Feast of the Ascension

" I dealt with all that Jesus did and taught until the day He was taken up, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom He had chosen. He presented Himself alive to them by many proofs after he had suffered, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God. When [the apostles had gathered together, . . . Jesus said], ' It is not for you to know the times or seasons that the Father has established by His own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, throughout Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.'  When He had said his, as they were looking on, He was lifted up, and a cloud took Him from their sight. While they were looking intently at the sky as He was going, suddenly two men dressed in white garments stood beside them. They said, Men of Galilee, why are you standing there looking at the sky? This Jesus who has been taken up from you into heaven will return in the same way as you have seen him going into Heaven." -- [Acts 1:1-11].


Yesterday, my dear elderly relative, who had suffered for so many years with serious ailments, lay in a hospital bed far away. We were receiving frequent updates about his condition.

I was outside on the patio, looking out at my gardens and at the woods beyond, when I saw a pale yellow butterfly, flitting by. And I knew that everything was going to be okay.

Shortly thereafter, the call came that my precious relative had passed on the God.

I was reminded of how, years before, I had raced to my mother's side, the day that my father had died abruptly, one early spring morning.  When the day came for me to go home to my family, my mother stood on the front porch and waved goodbye. She looked like a frightened child.  I could hardly bear the thought of leaving her behind.

As I was carrying my bags out of the house, I paused and looked up to Heaven, the way the apostles did. I said to my father, "How could you have left me with my mother, when she is so frail and tiny and needy? Where ARE you? And how am I going to take care of her without you?"

Suddenly, I saw that a brilliant Monarch butterfly had landed on the trunk of my father's car. Even more miraculously, the butterfly landed on my hand. I held my breath, as the butterfly stroked my hand with its front legs. Then, it took off in flight, in the direction where I had been gazing at the sky.

The apostles must have felt this way when Jesus died. They did not immediately understand that [Jesus] had to go back to the Father. Perhaps they felt abandoned. But Jesus promised, "I will not leave you an orphan. I will come to you" --[ John 14:15-21].

I have felt orphaned and alone my whole life. I raised myself. No one ever hugged me or said, "I love you." If things became too intense for me, I hid in the midst of a giant forsythia shrub in my family's front yard. If my family thought I was lost, I wanted it that way. I thought, 'No good can come from being visible.'

I gained a new perspective yesterday, though, when I remembered the Feast of the Ascension. My dear relative has gone on to Heaven. But I will always have that hope that I can see him again. Jesus first paved the way for us, to Heaven. As we follow Jesus in this life, we have the great hope to follow Him in the next.

Yesterday, my church held a Mass of Confirmation. Many, many young teens avowed their belief in the Apostle's Creed, and thereby, their belief in the Resurrection and the Ascension.

Then, this morning at Mass, the priest performed a Christening. And so, another new life begins upon the path of following Jesus.

When I sent a note to a fellow parishioner, about the loss of my dear relative, I said, "Please inform our church family of this news."

So, finally, I am beginning to see that we are never truly alone. Jesus is always with us, in a butterfly, in a sunset, in the Eucharist.

But, especially, I now see that in being Christian, we have a whole world of family, "to the ends of the earth".

It may be that I have no family. But if no one is my family, then everyone is my family. God bless you all, my brothers and sisters in Christ. May you never feel alone in Jesus' arms.

[Related Postings, " Ascension Day",  May 17, 2012; "Ascension of the Lord", June 1, 2011].

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