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[_v.9-Ascension_] Homily – Section 1. Back to the Past, Forward to the Future
This
Sunday is the Solemnity of the Ascension of our Lord. In the Acts of the
Apostles, we read that the apostles are looking up, craning their necks,
watching Jesus disappear into the clouds. They're stunned. But the angel says:
“Why do you stand here looking into the sky?” In other words: don’t dwell
there—go forward.
In the Gospel, Jesus gives His final earthly
words: “Go into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature.” The
Ascension is not just about Jesus going up—it’s about us going out.
With the Good News of the Ascension, I’d like
to stop, look, and listen with you to our Lord’s message. He calls us to move
forward in faith, but also to reflect—without erasing—where we’ve been.
Part of perseverance in the spiritual life
involves not eliminating our past but reconciling and integrating it in Christ.
The spiritual life calls for memory—not nostalgia, but integration. We’re
invited not to dwell in the past but to bring it to the Lord for healing and
redemption.
A well-known 1980s movie offers an
interesting and humorous lens into this integration of past with the present.
It starred Michael J. Fox as Marty McFly, a high school student who travels back
in time to 1955 in the film Back to the
Future. There, he meets his parents as teenagers before they had met each
other. It’s a reminder that even those closest to us have histories we may not
fully know.
One reviewer observed that while Marty
traveled with a DeLorean, we “time travel” through memory—especially in prayer,
through the Examen or the Examination of Conscience. In doing so, we ask the
Holy Spirit to show us God’s presence in our past—how God has walked with us
and how we’ve responded.
So even as the apostles crane their necks
toward the sky, the angel challenges them—and us—not to remain frozen, but to go
forward. Jesus ascends, but His mission on earth continues through His
disciples. That includes us.
Section 2. Jesus Ascends,
Yet Remains
In remembering the Ascension, we return to a
moment that is both triumphant and uncertain. The disciples are left staring
into the sky, their Lord now beyond their sight. But Jesus does not abandon
them—He entrusts them with a mission.
We, too, are not meant to live in the past
but to place our trust in God’s mercy. That mercy radiates from the Sacred
Heart of Jesus—a heart that beats not only in Heaven but also here on earth, in
the Eucharist, in the tabernacle, and in the celebration of the Mass.
The month of June is traditionally dedicated
to the Sacred Heart. Jesus’ heart has not left us—it continues to beat for us,
for the world, especially in Holy Communion. In fact, in today’s bulletin
you’ll find the Litany of the Sacred
Heart printed—a powerful series of invocations that bring to mind both the
sufferings and the boundless love of Christ.
I
encourage you to pray this litany for a loved one—whether deceased, dying,
estranged, or someone from whom we need forgiveness.
Is there someone you’re no longer speaking
with? Someone you wish you could reach? Someone from whom you are separated by
distance or by hurt?
Pray the Litany of the Sacred Heart for that
person—or for yourself. God’s love bridges distances we cannot. Through this litany,
we let the love of Christ do what we cannot do on our own: heal relationships,
bridge gaps, and soften hearts.
Section 3. Sacred Heart and
the Power of Memory
Examining our lives daily through prayer and
repentance doesn’t mean reliving the past—it means inviting God into our
memories to heal, redeem, and renew. We reflect not to stay stuck but to move
forward, now reconciled.
One example of this redeeming love in action
is the life of Father Damian of Molokai, whose feast we observe in May. He
entered into ministry with great uncertainty and even, at times, without full
support from his superiors or the Church.
Born in Belgium, Father Damian traveled to
the Hawaiian Islands in the 1800s. At the time, they were not yet part of the
United States. He volunteered to serve among the people exiled to the island of
Molokai—men, women, and children afflicted with leprosy and cast out from their
communities.
Molokai was not a paradise. It was a place of
deep suffering, stigma, and death. Yet Father Damian didn’t stay at a distance.
Despite being told not to touch anyone, he moved toward the suffering. He
tended the sick, comforted the dying, and lived among them as one of them.
His presence was not only medical—it was
pastoral, sacramental, and deeply human. He gave proper funerals when the dead
had been left unburied. He helped restore dignity, not just in death, but in
life. One of the first things
Father Damien did that actually brought great comfort to the people was that he
actually gave proper funerals and buried the dead. The dying and the dead were
not treated with respect, not being buried, and when those who were suffering
saw others being buried with dignity, this gave them great hope, that there is
life beyond this world. This is also the message of the Ascension!
He helped build homes, chapels, gardens,
schools, and even orphanages. He taught music and virtue.
There’s a touching image in the film about
his life: two musicians who had each lost the use of one hand to leprosy—one
still had use of her right hand, the other the left hand. Together, they played
the organ in full accompaniment and harmony. That’s a beautiful symbol of
cooperation, of shared humanity, and of hope.
Father Damian eventually contracted leprosy
himself and died at the age of 49. He left many projects unfinished. But his
life reminds us that we are not called to perfection—we are called to presence.
To show up. To serve. To love.
As you may know, the U.S. Capital Building in
D.C. has a statue hall with 2 statues of notable figures from each state. One
of the 2 statues for Hawaii is of Father Damien, placed there in 1969: several (!) years before he was beatified (1995)
and canonized (2009).
Father Damian shows us that sometimes, we
will only pass through a place or moment once. But if we give ourselves in
love, the impact can endure.
Note: In this homily, I also mentioned Damian of Molokai and excellent 1999 Hollywood of his life – it’s available free on YouTube – Click here. It's also a DVD you can purchase, but try the free option!
Section 4. Living the
Ascension Today
As
we remember Jesus ascending into Heaven, we also remember that His heart has
never left us.
Not a heart that left us behind, but one that
remains with us—in the Eucharist, in the tabernacle, in our daily prayer. His
Sacred Heart continues to beat—for you, for me, for every person on this earth.
Let us stop looking into the sky, and instead
go out—carrying His Sacred Heart within us. Let us go forward in faith and with
the courage to forgive, to reconcile, and to serve.
Let us go forward with the Gospel, inspired
by saints like Father Damian who remind us how to live with mercy and mission.
Sacred Heart of Jesus, have
mercy on us. Come, Holy Spirit. Amen.
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