Today we celebrate the great mystery of faith that Christ ascended into Heaven. We could easily believe that due to His ascension we now have an absence of Christ upon this earth. This belief is not true because through the ascension of our Lord we are able to join with Him in Heaven while we remain here upon earth below. His ascension opens up for us the very place where we can go to join with God for all time. As Christ ascends into Heaven on this day we should allow our hearts to also ascend with Him. If we allow our hearts to ascend with Him we must leave our sinfulness behind and begin to orient our sight upon Christ and all that dwells above in Heaven where sin cannot be found. This transformation that should take place within us is the reality of the Ascension and its effect upon the believer. To remain unchanged by the ascension is not a choice that we should accept if we truly take our baptismal promises seriously because the ascension is a life changing event not only for the apostles, but for all of us.
Saint Paul's words to the Ephesians should ring true in each of our ears: "may the eyes of your hearts be enlightened." We here upon this earth have so many issues which cause us grief and hardship, but with our hearts enlightened and thus raised to Heaven in the ascension we can and will find comfort. Taking care of a family member who is struggling with health issues can become a burden at times. The uncertainty of job security can raise one's anxiety to great heights. The never ending banter of bills especially medical bills can seem to be an unending litany. Breaking ourself from an addiction or a serious sin can seem to be to difficult to endure. With our hearts enlightened we will see the true fruit that comes to us from the ascension. This fruit that comes to us is that of hope in the moment of trial, perseverance in the moment of temptation, and joy in those moments of despair. With the ascension we are not left alone in those many moments of hardship, but we turn ourself towards Heaven to encounter true hope, perseverance, and joy.
At the moment that Christ descended from Heaven to this earth we must remember that He never ceased to be God and therefore remain in Heaven. Likewise, we must remember that because Christ ascended into Heaven does not mean that He has left this earth, but instead He continues to dwell with us to lift our hearts and minds towards Heaven where we will one day be able to join with Him for all eternity. This is important for us to remember because He descended upon us out of love in order that we might be redeemed. In descending He joined with us in our humanity and was crucified upon the cross in order to bring about our salvation. In ascending He returned to His Father in Heaven, but in as much as we are able to join and trust in Him we are also brought into Heaven and given this most glorious glimpse. From sacred scripture: "No one has ever ascended into heaven except the one who descended from heaven, the Son of Man, who is in heaven." By our love and our trust we join with Christ who both descended and ascended.
Therefore each of us must ask ourselves what causes us to cease to love Christ? We must mediate upon each and every single thing we place before our relationship with Christ and ask why we allow these things to impede our ability to join with Him in Heaven while still being here upon this earth. We must take our fears, temptations, and struggles and not allow them to overcome us, but instead may each of us grow in our love for Christ and therefore encounter true hope, perseverance, and joy as we ascend to where Christ can be found. On this day we celebrate the great joy of Christ's ascension into Heaven and hopefully this great joy that we celebrate on this day makes us desire in our heart to join with Him in Heaven. Towards Heaven is the place that the ascension delivers us if only we can trust and love our Lord. In sin and despair we cannot say that we love Christ or desire to be joined with Him in Heaven. By casting away sin and despair from our life we begin to truly love and trust in Christ and therefore we allow ourself to be raised up to Heaven.
As we proclaim before the preface to this Mass. "Lift up your hearts." "We lift them up to the Lord." Despite all of the fears that plague us, despite all the crosses that are forced upon us, despite the many injustices which spring forth in this world, despite our own relationship to sin; we are able to say these words with great faith. That is because through the ascension Christ was raised to Heaven and we in return are raised to Heaven with Him. May our trust truly be turned towards Christ that we may continue to lift up our hearts to the Lord in all things. When the ascension is depicted in art we will notice that the eyes of the apostles are lifted towards Heaven. Our very life should follow this posture, with our sight not cast downward, but instead above with the desire to be lifted up towards the Lord. From Saint Gregory of Nazianzus: "We know with holy and Catholic Faith that what was not assumed, was not redeemed." May we truly allow ourselves to be assumed towards our Lord holding nothing back as we lift our hearts up to Him this day.
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