Ascension Day - an "Uplifting Feast"!

The story is told that in Valladolid, Spain, where Christopher Columbus died in 1506, stands a monument commemorating the great discoverer. Perhaps the most interesting feature of the memorial is a statue of a lion destroying one of the Latin words that had been part of Spain’s motto for centuries. 

Before Columbus made his voyages, the Spaniards thought they had reached the outer limits of earth.  Thus their motto was ‘Ne Plus Ultra,’ which means, ‘No More Beyond.’  The word being torn away by the lion is ‘Ne’ or ‘No’ thus it reads ‘Plus Ultra.’ Columbus had proven that there was indeed ‘more beyond.’ 

In the same way, our readings, proclaim that there is ‘more beyond.’  The Ascension is part of what we call the Pascal Mystery.  There are 4 interrelated parts: suffering and death, resurrection, ascension, and the sending of the Spirit. 

These sacred events are closely interlocked as one reality.  As the resurrection proclaims that Jesus is alive, the Ascension asserts that Jesus has entered into glory.  In this celebration of the Ascension, we are invited to let go of our linear thinking and stand in the space of accepting and embracing Mystery. 

Jesus did not ride up into the sky in Shepherd 1.  For we know that heaven is not a place but a relationship with God – Jesus is totally and forever reunited with God.  Jesus’ death, resurrection, ascension and the coming of the Spirit form a ‘seamless garment’ so to speak, one single movement - the passing of Jesus through death to life!

On the feast of the Ascension, we remember, we celebrate, and we believe - the more beyond.  The more beyond pain and suffering; the more beyond doubt and death; the more beyond grieving and loss. 

We are invited into embracing the mystery which Jesus reveals is an intimate forever, eternal, everlasting, never ending, timeless, priceless, unconditional love relationship with our God in which Jesus will be with us until the end of the age.

Jesus promised that we would never be left alone.  The Ascension of Jesus was not the end of his presence with us, but a new way of being intimately present.  As St. Augustine writes, “You ascended before our eyes, and we turned back grieving, only to find you in our hearts.”

The four gospels do not end with Jesus’ absence, but with his continuing presence.  Mark writes that Jesus was taken up into heaven and then adds “the disciples went forth and preached everywhere while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the message with signs.” In John, Jesus is saying to Peter and to us, “Follow me.”  In Matthew, he does not mention the Ascension.  His Gospel ends with Jesus saying, “I am with you always, to the end of the age.” And in today’s Gospel, Luke ends with Jesus ascending into heaven in order to send the promise of the Spirit. 

And Jesus continues his presence with us in Eucharist, in the Scriptures, in our assembly here, and in our hearts.  Through us and in all believers of this Mystery, Jesus continues to heal and to comfort, to forgive and to include.

It is in all hearts of believers of this Mystery, that beyond this space of bread and wine, Word and ritual that his love and compassion continues to be found. We are not to stand and stare up at the clouds but to risk entering into the uncertainties of life, and to truly see God’s presence in each other, in the eyes of the poor, the marginalized, and in the needs and hearts of the "last, the least and the lost."

Ascension tells us that if we’re looking for Jesus, we need a new way of seeing, a new way of following, for the Paschal Mystery belongs to each of us. "Its footsteps are traced in our lives as we negotiate the physical, psychological, and spiritual challenges inherent in our human journey."

So today, let us pray in this liturgy that we will be open to the graces of these powerful readings as we seek to find Jesus in all hearts, especially in this time when we find ourselves living in a world with great chaos, anxiety, fear, and uncertainty.

  

And so we pray:

• May we have the courage to be witnesses of Jesus’ message for we have been given a Spirit of wisdom and knowledge;
• May we embrace the mystery of this feast so that the eyes of our hearts will be enlightened and know the surpassing greatness of God’s power for all who believe. 
• And finally, may we truly and intimately know the hope that belongs to God’s call now and into the more beyond!   

Previously posted

Farmers . . .Our "Earth Whisperers"!

May 15th is the feast of St. Isidore and his wife, Maria. Isidore is considered the patron of farmers. On this day, I recall my years of teaching in a rural area of Wisconsin. The children - of all ages - worked hard in their homes, barns, and fields. They even invited me to help them “pick rocks” in the spring, so as to clear the land for plowing and planting (this is a glacial lobe area) - Today there are machines that can do this back-breaking work. 

