YOU WILL BE MY WITNESSES TO THE ENDS OF THE EARTH

HOMILY FOR THE FEAST OF ASCENSION. MAY 24, 2020.

Click to SEE the readings for Ascension Sunday

HOMILY RESOURCE FOR 7TH SUNDAY OF EASTER

“So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, He was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God”.

My dearest friends in Christ,

As the disciples were gathered around the mountain in Galilee, we have gathered in this church and around this altar to celebrate the feast of the glorious Ascension of Christ into Heaven. It is a feast we are celebrating amidst mixed feelings. On the one hand, we are grieved, like the Apostles, for the physical separation of Christ. On the other hand, we are happy He has gone to prepare a place for us at the Right Hand of the Father and He will come back again to take us to be with Him Thus in the words of Leo the Great:
“Today we are not only made possessors of Paradise but with Christ, we have ascended, mystically but also really, to the highest Heavens and have won through Christ a grace more wonderful than the one we had lost.” ( Excerpt from F. Fernandez in Conversation with God, Vol. II, p. 550).

The Ascension of Christ into Heaven should not be understood as separation from us, as if He has left the world to run on its own. “It would be a mistake to interpret the Ascension as the temporary absence of Christ from the world. Rather, we go to Heaven to the extent that we go to Jesus Christ and enter into Him. Heaven is a Person: Jesus Himself is what we call Heaven.” Pope Benedict XVI, Excerpt from Magnificat, Vol. 21, No. 3, May 2019, p. 416. The meaning of the Ascension is found in this phrase: Jesus took His place. After having undergone the humiliation of His Passion and Death, Jesus took His place at the Right Hand of God; He took his place with His Eternal Father_.” (Homily of John Paul II 24 May 1979)

On this great feast, we celebrate the completion of Jesus’ Paschal Mystery and His earthly Mission. Before He was lifted up in the sight of His disciples He charged them with the responsibility of the Mission of being His witnesses, as we saw in the first reading. In the gospel He made it clearer to them and to us gathered here, to “go therefore and make disciples of all nations”. This Mission entrusted to us will be pushed into force with the reception of the Holy Spirit. That is why Jesus asked the disciples to remain in Jerusalem until they had received the Spirit. Now in retrospect, I would say the immediate disciples of Jesus did a very good job in their commitment to this Mission. Thanks to them and the Holy Spirit we are believers today. Thanks to the Fathers of the Church and earlier missionaries who, inspired by apostolic zeal and the Holy Spirit, brought the Gospel to us at the expense of their comfort. They made great sacrifices for the Gospel to take its root in the ends of the earth.

To us who are beneficiaries of God’s Spirit and the sacrificial efforts of those who came before us, to what extent are we committed to witnessing this Mission in a world that is becoming more secular, anti-clerical, and violent to the Gospel of Christ? More than in the past generations, we have a greater challenge to witnessing this Mission. The martyrs of the Church shed their blood for this Gospel to take root. Ours may not be to the point of shedding our blood, but involves the denunciation of our worldly ambitions, desires, and pleasures in order to fully embrace the Cross of Christ and uncompromisingly defend and propagate the Gospel message.

The world needs to be told the Truth; the Truth that will lead us out of darkness into Christ’s wonderful Light, Life, and Salvation. Our words, and actions must reflect the testimony we bear. We must not let the Light of Faith entrusted to us be extinguished in our hands. “Christ has no body now but yours. No hands, no feet on earth but yours. Yours are the eyes through which He looks with compassion on this world. Yours are the feet with which He walks to do good. Yours are the hands through which He blesses all the world. Yours are the hands, yours are the feet, yours are the eyes, you are His body. Christ has no body now on earth but yours.“
–Teresa of Avila

This mission is not an easy one, hence Paul in his letter to the Ephesians in the second reading of today, prayed, “May the eyes of your hearts be enlightened, that you may know what is the hope that belongs to this call”. Truly our _minds need to be illuminated to understand this Mission and responsibility that Christ entrusted to us.

Let us not be afraid because all power and authority in Heaven and on earth have been given to Christ. Let us not mourn His physical absence because He is in each one of us in the Spirit and intercedes for us at the Right Hand of the Father.

May God strengthen His grace within us to be His faithful witnesses in our world.

I keep you and your family always in my prayers. ©Clem C. Aladi.

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PLEASE JOIN IN THE NOVENA TO THE HOLY SPIRIT

Catholic Prayers: Novena to the Holy Spirit

ACT OF CONSECRATION TO THE HOLY SPIRIT
On my knees,, before the great multitude of heavenly witnesses I offer myself, soul and body, to You, Eternal Spirit of God. I adore the brightness of Your purity, the unerring keenness of Your justice, and the might of Your love. You are the Strength and Light of my soul. In You, I live and move and am. I desire never to grieve You by unfaithfulness to grace and I pray with all my heart to be kept from the smallest sin against You. Mercifully guard my every thought and grant that I may always watch for Your light and listen to Your voice and follow Your gracious inspirations. I cling to You and give myself to You and ask You by Your compassion to watch over me in my weakness. Holding the pierced Feet of Jesus and looking at His Five Wounds and trusting in His
Precious Blood and adoring His opened Side and stricken Heart, I implore You, Adorable Spirit, Helper of my infirmity, so to keep me in Your grace that I may never sin against You. Give me grace, O Holy Ghost, Spirit of the Father and the Son to say
to You always and everywhere, “Speak, Lord, for Your servant heareth.” Amen

PRAYER FOR THE SEVEN GIFTS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
Christ Jesus, before ascending into heaven, You promised to send the Holy Spirit to Your apostles and disciples.

Grant that the same Spirit may perfect in our lives the work of Your grace and love.

Grant us the Spirit of Fear Of The Lord that we may be filled with a loving reverence toward You.

the Spirit of Piety that we may find peace and fulfillment in the service of God while serving others;

the Spirit of Fortitude that we may bear our cross with You and, with courage, overcome the obstacles that interfere with our salvation;

the Spirit of Knowledge that we may know You and know ourselves and grow in holiness;

the Spirit of Understanding to enlighten our minds with the light of Your truth;

the Spirit of Counsel that we may choose the surest way of doing Your will, seeking first the Kingdom;

Grant us the Spirit of Wisdom that we may aspire to the things that last forever;

Teach us to be Your faithful disciples and animate us in every way with Your Spirit.

Amen.

FIRST DAY
Creation Awaits Fulfillment
Holy Spirit, Lord of light!
From Your clear celestial height, Your pure’ beaming radiance give!
Almighty and eternal God, send forth Your Spirit, who brought order from chaos at the beginning of the universe, and peace to the Lord’s disciples.

Grant that I, as your creation, baptized in your Spirit, may be filled with the seven gifts so that I may forever do your will and renew the face of the earth.

Amen.