by Father James Rodriguez

In all but six ecclesiastical provinces in the U.S., including New York, the Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord is transferred to this Sunday. Since we in Brooklyn and Queens have already celebrated Ascension Thursday, this reflection will look at the readings for the Seventh Sunday of Easter.

So if you missed Mass on Thursday without a good reason, be sure to go to confession, since it was a Holy Day of Obligation.

Despite the differences in the readings, you will find many similarities, as the Ascension forms part of the greater Resurrection event that we celebrate every Sunday, and with greater emphasis, during the Easter season.

Promise Fulfilled Daily

The first reading, from the Acts of the Apostles, takes up the growing theme of God’s eucharistic fidelity to us. He, who has promised us salvation from the moment Adam and Eve left the garden of His friendship, fulfills His promise on the Cross and remains with us. To be sure, this promise is fulfilled daily, when the radiant light of open tabernacles melts away our fears and spiritual loneliness. However, the very Presence of Christ in the Eucharist is caused by the work of the Holy Spirit who descends upon bread and wine, transforming them into the medicine of our salvation.

It is no coincidence then that as soon as Christ ascends into heaven, the apostles return to the birthplace of the Eucharist – the Upper Room – and dedicate themselves to prayer, modeling the very thing we do each week.

Sometimes this mysterious Presence is too much for us – too deep, too impossible. The same was true for many of the followers of Jesus, who walked away when He proclaimed it.

“This saying is too hard,” they argued (John 6:60), and went back to “the futile way of life handed on to you by your fathers” (1 Peter 1:18). The beautiful truth is that which we proclaim in the responsorial psalm: “I believe that I shall see the good things of the Lord in the land of the living.” Here in this land, and now, among these living people, we can be witnesses of heaven itself, when we gaze upon the Face of Christ in the Eucharist.

Recently, the popular book, “Heaven is For Real” was adapted into a movie. Without getting into specifics about the story, it is enough to say that people are intrigued by the possibility that life after this life has been seen and described. For us, however, this proof is ultimately unnecessary, since we have a taste of heaven right here and right now. It is as close as your local Catholic church, in the flickering red candlelight by the tabernacle. He is there.

He is also in today’s second reading, in St. Peter’s sobering encouragement. The one whose betrayal we heard about seven weeks ago, when he uttered the tragic truth, “I don’t know him” (Matthew 26:72), is now stirring up Christian hearts and preparing them for the persecution to come.

It is worth it, he assures us, because of the love that transformed the world and Simon’s fisherman heart. The old adage that there is strength in numbers is true here, since we can only be strong when we are supported. To have at the core of our community the living God Himself is our only true strength, and believe me (and Peter): He is enough.

This divine support is most evident in today’s Gospel, or “the High Priestly Prayer” of Jesus, in which our blessed Lord looks up to heaven and asserts that which people of faith know: that He and the Father are One.

One of the principal reasons why I entered the seminary and became a priest is precisely this prayer. As a priest, I hold in my trembling hands the Bread of Life. I look up to God as the faithful look to the altar at which I stand, and together, we are drawn up into the very Trinity that made this singular, ineffable moment possible.

Heaven on Earth

We go to heaven together, even if only for a brief moment. This is what happens at every single Mass, despite ringing cell phones and other distractions. The Eucharist is, simply put, heaven on earth, and when we spend time with Him, even if only for a short visit during the week, we leave strengthened and free.

How valuable it is to attend Mass every Sunday! We join the priest, “a man chosen from among men” and “beset with weakness” (Hebrews 5:2), whose outstretched hands gather up our prayers – from the ones we speak, to the hidden, secret cries known only to ourselves and God. In those same hands, God transforms the simple bread and wine into the greatest treasure on the planet – all in your local Catholic church – every single day.[hr]

Readings for the Seventh Sunday of Easter

Acts 1: 12-14

Psalm 27: 1, 4, 7-8

1 Peter 4: 13-16

John 17: 1-11A[hr]

Father James Rodriguez is the diocesan vocation director and teaches theology at Cathedral Prep and Seminary, Elmhurst.