Gospel Reflections for May 29 2022: ASCENSION

Gospel for May 29 2022 – John 17:20-26

Gospel Reflections for May 29 2022

Time to Go!

Jesus takes His disciples to a mountaintop to say “good-bye” …and from there He ascends into heaven. 

He promises the Holy Spirit will soon empower them to go into the whole world and baptize all nations. I am not sure they knew what that meant. What they do know …is that Jesus is leaving …and sending them into a hostile pagan world! Is that good news?

While Jesus was with them He performed amazing miracles and spoke wise parables. Anyone who met Him found lasting happiness. However, you had to be in the same room with Him! Only those people physically close to Jesus received those great benefits.

Jesus knew His message of salvation had to reach more people, and so He had to go …to allow the Holy Spirit to come. That Holy Spirit would allow people anywhere and everywhere to receive the same courage, grace, and power to live their life of faith no matter when and where they lived.

This is important today. We can no longer meet Jesus in-person as the disciples did, so we need the Holy Spirit to help us now, wherever we are and what we face. 

The people in Ukraine need to receive that same courage and strength. Catholics in China need the Holy Spirit to endure persecution. We need the Holy Spirit to help meet our own challenges of inflation, gas prices, political divides, and the deep moral controversy over abortion. The people in San Francisco need the Holy Spirit to guide them in understanding how far a politician’s freely chosen beliefs may eventually take them objectively away from the Catholic faith. 

The Holy Spirit that Jesus promises today is the pure love of God, which always seeks the authentic and very best interests of another person. Jesus meant for that love to guide every thought, feeling, and action of your day.

We are luckier than the people who lived at the time of Jesus since they would only receive the goodness of meeting Him if they lived nearby. Today, no matter where you live, you can call on the same power of love from Our Lord through this gift of the Holy Spirit. Now is the time to call for it in your daily prayer …especially as you start each day! 

Don’t miss out on the power, courage, confidence, and peace the Holy Spirit has for you now.

God Bless!

Fr. Dave