Fr. Lawrence Jagdfeld, O.F.M., Administrator
The Solemnity of the Ascension has always been a special day of prayer for all CUSANS because of the hope which is born in Jesus' glorification after suffering an ignominious death on the cross. The path that Jesus has trod is our path; his destination is our destiny.
The Scriptures surrounding this event are both encouraging and confusing. We are encouraged by the fact that they signal the enthronement of Jesus at the right hand of God, a throne he earned through obedience to God's will. The confusion comes from the fact that the event is recorded with contradictory physical details. All four of the Gospels, including the Gospel of St. Luke, tell us that the Ascension happened on that "first day of the week," the day that Jesus rose from the dead. After appearing to his disciples and bestowing the gift of the Holy Spirit, he leads them out and disappears from sight through a cloud. The Acts of the Apostles, written by St. Luke, seems to indicate that the Ascension took place forty days after the Resurrection, and that the Holy Spirit was bestowed ten days later or fifty days after the Resurrection. The earlier Gospels seem to indicate that the Ascension took place in Galilee, while it is clear in the Gospel of St. Luke that it took place outside Jerusalem.
It is really impossible to separate these events from one another. Together the passion, death, resurrection, ascension and bestowal of the Holy Spirit comprise the Paschal Mystery. They are a unit, but each part of the unit indicates a separate reality. The Resurrection is not possible without the passion and death of Jesus, the Ascension is not possible without the Resurrection, and, as the Gospel reminds us, the coming of the Spirit is not possible unless Jesus returns to Father in order to send the Spirit. The stories that have grown up around these facets of the Paschal Mystery are not historical events to be commemorated but different aspects of one part of our Catholic Faith. The Church takes the time to celebrate each of them, offering us the opportunity to reflect on their meaning in our lives.
Today's Feast is reminds us of our destiny. It is anchor of hope to which every CUSAN clings as we walk that path of dying to self and as our bodies continue to diminish. We, too, will one day be seated in the throne room of God.