It seems that when I lived in this rural area, I was more aware of the changes in the seasons and sensitive to the conditions of the environment. I always watched the skies and listened to earth around me. I listened also to the wives who often spoke about the harvests and the possible stresses they would endure financially if they had a bad harvest. They were always at the mercy of the weather - for it would affect their crops and livestock in every way. But they were always aware that they were in partnership with their Creator God in caring for the earth, and the crops for their families, and for those whom they produced these crops, along with milk production for numerous dairy products.

I consider these farmers and their families “Earth Whisperers.” They could communicate with the land and they certainly, over and over, manifested a deep faith in God as a true partner in this sacred work. Today there are fewer farms in Wisconsin but more milk production being calculated. Farmers have transformed farming into an art. For now there is an increase in organic farming and they are truly engineers, accountants, business executives, marketers, scientists, meteorologist, geologists, and chemists – just to name of few new titles for this often forgotten “ground breaking” and “back-breaking” ministry!!

"Organic dairy farming in Wisconsin is experiencing rapid growth and capturing an increased share of the market. Although the organic dairy sector in Wisconsin is still relatively small, accounting for two percent of the state’s cows, Wisconsin is one of the nation’s top two producers of organic dairy products and home to the largest organic milk cooperative. The expectation of strong demand growth for organic milk products provides plenty of potential for continued expansion in organic dairy farming within the state. Yet, relatively little is known about how organic farms compare with other types of dairy operations in terms of the demographic characteristics of the farmers, size and structure of the farms, management practices and technologies utilized, their overall economic performance, and quality of life experiences." (Bradford L. Barham, Caroline Brock, and Jeremy Foltz)

A story: (I write this from memory.) The story is told that farmer Goldberg had a little plot of ground in the corner of his small village. Each day the Rabbi on his way to the Synagogue would shout, “What a beautiful garden, Goldberg. Truly, you and God are partners.”  And Goldberg would smile, and respond, “Thank you, Rabbi."  And each day when the Rabbi returned from the Synagogue, he would shout, “Goldberg, what a beautiful garden you have.  Truly, you and God are partners.”  This would go on day after day, week after week. Meanwhile, Goldberg was busy picking rocks, clearing weeds, tilling the earth, planting, and watering the garden. Then one day, Goldberg was frustrated with the Rabbi’s greetings, and he decided to prepare a different response than, “Thank you, Rabbi.”  So it happened.  The Rabbi was on his way to the Synagogue that morning. As usual, he stopped by Goldberg's garden and exclaimed, “What a beautiful garden, Goldberg. Truly, you and God are partners.”  In reply, Goldberg surprised the Rabbi with his response.  “Thank you, Rabbi - but you should have seen this garden when God had this garden all alone!”
(Source/author unknown)

Let us pray for farmers that this year will be a fruitful and kind season for all “and in commitment to see farmers properly supported and rewarded."

Gracious God, you provide us with food from the earth through the work of human hands:
after a poor summer and long winter, we pray for all those who grow and produce our food in the most difficult conditions.  We remember the physical hardships and distress of farmers dealing with livestock that have died, and those who are still to sow crops to harvest this year.  Bless the work of all those who care for your land and animals so that we may have food to sustain us. This we ask through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (The prayer is written by Dr. Jill Hopkinson, the CofE's National Rural Officer based at the Arthur Rank Centre in Stoneleigh)

A Welcoming Story . .

.

 

At the City Gates
(Source Unknown)

Long ago, in a far-away town, an old woman used to sit at the city gates, watching the travelers passing through, and sometimes engaging them in conversation.

One night, when it was growing dark, a traveler came along; weary from a hard day’s walk. ‘Excuse me,’ he said to the old woman, ‘but I am looking for a place to rest, and I wonder, can you tell me what the people are like in this town?’

The woman smiled, and in reply she asked him a question of her own. ‘You have had a long journey,’ she commented, ‘and you must be feeling weary. Where do you come from?’

A little surprised by her question, the traveler told her the name of his home town. ‘Mychester,’ he said.

