From The Bishop

I always find the image presented in Acts, which is the First Reading for the Solemnity of the Ascension of Our Lord, quite amusing. We have the Apostles standing around and staring into the sky and two men in white robes say to them, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up toward heaven?” In other words, what are you looking at? When Jesus ascended to the Father he did not want his followers to stand around and stare into space. We were given a task to continue His work with open hearts and minds. The Gospel of St. Luke states that Jesus “opened their minds,” prior to His ascension. This was necessary so that they would be able to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. We too must open ourselves to the power of the Holy Spirit. It is this power that St. Paul speaks about in the Second Reading to the Ephesians: “I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know him, so that, with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may know what is the hope to which he has called you…according to the working of his great power.” The Readings remind us that our spiritual gaze should not be upward; it should be inward as we unite ourselves with Christ and then outward, as we use the gifts of the Holy Spirit to renew the face of the earth. Come Holy Spirit!