May 17^th 2015.  Feast of the Ascension of Our Lord

Gospel: Mark 16:15-20

­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­Translated from a homily by Don Fabio Rosini, broadcast on Vatican Radio

Don Fabio’s reflection follows the Gospel reading ...

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GOSPEL: Mark 16:15-20

Jesus showed himself to the Eleven, and said to them, ‘Go out to the whole world; proclaim the Good News to all creation. He who believes and is baptised will be saved; he who does not believe will be condemned. These are the signs that will be associated with believers: in my name they will cast out devils; they will have the gift of tongues; they will pick up snakes in their hands, and be unharmed should they drink deadly poison; they will lay their hands on the sick, who will recover.’

And so the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven: there at the right hand of God he took his place, while they, going out, preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word by the signs that accompanied it.

The Gospel of the Lord: Praise to you Lord Jesus Christ

Kieran’s summary . . . The Ascension is one of the articles of the Creed and has immense significance for each one of us personally. All of our actions are directed towards goals. That is the sort of creatures that we are. But if the goals are false or illusory, then our lives are chaotic and meaningless. The Ascension of Jesus makes our true final goal crystal clear! Jesus is fully human and the Ascension tells us that his (and our) final goal is to be with the Father in heaven. How many false objectives pull us this way and that! We have wrong goals for our bodies, our intellects, our possessions and our relationships. The end result is that our lives are bland and without substance, or are chaotic and tragic. We are like sailors in a wild and desolate sea. We need a point of reference to orient our lives, and that point of reference is God the Father! All of our actions should be directed by a simple criterion: “Is this choice something that is compatible with heaven? Is this something that leads me to heaven?” The things of this world must never become ends in themselves. All of us are called to eternity! We have been designed for something that is greater than the universe itself.

The Ascension is not simply the triumphal going up of Jesus. It is a truth of dogma of immense significance for all of our lives

On Sunday we celebrate the feast of the Ascension. At first sight, this event might seem like the moment in which Jesus simply goes up to heaven and is glorified. But the Ascension is nothing less than the sixth article of the Creed. The Apostles’ Creed is a simpler and more ancient version than the Creed we recite at Mass. It is divided into twelve articles and one of these refers to Jesus’ ascension into heaven and taking his place at the right hand of the Father. The Ascension, therefore, is of comparable importance to the article which states: “I believe in God the Father Almighty”; or; “I believe in the Holy Spirit”. Its significance is especially underlined this year. Of the three-year liturgical cycle, it is this year that presents the Ascension event in a particularly forceful way. Both the first reading and the Gospel recount the story of how Jesus is raised from the earth and takes his place at the right hand of God.

All of our activities are directed towards goals. If the goals are illusory, then our lives are chaotic or lack substance. The Ascension tells us about our final goal

What does it mean to “ascend”? Why does the risen Lord ascend into heaven? What significance does this final event have in the terrestrial life of Jesus? The Gospel of John says: “Knowing that he had come from the Father and was returning to the Father . . .” And later the same Gospel says: “Knowing that the time had come to go to the Father . . .” After the resurrection, Jesus says to Mary Magdalene: “I have not yet ascended to the Father . .” The point is that this earth is not a final destination. Once we accept this fact, a lot of our problems are instantly eliminated. Often, the process of discernment regarding a particular issue involves clarifying its final goal. Where do these choices or initiatives lead us? In everything we do, we are beings that pursue goals; we are intentional creatures. But if our goal is a mistaken goal, then the fallout is dramatic. My life might be full of good things that are directed to a wrong end. Our bodies, our intellects, our resources and possessions can all be directed to goals that are distorted. If this is the case, then everything can become chaotic and disordered. We are capable of enduring great hardships for a goal that we consider worthwhile, but we can have difficulties remaining patient for five minutes when we are pursuing a goal that does not make sense to us. The final objective of our efforts has a determining influence on everything.

Jesus is fully human and reveals the final destination of our human nature. Our final destination is the Father! How illusory are the goals that we sometimes follow!

What we are celebrating this Sunday is really the finality of everything. Jesus reveals the true nature of humanity because, though he was God, he assumed human nature in a complete sense. Being fully human, he reveals the true final destination of humanity. The endpoint of our journey is God the Father. Our final homeland is in heaven. This earth cannot be regarded as a destination in itself. We are pilgrims on a journey and until we recognize this fact, we will have a distorted viewpoint on the things of this earth. Saint Paul’s letter to the Thessalonians asks us not to live our lives in a disordered way. We have need to be oriented in the right direction and this feast calls us to do just that. Navigators at sea use a sextant to orient themselves correctly with the stars in the wildest and most desolate waters. All of us have need to be oriented to the correct point of reference! This requires abandoning the deceptive goals and illusory points of reference in life. How many false ideas we encounter in our journey! How many wrong idols pull us this way and that, leading us nowhere, turning our existence into something bland and without substance! Our true goal is the call we have to eternity. This is the litmus test for everything in our lives that does not have the character of eternity. If Christ ascends to heaven, then I too am called to heaven. What truly counts in my life is that which counts in heaven. My acts in life must be guided by this criterion.

All of my actions must be guided by the criterion that my final destination is heaven!

The disciples in the Gospel passage from Mark are sent out to manifest the signs of this eternity to which we are called; the signs of that which goes beyond death, sickness and evil; signs that make present the eternal aspect of God. As Christians, we are all called to a life of actions that are valid and presentable even in heaven. Before doing something we should ask: “Will I be glad of this action or ashamed of it when I die?” This is a parameter that we should always keep in mind when it comes to serious decisions, but also for more ordinary ones. It is essential that we live in the manner of one who is heading towards heaven. Sometimes we observe people on their way to a celebration or to a sad event. We encounter people who have been waiting for a particular event for many years.  People are marked by the characteristics of that towards which they are heading. Christians are people who are on a journey towards heaven. They are a people on pilgrimage towards an encounter with the Father. In everything they do, they make a step on that journey, knowing that everything that Providence brings is not directed towards our lives here below but is oriented to making that transition to heaven. We must never turn the things of this life into absolutes! These things only serve to lead us towards the fullness of life. This world is too little for the hearts that we have been given! Each of us has been designed for something more immense, something that is larger than the universe itself.