A Message from the Pastor : Fr. Pedro de Oliveira

May 12, 2021

The Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord

 

The celebration of the Ascension of the Lord has been transferred from Thursday, May 13th to this coming Sunday, May 16th, in the Diocese of Trenton; therefore, all the Scripture readings will focus on the Solemnity of the Ascension of our Lord and not on the readings for the 7th Sunday of Easter. 

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What is the celebration all about?

 

The celebration of the Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord Jesus, is about the mystery of when the Lord Jesus, who had come down from heaven in order to make heaven possible for us, returned home triumphantly to prepare a place for us. 

 

Each Sunday we profess through the Creed, "He ascended into Heaven." Christ’s Ascension was the culmination of God’s Divine plan for Christ Jesus – his return to his Father with his “Mission Accomplished."  Ascension is the grand finale of all Jesus’ words and works done for us and for our salvation.  It is a culmination, but not the conclusion.  As Jesus is now with God the Father in glory, so Jesus is with us now in Spirit: "I am with you always." 

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In the Gospel for the Feast of the Ascension, Jesus gives this mission to all the believers: "Go out to the whole world and proclaim the Gospel to every creature.” This mission is not given to a select few but to all believers. To be a Christian is to be a proclaimer and an evangelizer. There is a difference between preaching and proclaiming. “We preach with words but we proclaim with our lives.” As we celebrate the Lord’s return to His Father in Heaven – His Ascension -- we are being commissioned to go forth and proclaim the Gospel of life and love, of hope and peace, by the witness of our lives. 

 

The Ascension is an occasion when all of us are called to meditate upon Heaven, reignite our desires for it, and reorient ourselves definitely toward it. It is a day of hope, encouragement and commissioning, let us renew our commitment to be true disciples everywhere we go, beginning with our family and our parish, living in a manner worthy of the call we have received.