The feast of Our Lord’s Ascension celebrates one of the greatest miracles in human history while also calling attention to the joy the Apostles felt when Jesus entered heaven. By entering heaven, Our Lord sets the path that we, too, must follow to be with Him for eternity. Christ is preparing a place for all of us in heaven, so long as we are willing to follow Him. Moreover, we know that after His Resurrection, Christ’s body was glorified. And through this glorification, the only natural place for Him to be is not on this earth, but in heaven until his glorious Second Coming. 

In this life, we keep our feet on earth, but keep our minds and hearts in heaven. By keeping our feet on earth, we mean that we must be realistic and confront the world as we find it. We must accept our reality, but we must not be overcome by it, particularly when confronted with everything from private desolations to the public crises in the Church and society writ large. However, the whole of reality is not just what we face on earth; it includes the supernatural realm and promise of heaven for those who part this life in God’s good grace. We must see the trials of this life as fleeting and affix our hearts and minds ever on the promise of eternal life with Our Lord.

What is heaven? It is being with God for all eternity. And though God is everywhere, heaven is not everywhere, for we cannot see Him in this life nor detect Him with our senses. Because we cannot perceive Our Lord, we need the light of faith to know that He is there always.

We often pray for things and God does not answer them in the way we desire. Why is that? Prayer is not a magic formula; it is a petition to God. However, the efficacy of our prayers depends on the disposition of our souls. Prayer must be a priority in our lives rather than a mere afterthought. This is distressing, since not only our salvation, but the salvation of others depends on prayer. Everything that is important in the universe depends on prayer. With this in mind, we must reflect on the place of prayer in our lives and whether we place it before the frivolities of this world.

St. James informs us in his epistle that faith without works is dead. One of the many works we can perform to demonstrate our faith is to use our tongues, that is, our speech in a Christlike manner. This is immensely challenging given how easy it is to sin with the tongue and how difficult it is to repair the damage caused by that sin. If one uses their tongue to detract or deride another, how does one make those who hear such derision “un-hear” it? This and numerous other sins of the tongue are made worse in the digital age where false or hurtful statements are issued with ease, and there is often no sense how many people have heard or seen them. This is why we must be particularly vigilant in moderating our speech lest we undermine our faith.

Our Father in heaven begets the human race. While we know that God has made all things, the act of begetting is distinct. The distinction lies in the fact that when something or someone is begotten, they are of the same nature as the begetter. Humans beget other humans; seals beget other seals. And so when we hear words in Scripture about Our Lord begetting us, it means much more than Him creating us: it means that we are made children of God. Though we are not divine, through both baptism and accepting the truth of Who God Is, we are given to share in the divine nature.

The feast of St. Joseph the Worker allows us to honor him for providing for both Our Lord Jesus and the Blessed Virgin Mary. The effort that we put into work is the result of the fall of the human race with Adam. Work, however, was no way painful nor a punishment at the advent of creation. Some live to work and others find work to be a necessary evil. As this sermon explains, the Catholic position lies in the middle.

In the modern world, individualism runs rampant. Whether such statements come from extreme rebels or philosophers, they contradict the natural order of society whereby we must carry out the orders of superiors. Obedience does not destroy freedom; it perfects it. Although we do not always choose our superiors, particularly our parents, without a commitment to obedience, human society itself unravels to the detriment of all.

The risen Christ appeared to a chosen few to reveal His resurrection. We are called to believe in this miracle and if we believe, we may see Him forever. The sight of the glorified Christ is the reward of all faithful Christians. For those He appeared to, Our Lord came as a consoler. Moreover, by tradition, Jesus appeared first to Our Lady, His Blessed Mother, because throughout His passion and suffering, she kept the Faith and offered compassion.