LA ASCENSIÓN DEL SEÑOR 2025

Queridos hermanos y hermanas, este domingo celebramos la Ascensión del Señor, lo cual significa que Jesús subió al Cielo y está sentado a la derecha del Padre y que al final de los tiempos, volverá para juzgar a vivos y muertos, y Su Reino no tendrá fin. Permítanme hacerles algunas preguntas para reflexionar en esta celebración.

¿Dónde quieres ir cuando mueras? ¿Estás haciendo algo para llegar al Cielo? ¿Cuál será tu legado para tus seres queridos? ¿Crees que parte de nuestra tarea en este mundo es saber cuándo será el «Fin de los Tiempos», o debemos ser testigos de la Presencia de Dios en este mundo? ¿Con qué frecuencia te arrepientes de tus pecados y vas a la confesión?

Queridos hermanos y hermanas, me gustaría destacar algunos puntos sobre la misión de Jesús que consider muy importantes para nosotros desde las lecturas propuestas para este domingo y en relación con la misión que Jesús nos encomendó al ascender al cielo.

La Ascensión de Jesús no significa que Dios haya dejado de estar presente entre nosotros, sino que se ha manifestado de otra manera a través del Espíritu Santo y del testimonio de quienes le conocieron. El Espíritu Santo se convierte en la nueva presencia de Jesús entre los creyentes y en Aquel que continua su obra en medio de este mundo.

La evangelización se convierte en la primera tarea de todos los creyentes. La misión es ir a todo el mundo y hacer discípulos de Jesús, bautizándolos y reconciliándolos con Dios. Por tanto, la tarea de los discípulos no es perder el tiempo haciendo preguntas sobre el «Fin de los Tiempos», sino hacer sentir la presencia de Jesús en este mundo a través de su predicación y sus buenas obras. Esta misión también se aplica a nosotros, los creyentes. Nuestra misión es hacerlo presente en este mundo a través de nuestro verdadero testimonio de vida, de la práctica de nuestra fe católica y de la predicación de la «Buena Nueva».

Debemos pedirle a Dios que nos conceda el Espíritu de Sabiduría y Verdad para que ilumine nuestros ojos de alma y entendamos la esperanza y la gloria que nos esperan si creemos en Jesús. Necesitamos que esta guía abra nuestros ojos para ver y comprender lo que nos espera como regalo de Jesús si permanecemos fieles a sus palabras.

Al celebrar la Ascensión del Señor, debemos recordar que el amor es la mejor manera de hacer presente a Jesús en este mundo: san Juan nos recuerda que «si nos amamos unos a otros como Jesús nos ha amado», le haremos presente entre la gente.

La Ascensión nos recuerda que un día todos llegaremos al mismo lugar donde está nuestro Señor. Como Él dijo a sus discípulos en la Última Cena: «Voy a la casa del Padre a prepararles un lugar, y volveré y los llevaré conmigo, para que donde yo esté, estén también vosotros». Esa es nuestra fe, y nuestra esperanza en la promesa que Jesús nos hizo a todos los que creamos en él y sigamos sus mandamientos.

Hermanos y hermanas, pidamos hoy a Jesús que nos conceda la gracia de sentir la presencia del Espíritu Santo entre nosotros, que guíe nuestras vidas y nos ayude a ser instrumentos de su amor y paz en este mundo hasta que vayamos a nuestro descanso eterno en el cielo. Amén.

P. Luis Segura

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The Ascension of the Lord 2025

Dear brothers and sisters, this Sunday we celebrate the Ascension of the Lord, which means that Jesus ascended to Heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father, and that at the end of time, He will return to judge the living and the dead, and His Kingdom will have no end. Allow me to ask you some questions to reflect on during this celebration.

Where do you want to go when you die? Are you doing anything to get to Heaven? What will your legacy be for your loved ones? Do you believe that part of our task in this world is to know when the "End of Time" will be, or should we be witnesses of God's Presence in this world? How often do you repent of your sins and go to confession?

Dear brothers and sisters, I would like to highlight some points about Jesus' mission that I consider very important for us, based on the readings proposed for this Sunday and in relation to the mission Jesus entrusted to us when he ascended to heaven. The Ascension of Jesus does not mean that God has ceased to be present among us, but rather that he has manifested himself in a different way through the Holy Spirit and the witness of those who knew him. The Holy Spirit becomes the new presence of Jesus among believers and the One who continues his work in the midst of this world.

Evangelization becomes the first task of all believers. The mission is to go into the whole world and make disciples of Jesus, baptizing them and reconciling them with God. Therefore, the task of the disciples is not to waste time asking questions about the "End Times," but to make Jesus' presence felt in this world through their preaching and good works. This mission also applies to us, believers. Our mission is to make Him present in this world through our true witness of life, the practice of our Catholic faith, and the preaching of the "Good News." We must ask God to grant us the Spirit of Wisdom and Truth so that He may enlighten our souls and help us understand the hope and glory that await us if we believe in Jesus. We need this guidance to open our eyes to see and understand what awaits us as a gift from Jesus if we remain faithful to His words.

As we celebrate the Lord's Ascension, we must remember that love is the best way to make Jesus present in this world: Saint John reminds us that "if we love one another as Jesus loved us," we will make him present among the people. The Ascension reminds us that one day we will all arrive at the same place where our Lord is. As He said to His disciples at the Last Supper: "I am going to the Father's house to prepare a place for you, and I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am, there you may be also." This is our faith, and our hope in the promise Jesus made to all who believe in Him and follow His commandments.

Brothers and sisters, let us ask Jesus today to grant us the grace to feel the presence of the Holy Spirit among us, to guide our lives and help us to be instruments of his love and peace in this world until we go to our eternal rest in heaven. Amen.

