As Saint Paul tells us in today's second reading, forty days after his Resurrection Christ ascended to the right hand of the Father. I remember a Theology professor of mine insisting on the importance of this solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord. He told us that for the ancient Church it was a very important celebration because the offering of Christ on the cross culminates in it.

This was his reasoning. When we hear the word “sacrifice”, we usually think of something difficult, something challenging, something arduous. However, in his book, The Etymologies, St. Isidore of Seville explains that the word sacrifice (sacrificium in Latin) means "to do something sacred" (sacrum facere in Latin). For something to be made sacred, it is necessary for God to receive that offer: only when God accepts what we present to him does our action become sacred, a sacrifice. A sacrifice is not primarily an act of self-denial: even a good and joyful moment can be a sacrifice if accepted by God. Saint Augustine writes: “Every action done so as to cling to God in communion of holiness, and thus achieve blessedness, is a true sacrifice."

On the cross, Christ offers himself to the Father. In the Ascension, the Father definitively accepts that offer from Jesus. If the Father had not accepted the Passion and Death of Jesus, it would not be a sacrifice. Human actions, even those of the Son of God, have to be received by the Father for them to be truly sacrifices. And that is precisely what the Church celebrates in this beautiful solemnity: the Father receives the Son into heaven. All of Jesus' human life is welcomed today in the presence of the Father and, in Christ, we too are raised. Yes, with his Ascension, Christ today forces us to look at heaven, like the disciples in the first reading. He lifts us up to a life in which we must “seek what is above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.” and, “think of what is above, not of what is on earth.” (Col 3:1-2). This life passes, and it passes very quickly. Only eternity matters.

The same professor gave a second reason to insist on the importance of this feast: that if Christ had not ascended to heaven if he had remained with us on earth, his body would be located in some definite, specific place. The Ascension enables the humanity of Christ to join the Mystery of God in glory and thus be present where God is. And where is God? Philosophy and Theology are in accord in the answer: God, who is not and cannot be contained by any creature, is truly present in all things that exist, giving them life and being. For this reason, the words of today's Gospel: “I am with you always, until the end of the age.” become true on this Solemnity of the Ascension.

Certainly, Christ is with us, especially in the Sacrament of the Eucharist. In the consecrated host, Jesus is physically present. However, the Holy Trinity, as we said last Sunday, is also present in the soul of the righteous, and that is a personal presence of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. With the most beautiful words of Saint Thomas Aquinas, God is said to be present in us “as the beloved is in the lover”. They are different modes of presence, but both are real. Likewise, God is present in all creatures, as they also said in ancient times, "by essence, presence and power". 

For reasons of brevity, I won’t explain this point, but how beautiful it is to know that, as Saint Paul exclaimed in Athens, "in God we live, and move and have our being" (Acts 17:28). How beautiful it is to exclaim with David in Psalm 139: "O Lord, you search me and you know me, behind and before you besiege me. Where can I flee from your face? If I climb the heavens, you are there. If I lie in the grave, you are there. If I take the wings of the dawn and dwell at the sea's furthest end, even there your hand would lead me, your right hand would hold me fast.”

Let us ask, then, on this Solemnity of the Ascension that from now on our lives be accepted along with Christ as a sacrifice pleasing to God; that we will live with the certainty that Jesus is not far away, because he is always with us; that he will help us to see his hidden presence in all things, and, most especially, in the breaking of bread; that he will send us the gift of the Holy Spirit so that we are not orphaned, and that one day, after the trials of this life, we can live with him forever in the joys of paradise.