The Ascension
One
Why did Jesus Ascend into Heaven?
Couldn’t Our Lord have stayed visibly on earth? Why does He leave after so little a time, when such a small section of humanity has had the opportunity to see Him face-to-face?
As a matter of fact, in the Gospel of John, Jesus tells us exactly why He chose to leave, “Truly, it is better for you that I go away, because if I do not go, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you.” (John 16:7).
Consider how the disciples had, for the most part, simply watched while Jesus preached, healed, forgave, suffered, and worked for the kingdom of God. Even now that He has risen, the apostles remain passive, content to wait and see what Jesus will do next. They appear to expect Him to continue leading the way. Their last question is, “Lord, will you now restore the kingdom of Israel?” (Acts 1:6).
But the apostles’ time of watching is over. God has granted us the inconceivable honor of being His coworkers in the task of saving souls
St. Paul wrote, “For we are coworkers with God” (I Corinthians 3:9).
The time of being passive consumers is over. Now is the time to get to work!
Two
The Age of the Holy Spirit and the Church
So, it’s better for us that Jesus has ascended, because it’s better for us to actually participate in the work of God, and not just be passive observers. And the one who makes this all possible is the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit, sent by the ascended Lord, gives life to the Church by transforming Jesus’ disciples from passive to active, from observers to initiators, from listeners into proclaimers of the Gospel.
This is our time, the time of the Spirit and the time of the Church. When we think about the Ascension, one of the things we should meditate on is this: Christ ascended so that we, who have received His Spirit, could do His work.
Jesus was always busy about His Father’s business (cf. Luke 2:49), and our mission, until our life on earth is over, is to be busy about Christ’s business.
Jesus’ gave a final commission to His disciples, just before His ascension. He told us to, “Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teach them all that I have commanded you” (Matthew 20-19-20).
Three
Our Lady’s Plan for Evangelization
Okay, I want to do what Jesus asked, I want to help him save souls, especially those of my loved ones. But I have no idea what to do, I don’t feel equipped and I don’t want to be that guy who is the totally annoying Christian Bible beater. So what do I do?
Our Mother knows us best. She came at Fatima in 1917 during WWI and she mapped out for us the challenges we faced in the 20th and 21st centuries.
First She identified the cause of all the problems in the world: people have forgotten God. Then She gave the solution. People must turn back to God by prayer because prayer leads to personal conversion. People must be converted one by one before the world will change.
But everyone wants to change the world and no one wants to change themselves.
Four
Consecration to Mary
Mary came at Fatima and said, “Listen, God sent me with the game plan to fix everything – God wishes to establish in the world devotion to my Immaculate Heart, wanting to save it by this means.”
Devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary means consecration to her.
Give Mary unconditional permission to enter the home of your soul. Why do this? Because the Holy Spirit and Mary together have the mission of receiving and forming Jesus in you – and that is want you need and want – but we are not very good at this by ourselves. We resist. So ask the Holy Spirit and Mary to receive Jesus in you and form Jesus in you by Consecration.
We will do this tomorrow on the Feast of Our Lady of Fatima.
Five
Rosary
The second thing Mary asked us to do with the Fatima Gameplan is to pray the Rosary every day. But She doesn’t want you to only pray it alone. Because we are supposed to be God’s co-workers. We are supposed to be on a mission, inviting and helping others grow closer to God.
So we need to invite someone to pray the Rosary with us every day. Invite your spouse, a kid, a grandkid, or a friend. Do it together in person, on the phone, or by Zoom. Ese every means possible. But pray the Rosary with others.
We have lots of people out there who are doing something simple but amazing. They invite a small group of family and friends to get together once a week in person or by Zoom. They spend a little time catching up over food or drinks. Then they pray this Rosary together. Some play the Podcast recording. Some print out the transcript and read each meditation, praying the decades in between.
When the Rosary is over they have some good conversation just like Teresa and I do by simply asking, “What struck you during the meditation?”
It’s so simple but it works.
If you are like Nils Dahl in New Jersey and you’re doing something like this, I want to know!