Rev. Luis Segura

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The Ascension of Our Lord

In the Liturgy, the Gospel according to Luke narrates the final apparition of the Risen Christ to the disciples. The earthly life of Jesus culminates precisely with the Ascension, which we also profess in the Creed: “He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of God the Father”. What does this event mean? How should we interpret it? To answer this question, let us focus on two actions that Jesus performs before ascending into Heaven: first of all, he announces the gift of the Spirit, and then he blesses the disciples. He announces the gift of the Spirit, and he blesses.

First of all, Jesus says to his friends: “I send the promise of my Father upon you” (v. 49). He is talking about the Holy Spirit, the Comforter, he who will accompany them, guide them, support them in their mission, defend them in spiritual battles. We thus understand something important: Jesus is not abandoning the disciples. He ascends to Heaven, but he does not leave them alone. Rather, precisely by ascending towards the Father, he ensures the effusion of the Holy Spirit, of his Spirit. On another occasion he had said: “It is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Counsellor will not come to you”, — that is, the Spirit — (Jn 16:7). In this too, we see Jesus’ love for us: his is a presence that does not want to limit our freedom. On the contrary, he leaves space to us, because true love always generates a closeness that does not stifle, is not possessive, is close but not possessive; Indeed, true love makes us protagonists. And in this way, Christ reassures, “I will go to the Father, and you will be clothed with power from on high: I will send you my Spirit and with his strength, you will continue my work in the world!”. Thus, ascending to Heaven, instead of remaining beside a few people with his body, Jesus becomes close to all with the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit makes Jesus present in us, beyond the barriers of time and space, to make us his witnesses in the world.

Straight afterwards — it is the second action — Christ raises his hands and blesses the apostles. It is a priestly gesture. Ever since the times of Aaron, God had entrusted the task of blessing the people to priests (cf. Nm 6:36). The Gospel wants to tell us that Jesus is the great priest of our life. Jesus ascends to the Father to intercede on our behalf, to present our humanity to him. Thus, before the eyes of the Father, with the humanity of Jesus, there are and always will be our lives, our hopes, our wounds. So, as he makes his “exodus” to Heaven, Christ “makes way” for us. He goes to prepare a place for us and, from this time forth, he intercedes for us, so that we may always be accompanied and blessed by the Father.

Let us think today of the gift of the Spirit we have received from Jesus to be witnesses of the Gospel. Let us ask ourselves if we really are; and also, if we are capable of loving others, leaving them free and making room for them. And then: do we know how to make ourselves intercessors for others, that is, do we know how to pray for them and bless their lives? Or do we serve others for our own interests? Let us learn this: intercessory prayer, interceding for the hopes and sufferings of the world, interceding for peace. And let us bless with our eyes and our words those we meet every day!

Now let us pray to Our Lady, blessed among women, who, filled with the Holy Spirit, always prays and intercedes for us. [Synthesized from Pope Francis, Regina Caeli, 29 V 22]

Rev. Rajesh Peter

The Ascension of the Lord

My friends, our gospel tells us that after Jesus ascended to Heaven, the disciples returned to Jerusalem with “great joy.”  I must say that  this seems a little odd to me because I think when we’re permanently separated from our family or friends, there’s sadness because we will no longer see them, talk to them or just be with them to enjoy their company.

…I remember my grandparents telling me about leaving the Old Country in the early 1900s to live in America.  They were young and poor and barely had enough money to book passage to the United States.

Although they were excited and looking forward to living in United States, they were also sad because they knew they would never see their parents or family or friends again…

Yet today the Evangelist Luke stresses the profound joy of the disciples after Jesus departed.  How does this seem possible ?

With faith, they understood that even though Christ Jesus was no longer physically present, he did not abandon them.  He would always be with them.    

So, what does this mean to us – 2,000 years later ? 

My friends – the Ascension of Jesus is not just a story in Bible History.  The Ascension of Jesus the Christ means just as much to us today as it did to the disciples 2,000 years ago.

The Ascension does not point to Jesus’ absence.  Rather, the Ascension allows Christ to be with us in a new way.  Christ is no longer limited by Jesus’ human body to a specific time and place in the world as he was before.  Now, in God’s domain – Jesus the Christ  is present – in all space and time.

Not just in that cloud that took him from the Apostles’ sight. 

But now – Christ is present everywhere !  He is present the farthest distance of the cosmos as well as the deepest part of our own heart, our own spirit…

Christ is always present, always with each and every one of us.  We are never alone in our life. 

My friends, in the First Reading and Gospel – Jesus said:  "Behold –  I am sending you the promise of my Father.”  The promise of the Father is the Holy Spirit – whom Christ promised to his disciples – for all generations.  And, that, most definitely, includes us.

 We accept that promise with faith.  And – St. Paul helps us in that respect in our Second Reading:  “Let us hold fast in our belief because he – who made the promise – is trustworthy.”

Next Sunday – we will celebrate Pentecost – the memorial of the coming of the Holy Spirit upon the disciples.  A memorial when reading about the disciples but also a present and ongoing reality for us. 

The Holy Spirit – the Advocate – sent by Christ – is the one who speaks and acts on our behalf.  The one who gives us the ability to carry on the mission entrusted to his disciples.  That is, to preach the Good News of the Gospel to the world.  So – we are all called to preach the Good News.

Now, some might say:  “I can’t preach.” Well, everyone of us is a disciple and everyone of us has the ability to preach.  Some of us preach with words and some of us preach by our actions and the life we live. 

So, my friends let us acknowledge the Holy Spirit, the Divine Spark who dwells within us, giving us the ability to act as Jesus did, bringing peace and love to everyone in our life, our world.