Jesus said to his disciples: “Go into the whole world and proclaim
the gospel to every creature. Whoever believes and is baptized will
be saved; whoever does not believe will be condemned.” Mark
16:15–16
We celebrate today one more step in the completion of the mission
of the Son of God. Humanity had sinned at the beginning of time and
fallen from Original Innocence. God immediately began to prepare
the world for the gift of eternal redemption by establishing a
covenant with Noah, Abraham and Moses. He raised up various
prophets and kings to further prepare His people for what was to
come. And then, when the time was right, God entered our world
through the Blessed Virgin Mary. Jesus, the Son of God, eventually
entered into His public ministry, teaching, performing miracles,
gathering the faithful to Himself, dying, rising and then appearing
to His disciples in preparation for the Ascension. The Ascension
completes the mission of the Son of God. Today we honor that
definitive moment when God the Son, in His transformed and
resurrected Human nature, ascends by His own power to the Father,
bringing with Himself our humanity so that all humanity may ascend
with Him.
As we celebrate the Ascension of Jesus, we must first see all that
led up to that moment and seek to unite ourselves with all of those
preceding events. We must listen to the words of the patriarchs and
prophets of the Old Testament. We must especially listen to the
teachings of Jesus in the New Testament and embrace His words
without hesitation. And we must unite ourselves with His own death,
dying to sin, so that we may also share in His Resurrection. Today,
we must further see the invitation we are all given to ascend with
Jesus to the Father. We must understand that where Jesus has gone,
we are invited to follow if we only believe, embrace and live all
that took place leading up to this glorious moment.
The Ascension was the end of Jesus' life on Earth but also the
beginning of our sharing in the life of Heaven. As Jesus ascended,
He commissioned His disciples to go forth and “preach the gospel to
every creature.” They were to preach to all about the saving plan
of God that began at the time of Adam and Eve and was completed
with the Ascension.
Reflect, today, upon your calling to not only share in this
glorious moment of Jesus’ Ascension but also your calling to go
forth and to do all you can to draw others into this new life.
Reflect upon Jesus, Who also speaks to you today to invite you to
bring others to that mountain. By teaching friends, family and all
with whom God has entrusted to you to share the Gospel, you fulfill
Christ’s mission to “go into the whole world” to gather the
scattered people into the one fold of Christ so as to ascend with
Him one day into eternity.
My ascended Lord, all things throughout history were but a
preparation for the moment when You drew fallen humanity into
Heaven to be with Your Father forever. Help me to always heed Your
holy words, so that I, too, will share in Your Ascension. Use me,
dear Lord, to also go forth and to draw many others to You so that
the Kingdom will be filled with all those whom You have called.
Jesus, I trust in You.
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Featured image above: Stained glass windows in the Mausoleum of
the Roman Catholic Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels, via
Wikimedia Commons
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