Visitation of Our Lady

Since being ordained a priest, I always get a little nostalgic this weekend, as the first Mass I celebrated after ordination was on the Solemnity of Corpus Christi. It was a special thing for me to celebrate my first mass on the day that the Church was celebrating the Eucharist. Today’s liturgical celebration has a special place in my heart for this and other reasons.

We are living in a time when people are seeking clarity for their faith due to the confusions and struggles of daily living. There is no doubt that many Christians are trying to live their faith with honesty, but sometimes, living the authentic Christian vocation could become a real cross. The Christian life can only be successfully lived out when we open ourselves to trust in God’s will. To attain this, we need to be men and women of prayer and faith.

This weekend we celebrate Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit came upon the Apostles, Mary, and the disciples. They spent 9 days in the Upper Room preparing for the coming of the Holy Spirit. The Apostles received what they were missing before going out into the world, that is the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Pentecost is often referred to as the birthday of the Church, as this was the first day of the Church as we know it. It was also the first day that the Church began to beget souls and increase in number, as we are told 3,000 souls were added to the Church that day.

This weekend we celebrate the Ascension of Jesus into Heaven. This is one of the solemnities that bishops transfer to Sunday. The Ascension is traditionally celebrated on the Thursday after the 6th Sunday of Easter. I wish it stayed on Thursday. The reasons why I think its better to be celebrated on its traditional day because it is closer to its actual day. What we are told in Scripture is that the Apostles went to the temple rejoicing after Jesus ascended into Heaven. We also know they went into the Upper Room, where Matthias was chosen to replace Judas, and they also prayed. Scripture doesn’t tell us how many days they spent, but the Fathers of the Church hold that they prayed in the Upper Room for 9 days. If we count 9 days back from Pentecost, not counting the day of the Ascension when the Apostles were rejoicing, the Ascension does indeed occur on a Thursday. So keeping it on Thursday retains this chronology that is supported by both Scripture and the Church Fathers.

The second reading, from the Book of Revelation, gives us biblical imagery of what Heaven is like. St. John the Apostle, the author of this book, saw a vision of the heavenly city. Just like cities have boundaries and entrances and streets, so does the heavenly one. The last paragraph from this reading tells us something that is quite remarkable. There is no need for the sun or the moon for illumination in Heaven because the lamp of the city is the Lamb. We know that Jesus is the light of the world. St. John, in his Gospel, uses this image more than once. Jesus is the light that has shone in the darkness. This will reach its fullness in Heaven, as the light of the world, Jesus Christ, who is the Lamb of God, will be the light that illuminates everything in Heaven.