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Seventh Sunday of Easter/Ascension of the Lord

We think of Jesus ascending to heaven as through he left us -- “retired”. But Jesus promised the disciples, “I’m going away and I’m coming back to you.” He wasn’t talking about coming back at the end of the world. He was talking about coming back after he had gone through death to the other side, to a transformed human existence, ascended to heaven, and sent his own Spirit to be with us and close to us.

Now that is a beautiful teaching.

Sometimes I may think that because Jesus ascended, he’s left me. But Jesus is able to come back to me and be with me, closer than he could be with the disciples when they were traveling with him. That’s because when he sent them off in different directions, he couldn’t go with each of them. He was limited by time and space, as we are. But now having gone through death to a transformed human life, Jesus can be close with each of us – not just alongside us but in the Spirit. He’s there to be on our side, with us. The last words of today’s Gospel – “And behold I am with you all days, even to the end of the age.” – are to console us, to protect us, to help us, to heal us, to give us comfort.

It’s great news.

We use many images for God because God is way beyond anything we can think of. We talk of God as a shepherd. God’s not a shepherd, but God is like a shepherd because God takes care of the flock. God is a rock. God’s not a rock, but God is solid. We use the image of Father. God’s not a father. God’s not a man.

On this day, think of the image of God as a loving grandparent, because grandparents love their grandchildren. Grandparents, even if we do something wrong, understand. And in some way they manage always to be on our side.

Always.

Spend some quiet time with the Risen Lord.

May 9, 2005

Peter Maurin

The world would become better off if people tried to become better. And people would become better if they stopped trying to become better off. ~~Peter Maurin

Peter Maurin (born on this day in 1877) and St. Therese Lisieux were the strongest influences on the spirituality and work of Dorothy Day.

Peter was a peasant farmer from southern France who immigrated to New York in 1909. Although Peter looked like a ragged drifter on skid row, his keen mind devised a Catholic social philosophy that brought together sociology, politics and economics and placed them at the heart of the Gospel. He proposed a social and religious program of action designed to improve social order and create a society by which it would be easier for people to be good.

Maurin met Dorothy Day in New York in 1932. Working together, they began a newspaper to teach people about Catholic social teaching, established a hospitality house to house and feed the poor, and initiated weekly meetings of other people dedicated to social justice. This developed into the Catholic Worker Movement.

Novenas

The passage in the next post is the origin of praying “novenas.” After the Ascension described in Acts, the disciples devoted themselves to prayer. Nine days later, the Holy Spirit came upon them at Pentecost.

“Novena” comes from the Latin word for nine and has come to be used for any number of consecutive days of intense prayer, asking God to respond to a particular need.