Published in the bulletin of Holy Ghost Catholic Church in Knoxville, TN, on the 3rd Sunday of Easter.
My dear Parishioners,
Peace! The sixth article of the Apostle’s Creed is “Jesus Christ ascended into Heaven, He sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty.” There are three (3) In Brief passages in the Catechism of the Catholic Church regarding this article of the Creed. The following is a reflection on article 666.
When thinking of Jesus’ Ascension into Heaven, do we only think of that spectacular event, the Lord ascending on the clouds, East of Jerusalem, as the Apostles look on (cf. Acts 1:9)? In Jesus’ Ascension to the Father’s “right hand” all things and peoples are placed “under His feet”(cf. 1 Corinthians 15:25-27; Ephesians 1:20-22). Jesus is Head of the Church as Founder and Lord and goal.
In His Ascension to Heaven forty (40) days after His Resurrection (cf. Acts 1:2-3) Jesus did what He said He was going to do: prepare a place for us in the Father’s house where there are many mansions (cf. John 14:2).
Our ascended Lord is our goal “where He has gone we hope to follow” (Roman Missal, “Preface I of the Ascension”). Our longing for Heaven for ourselves and those we love (and even our enemies) is well placed for many reasons: God does not will the death of the sinner but that we be converted and live (cf. Ezekiel 18:23); the Son of Man came not to destroy souls but to save them (cf. Luke 9:56); the Gospel is the power of God unto salvation (cf. Romans 1:16); and in fear and trembling we are working out our salvation in God’s grace (cf. Philippians 2:12).
While some have attempted to co-opt the Theological Virtue of Hope for temporal gain we know better. We know that Saint Paul was nearly torn to pieces for his hope in the Lord and belief in the resurrection.(cf. Acts 23:6-11). Our hope in God is not only a longing for Heaven but also an anticipation of the resurrection (cf. Acts 24:15). The Patriarch Abraham was not only a man of faith, believing in God and all that God had revealed (cf. Romans 4:3; Galatians 3:6; James 2:23) but he was also a man of hope, trusting that he would become the father of many nations (cf. Romans 4:16-18). Our supernatural hope is to share on high with Christ in the glory of the adopted children of God, which we already do by grace and faith (cf. Romans 5:2).
Because our Hope is in the Lord (cf. Psalm 31:24; 40:3; 73:28 112:7; 130:6…) who has ascended, we who Hope in Him will be neither disappointed nor confounded (cf. Romans 5:5) if we live according to His call to holiness, rejecting all sin everywhere in its many seductive forms.
Pope Benedict XVI has reminded us of Saint Paul’s inspired words, how we are “saved in hope” (cf. Romans 8:24; Encyclical 30 November, 2007). In Heaven we will see Jesus face to face (cf. 1 John 3:2).
God bless you!
Father John Arthur Orr