Ascension 2022

If there has ever been a time when people have needed the Feast of the Ascension, this is one of those times. Every day we are confronted with so much terrible news. The war in Ukraine continues; atrocities have been committed in Buffalo, NY, and Uvalde, TX; the pandemic rattles on in the background. As Christians we desire to lift our hearts to God, and yet with so much pain and suffering around us, it is hard to keep the hope of Jesus Christ alive.

Every night at the church at our daily masses, we have been interceding to Christ for all of the problems of our world. As I write this the Eve of the Ascension is upon us. At the Ascension we celebrate how the Risen Christ now stands at the right hand of the Father, interceding for us and our world. Would it not be wonderful if the cosmic Christ would simply take away all our problems - simply fix everything that is wrong? The reality is that God does not work this way. God is not an over-bearing, over-functioning, "hover" parent. Certainly God is hurt whenever humanity inflicts pain as we see in our current world, but God also does not do us any favors by simply fixing all the problems we humans create. This is one of the hardest lessons the Christian disciple must learn.

From what I can tell anecdotally, people's positions are becoming even more entrenched than they were before. One would hope that tragedy would result in the softening of polarized positions, but that does not seem to be the case. It does not seem to be happening regarding the war in Ukraine, and it does not seem to be happening regarding the violence in our communities. The divide is widening, and thereby any widespread healing is increasingly distant. As a result, children are slaughtered at schools and the elderly die in supermarket parking lots. We humans have made such a mess of the world.

At the Ascension we give thanks that even though chaos reigns among us, the Risen Christ is ultimately victorious. As well, each one of us is called to ask the question, "how have we lifted up our hearts to Christ?" How have we cared for the children of Uvalde or the people of Buffalo? How have we cared for each other - the very people who bear the face of Christ? The Ascendant Christ provides us all the answers we need. Whether we are willing to adore the Christ, and be forever changed by him, is another matter indeed.

Blessings to you this Ascension,
Father Paul Lillie +