St. Catherine of Siena
He presented himself alive to them by many proofs after he had suffered, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God.
Acts 1:1-2
The resurrection and ascension of Jesus in his humanity is a sign of things to come for all of us and for all creation. It is a great sign of hope, for it reveals the destiny God intends for us. Our homeland as human beings is heaven.
The theologian Karl Rahner describes the ascension as the feast of the future of creation. We can no longer picture a future without matter. Flesh has been redeemed and fortified which means that matter will last forever.
Through his ascension, Christ has brought part of this earth to God. It is the beginning of what is to come, a cause for hope in a world that all too often is gloomy about its own future.
It’s nearly the month of May. In the Northern Hemisphere, it’s springtime. Nature comes alive with sunshine, flowers, green leaves, birds singing, and a soft earth.
Gerard Manley Hopkins put in masterfully in his poem: God’s Grandeur: The world is charged with the grandeur of God. It will flame out, like shining from shook foil.
Today, every day, I would do well to open my eyes to the grandeur of God all around me.
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