Ascension Opportunities

As we begin this week between the Ascension and Pentecost, it is good to remind ourselves of the opportunities that exist to bring the Good News to our brothers and sisters. Jesus has entrusted his disciples with a wonderful mission. Once he ascended to the Father he promised that the Holy Spirit would come and guide us in all we do. That promise was kept! The Holy Spirit guides us in fulfilling the mission of our Lord. We also know that our Lord's promise to be with us until the end of the age is also kept. Last week, a commentary was written that caught my attention and it was very appropriate for the Feast of the Ascension and beyond. The premise of the commentary is to "testify" to Jesus and there are two points worth keeping. The first is that bringing Christ to others is a mission for all peoples, not just a chosen few like priests and religious, but everyone. Christ belongs to the whole world, He belongs to all people and we need to do our part to bring Him and His message to everyone we meet. The second point is that opportunities to do this will arise everyday. The commentator puts it like this, "Every day there will be occasions when some word, some gesture, some deed will satisfy the need of the moment for someone, perhaps even ourselves. Almost certainly this opportunity will arise, not in church, but at home, at school, on the streets, in a supermarket, in the office-places where Jesus' love will not be found if it is not put there by us" (Loose-Leaf Lectionay (LLL) for Mass, Liturgical Press, 846). The writer even adds a beautiful prayer by the Blessed John Henry Cardinal Newman and it really says it all. "God has created me to do Him some definite service; He has committed some work to me which He has not committed to another. I have my mission-I may never know it in this life, but I shall be told it in the next. I have a part in a great work; I am a link in a chain, a bond between persons" (LLL, 846). Let us make this prayer our own and get to the mission at hand. Have a blessed day!!!