My dear people of God, we are on the 2nd Sunday in May, 2024. It is a month of our Blessed Virgin Mary. Her first appearance to three children: Lucy, Francesco, and Jacinta, in a town called Fatima was on May 13th, 1917. Praying the rosary daily for peace and salvation of the world and an act of supplication for the conversion of sinners was her message to them. That is the reason May devotion is very important for us as the people of God. We need Mary’s maternal intercession for our salvation. This month, the holy Mother Church has three Solemnities to celebrate.
Also, today we give thanks to God for all mothers. Every mother deserves honor, appreciation and thanks on a day like today. Each of us was once conceived by a mother and breastfeed by a mother. No amount of jewelry, whether gold or diamond is enough to reward them for all they have sacrificed for us. To be a mother is a very difficult task. Mothers went through ordeal because of us. On a day like today, we need to wish them love, peace, joy, and long life with grace.
Again, today we celebrate Christ’s Ascension into heaven. Jesus, after he has completed his mission on earth, returned to his Father. The Ascension of Christ into heaven is one of the articles of the faith that we profess on daily basis; “… he ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty; from there he will come to judge the living and dead”. This is a grand testimony of truth, a strong confirmation that Christ rose from the dead; that his body was neither subjected to the belly of the earth nor see corruption. Thus, the feast of Ascension is a reminder that we are on a journey, and heaven is our final destination.
In our first reading, Luke gives us a brief summary of the life of Jesus up to the point of his dramatic ascension into heaven. There are two messages of hope for us here. The first is the promise of the Holy Spirit: “…You will receive the Holy Spirit…and you shall be my witnesses to the ends of the earth.” This means that Christ is not leaving us as orphans; he is with us through the Holy Spirit “till the end of time.” And so, the ascension of Christ does not mean his absence from us. Rather it means his continuous presence through the Holy Spirit. The second is the promise of his second coming (Parousia). So, today we celebrate because Christ has gone to prepare a place for us in his kingdom. We also celebrate the hope that one day, he shall return to take us to be eternally with him.
Today’s Gospel reminds us of the mandate of our Christian calling: “Go out into the whole world and proclaim the good news to all creation…” Christ himself evangelized through his words, works, sufferings, and complete offering of himself. Now he calls us to do the same, because the same spirit that sustained and resurrected him is with us.
Surely, we cannot afford to fail Christ in this call. So, as we rejoice today that Christ has ascended into heaven, in the hope of his second coming to take us with him, we must work hard to fulfill his mandate to us. This is what will merit us to be eternally with him. Finally, together with the psalmist let us acclaim the Lord: “God goes up with shouts of joy; the Lord goes up with trumpet blast.” Peace be with you!