The Ascension and the Church Militant

 

The Ascension of the Lord

at St. Mary’s in Salem

15-16 May 2021

 

Acts 1:1-11

Eph 1:17-23

Mk 16:15-20

 

Praised be Jesus Christ!

        The article of faith we celebrate on the Solemnity of the Ascension is that of Jesus being glorified at the right hand of God the Father. The return of Jesus to His heavenly Father begins the mission of the Church by Christ’s command, “Go into the whole world and proclaim the gospel to every creature”, and marks our empowerment, yours and mine, called as we are to give witness in our lives to Christ’s victorious return to heaven. A key element of the message is that we are not sent out alone, without the assurance of succeeding. We are sent out empowered to proclaim the Gospel and win souls for Christ with the power of the Lord Jesus Himself. He is with us.

        “…they went forth and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the word through accompanying signs.”

        One of the things which I have taken up since retirement is reading daily the martyrology, which is the list of saints for the day. Most days it is a small half page briefly recounting the lives of saints associated with that day in the calendar. It is aptly called a martyrology because the saints who were martyred for Christ form the backbone of each day’s reading. The lives of those saints mentioned who did not die for the faith are generally marked by miracles, by signs and wonders which accredited their witness for Christ. As we just read in the Gospel:

        “…they went forth and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the word through accompanying signs.”

        The fundamental question for me is: how important to the mission of an apostle are those signs and wonders if you are not called to martyrdom? Just think of all the wonders recounted in the Book of the Acts of the Apostles! Can holiness of life be separated from miracles? If you are truly holy, should you not also be a miracle worker? Jesus, our Risen Lord commissioned His disciples on the Ascension Mount and their mission continues until today in the Church, “Go into the whole world and proclaim the gospel to every creature.” And He guaranteed their word through accompanying signs, that is by miracles.

        It is at this point as perhaps nowhere else that our talk about Jesus, about His life and teaching, distinguishes itself from a history lesson. We move beyond history into something very much more. My Catholicism is much more than a family tradition. By the will of God, empowerment to witness to Christ is one of the consequences of Baptism and of professing faith in the Lord.

        “So then the Lord Jesus, after he spoke to them, was taken up into heaven and took his seat at the right hand of God.”

        Most common-sense Catholics know that our baptismal calling is not to stand on a soapbox at a busy corner to preach. We do not just pay lip service to Christ. In Him we are transformed not just for our own sake, but for the sake of the life of the world. Nothing is so important for the life of the Church and the spread of the Gospel is our good example, the witness of true belief which we give within the circle of our family and friends.

As a bishop, a successor of the apostles, I am called to go beyond that common witness which marks us in Baptism. My readiness to share my hope in Jesus Christ with family, friends and other people close at hand is just a start for how I fulfill my commitment to spread the Gospel. Because of my reception of the Sacrament of Holy Orders, I must not only give good example to others and speak about the reason for my hope in Christ, but I am also called to the ministry of the Word. For that reason, I need to examine my conscience concerning the fulfillment of my heavier duties. Do I preach and teach effectively? Is my challenge to others to faithfully live out the Gospel in their lives backed up by my own personal witness of virtue?

  God in the Old Testament placed before the Chosen People the choice between life and death, between being blessed by God for choosing Him and the fulness of life in Him, and being cursed by God for choosing death and ultimately damnation. Just the same, as people of the New Testament we are called to choose between life with God and death.

One of the most oddball things about so-called religious education, paid for by the state in public schools in many countries of Europe, is that faith plays no part in these religion classes. Whether in school or in the parish community, in the German language throughout central Europe, they talk about religious socialization of children as if it were the one necessary thing. If you try to use the hour of religious education in school to teach catechism or if you witness to Jesus as our Lord and Savior, well, you can kiss taxpayer funding goodbye and probably count on being fired. Nowadays they do not even teach the children Church history. Instead, they are treated to the green deal, taught to be politically correct, and never even say a prayer.

As I say, priests and bishops have been entrusted with a ministry of the Word, but the role of parents as disciples on mission could not be clearer. Dear parents and grandparents, I hope the reason you are here in church is because you believe and pray on your own and with conviction. If you fail to share with your children and grandchildren that gift of belief in Jesus Christ, a belief firmly grounded in a life of prayer, then do not expect St. Mary’s Grade School or a CCD teacher to do it. There is no middle ground and no excuse. Either you are an apostle, or you are lost. “Go into the whole world and proclaim the gospel to every creature.”  That is what the Ascension is about.

Praised be Jesus Christ!   

PROPERANTES ADVENTUM DIEI DEI