These scenes point to the Ascension of the Lord, which we celebrate this coming Thursday. Christ’s Ascension is a sign that we look ahead to the heaven. At the same time, Ascension Thursday does not end the Easter season. Even as he ascended, Christ promised to remain with us until the end of time. So we live a certain duality, living this life to the fullest but also looking ahead to heaven for our true fulfillment. We will never create a perfect world on earth, but we do not give up trying to make our society as holy as possible.
Ascension Thursday is a holy day of obligation. Please note that our Masses at St. Malachy will be Wednesday at 4:00 PM, Thursday at 7:15 AM, Noon and 7:00 PM. Please plan on being with us for this important day.
Once we get past Ascension Thursday, our Easter season takes on a new character. Ten days after the Lord ascended, the Apostles gathered together, and the Holy Spirit descended upon them. So with Pentecost coming on May 15, the Church takes the time between Ascension and Pentecost to pray for the coming of the Holy Spirit upon each of us. This practice was the origin of the Catholic practice of praying a Novena. The word “Novena” comes from the Latin word for “nine,” referring to the nine days after Ascension which led up to Pentecost. It can now refer to any nine-day period of prayer, but the pre-eminent Novena begins this Friday. As we do try to build the Kingdom of God in this world, we need to pray for the coming of the Holy Spirit, so I would ask everyone to make some prayer each day during that period for the Spirit’s guidance and enlightenment. Pray also that the Holy Spirit can help us keep our patience when things do not go our way, so that we can remember that we will not have perfect joy until we reach heaven. We keep trying, even when we recognize that we are not reaching a perfect world in this life.
So since I am urging you to pray for nine days, let me tell you an old story of a man who went to confession and told the priest that he had stolen lumber from the site where he had been working on a construction job. The priest said, “For you penance, my son, make a novena.” The man said, “Father, I don’t know how to make a novena. But if you’ve got the plans, I’ve got the lumber.”
Father H
