reading above testified to; "Behold, I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God." The difference in the way I grieve now is influenced by the knowledge that Jesus' ascension into heaven opened for us and assures for us the reality that someday I will again experience a physical relationship with my parents. One that will be perfect because it will be in the presence of God in heaven that is unstained by the effects of sin. It will be perfect. GOOD STUFF MAYNARD! The same stands true for my oldest grandson who died last summer. I will be able to embrace him again. That makes my heart happy.

There is another great benefit that we receive from Jesus' ascension into heaven. We are all able to receive the indwelling spirit of Jesus in a way that we could not have if Jesus had not ascended. Another way of saying this is that Jesus' ascension made possible the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit for each of us. Jesus' ascension provides us with two great gifts. First, the promise of a physical reunion with Jesus and with all whom we love. Remember we are love our neighbor as ourselves. Second, we are able to enjoy the presence of God in our lives here and now. Not only to enjoy God present here and now but to empower us to share the Good News and the hope it brings into a world that is broken and hurting from the effects of sin.

Having said that it is important for us to remember a few things about this broken and sinful world. As God was creating it at all stages, He said that what he had created was good - it still is today. I know that when Jesus came into this world, He proclaimed that the Kingdom of Heaven was at hand - it still is today. It is our responsibility to live in this world in a way that reflects these realities. Finally, the reality of the Ascension should cause us to live with a sense of joyful anticipation. This joyful anticipation will in deed change the world around us for the better.

Blessings

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Deacon Tim Maroney

St. Jude Thaddeus Catholic Church