The woman was interested. ‘Oh,’ she smiled, ‘and what are the people like in Mychester?’

‘Oh,’ replied the traveler, ‘you wouldn’t believe how awful people are in Mychester. They don’t care if you are hungry and thirsty. They wouldn’t even pass the time of day with you. And if you ask for help they turn away, or deliberately send you the wrong way. They are rude and unfriendly in the extreme.’

‘My word,’ replied the old woman. ‘Well, I’m afraid I have bad news for you. The people here in this town are very much like the people in Mychester. I don’t think you would like them very much.’

The traveler was disappointed. ‘Oh well,” he sighed. ‘I guess I’ll move on then.’

A short time passed, and soon another traveler arrived at the city gates. He saw the old woman sitting there, smiled and approached her. ‘Excuse me,’ he said, ‘but I am looking for a place to rest, and I wonder, can you tell me what the people are like in this town?’

The woman smiled back at him, and again she asked him a question of her own. ‘You have had a long journey,’ she commented, ‘and you must be feeling weary. Where do you come from?’

‘I come from Mychester,’ he told her.

‘And what are the people like in Mychester?’ the woman continued.

‘Oh, they are so kind,’ the traveler replied. ‘I like them a lot. They are always friendly, ready to help each other and generous to a fault.’

‘Well’ the woman told him, ‘I think you will find a warm welcome here in this city. The people here are very much like the people in Mychester.’

Mary Ann Hinsdale, IHM preaches for the Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Sr. Donna L. Ciangio, OP Preaches for the Fifth Sunday of Easter

Objects in the mirror are closer than they appear!

I often ponder the message on the side mirror of the passenger side of my car. The safety warning at the bottom of the mirror reads: Objects in mirror are closer than they appear. The science of this is: “Convex mirrors (ones that curve outward in the center) make objects appear smaller than they are, and by doing so show a larger field of view than the other types. They are often used in side view mirrors of cars to give the driver a better view of all the other cars in the vicinity.”

I think this is a great metaphor for encouraging the practice of the art of reflection in our lives. We often think that just because the past is history, and what may have touched us in a good or not so good way, emotionally, spiritually, physically, or psychologically is over and done.  Sometimes we even quip, Out of sight, out of mind!  However, we can still hold onto some of these past events in our memories, dreams, imagination, and even down deep in our cells. So then when we meet some person or event that triggers a memory or feeling, we find that things are truly closer than they appear.  I find that the practice of daily reflection will help to heal, bless, and move us on to “whole-ing” any and all of these life learnings.

The practice of reflection is basic to discernment.  Here is what Margaret Silf writes about living reflectively from her book, Wise Choices.

“Life is a bit like that beach. It is full of hidden hazards, quicksand that sucks us down into the depths of despair. But it also has areas of solid rock, where we know we are on firm ground and we can walk with confidence. The key to discovering the nature of the terrain begins with our feelings.  It can be very helpful to cultivate the habit of reflecting back over the evenings of the passing days.  It helps us to begin to live reflectively."

Living reflectively helps us to grow into honoring our feelings and letting them be our teachers so that we too, will be able to gain a larger field of view and notice that the challenges in life can also be gifts. Although they are a part of our past journey, their power, energy, and wisdom is closer than it appears.  “Reflection like this only needs to take a few minutes, but it can make a big difference to your ability to make wise choices.”

(previously  posted)

Remembering Macrina. . .

May there always be a little light in your darkness.

May there always be a little faith in your doubt.

May there always be a little joy in your sorrow.

May there always be a little life in your dying.

May there always be a little hope in your despair.

May there always be a little courage in your fear.

May there always be a little slow in your hurry.

(Macrina Wiederkehr/The Song of the Seed)

https://www.spiritualityandpractice.com/explorations/teachers/view/138/macrina-wiederkehr

https://www.spiritualityandpractice.com/explorations/teachers/view/138/macrina-wiederkehr

https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/swtimes/obituary.aspx?pid=196081337

https://www.globalsistersreport.org/news/spirituality/column/hope-trails-alongside-remembering-macrina-wiederkehr?fbclid=IwAR1akoyrGSDPb06J940EHRtKR8V83AW6gE4HvsdWG9bd6OYCOYD-Se9BU7Q