Since the adoption of the new Roman\nCalendar, the Church permits the celebration of the Ascension to be moved the\nnearest Sunday. Thus, although many\nCatholics throughout the world celebrated the Ascension this past Thursday,\nmany will also mark the occasion on Sunday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Ascension of Christ is not merely a\nfantastic account of the Lord Jesus returning to his Father, it is also an\nevent packed with rich Christological importance. In the Ascension, Christ\u2019s humanity is lifted\nup into the eternity of heaven. Although\nthe Son, being divine, has always been eternal and infinite, when he took on\nflesh in the Incarnation he became bound up in the finitude of our human\nnature, while not losing any of his divinity. \nNow, in the Ascension, Humanity enters into the eternal realm of\nheaven. Christ, who retains his human\nnature even in heaven, now gives infinite extension to human nature. This is how we can encounter Christ\nphysically and bodily in the sacraments: since his humanity is now infinite, he\ncan be present bodily in every time and every place. Whether you attend Mass in Rome at St.\nPeter\u2019s Basilica, or a small rural parish, the same Christ is bodily present in\nthe Eucharist. Whether you are baptized\nby the Pope or your local parish priest, it is the same Christ, bodily present,\nwho is the one baptizing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
It is true that God has always been\nspiritually present to his people, and while this spiritual presence is\ncertainly more than we are worthy of, God\u2019s love goes even further. Human beings are composite creatures of both\nspirit and matter, soul and body. \nTherefore, any truly human relationship needs to fulfill both the\nspiritual and corporeal dimensions. God,\nwho desires relationship with his people more than anything, achieves this\nspiritual and bodily relationship through the genius of the sacraments. Every time we celebrate any one of the sacraments\nwe truly encounter Jesus in a tangible way, accessible to our bodily senses. Sadly, in this time of global pandemic, many\nof us have been cut off from the sacraments for a prolonged period of\ntime. Many of us have not been able to\nexperience the fullness of bodily communion with the Lord. Of course we still have spiritual access to\nGod, and nothing can separate us from his love. \nEven still, something is missing. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As people of faith we know that God can bring good out of evil. The most evil day in human history \u2013 the day Jesus was unjustly put to death \u2013 we call Good<\/em> Friday, because even in the most evil of times God brings about an even greater good. We are living in evil times; we are afflicted by a terrible disease that is causing great suffering. But God will bring good from this. I would suggest at least one good thing is already clearly evident: we now have a newfound appreciation for the sacraments, the instruments of bodily communion with the Lord. For those of us still unable to receive the sacraments, let our hearts burn with desire for bodily communion with Jesus. And for those of us who have been able to receive the sacraments, let us offer up sacrifices for those who continue to go without. And may we all continue to see the sacraments for what they are: privileged moments of encounter with the Risen and Ascended Jesus. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Kevin Ponte<\/strong> \u2013 St. Joseph Seminary, Edmonton, Alberta<\/p>\n\n\n\n Fot. Joshua Gresham\/Unsplash.com<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Feast of the Ascension of Jesus Christ<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":2275,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[8,17,18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2274","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog","category-strona-glowna-najnowsze","category-strona-glowna-slider"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n