A Glorious Thing
Did you ever notice with small children how attached they are to their mothers? If mom goes out to the store without them they show signs of anxiety, sometimes even shedding tears of genuine grief over even a short absence. We, who are the children of God, may feel, perhaps should feel, some similar deep emotion when the paschal candle is snuffed out today. For our blessed Lord, it seems, is leaving us, and will not be coming back for a long time.
And yes, I say that it “seems” so because in reality he isn’t leaving us and does still dwell amongst us. He is here in all his glory, amongst us in his physical real presence from the moment of the consecration at Mass until the last Host is consumed. In normal times, his presence would continue even beyond this moment, in the church’s tabernacle, making a Catholic church something very special, where we would not speak above a quiet whisper, before which we would make the sign of the cross as we drive past. The circumstances of this post-conciliar world deprive us of such comforts unfortunately, and yet we do at least have the presence of our Lord during the Mass.
In spite of the reality of his presence at this time, however, it is still not the same as when he walked and talked with his disciples, his friends, his family, during the thirty-three years of his life. During those glorious times, we could have seen him, spoken with him, asked him all manner of questions, listened to his teachings as they were uttered for the first time. We could have wondered in awe at visible miracles, performed before our very eyes, designed to confirm our faith in God and to imprint his message in our minds. But today… today, Ascension Thursday, we are about to lose this very special presence, as our Lord returns to his Father in heaven and the Light of the World, represented by this candle, is snuffed out for the last time. We feel perhaps the same wrenching emotional pit in our stomach as someone we love most dearly is taken from us. We imagine what the apostles must have felt, and understand their confusion and apprehension as they return to Jerusalem as instructed by our Lord.
It is time to begin our novena to the Holy Ghost. We join the apostles as they pray for the coming of the Comforter, he who will provide them, and us, with the sevenfold gifts of God that will make our journey through life so much easier if only we would use them correctly. For we are not alone. It is not true what they say, that we enter into the world alone and leave it alone, that no one can accompany us in our path across the threshold of death. If our Lord could not be with every man, woman and child at every moment of their lives, it cannot be said that he has abandoned us, left us alone. Nor has he placed us in the hands of a mere babysitter, who lets us play by ourselves and do our own thing while she sits on the sofa, munching potato chips and watching soap operas. Our Lord has entrusted us to none other than the Holy Ghost, the Third Person of the Blessed Trinity, equal to him in his divinity, his power, his wisdom and his love. While Christ was made flesh, was a man like us, the Holy Ghost would come as a spirit, able to dwell not amongst us but within us. Our very bodies would become temples of this Holy Spirit, and instead of God descending as man, we would be enabled to rise to the divinity through this indwelling of God in our very soul.
On this feast of the Ascension, therefore, we should not feel sadness at the departure of Christ from our world. We should rather look forward to the coming of his Spirit just nine days from now on the Feast of Pentecost. We should be filled already with the anticipation of what we are about to receive, longing in our hearts for the increase of grace that he will bring. We should be like little children waiting for Christmas, thinking of the wonderful gifts we’ll soon be opening up.
Indeed, Pentecost is very much like Christmas in many ways that go far beyond the gifts we receive. Our Lord’s Nativity is the Third Joyful Mystery, the Descent of the Holy Ghost is the Third Glorious Mystery. Note this difference—that Christmas is a joyful mystery while Pentecost is glorious. Joy is a human emotion, one that give us great happiness, but a happiness that is brief and fleeting, that can be obliterated by any sudden unexpected sorrow. Christmas brings us the joy of new birth, a Saviour born unto us, dwelling amongst us. But within a few days of his birth, we commemorate the horrors of the Holy Innocents being slaughtered by King Herod. Our Lord’s thirty-three years on earth were transient and marked with many sorrows mixed in with the normal joys of life. Since Easter, our focus has been on the glorious events that confirm our own eternal life. Ascension is no exception—the departure of our Lord today is not like a bereavement, with the black vestments of mourning. Nor is it a joyful thing to lose our Lord in this way. It is, however, the completion of our joys and sorrows, it is Christ’s return to glory and the promise of our own glory everlasting. Pentecost is similarly glorious—not a transient effect of the coming of the Holy Ghost, but the confirmation of everlasting joy, not a 33-year presence of God but the eternal presence of the Holy Ghost in our soul, a presence that will continue throughout our lives and into the life beyond, a perpetual union with the God who created us for that very purpose.
The Life of Christ was, in a certain sense, a passing moment in history. Pentecost lasts forever. We’re not quite there yet, but today we rejoice at our blessed Lord’s Ascension into heaven, the event which makes Pentecost possible. We need no longer dread his absence, but may now settle down to looking forward to the coming of his Holy Spirit. We can use these coming nine days to renew our determination to keep our souls and bodies pure and holy, fitting temples of this Spirit of God, making our souls worthy to rise with Christ at our death, and our bodies worthy to join our souls at the Resurrection of the Dead. If only we can keep our souls in this state of grace, our eternity is sure and certain, and we may live without fear and when the time comes, rest in peace.