Bulletin Article E7-C, "Ascension Thursday-Sunday"

   Pope St. Leo the Great (400-461) wrote in an Ascension homily: “With all due solemnity we are commemorating that day on which our poor human nature was carried up, in Christ, above all the hosts of heaven… it is upon this ordered structure of divine acts that we have been established, so that the grace of God may show itself still more marvelous when, in spite of the withdrawal from men’s sight of everything that is rightly felt to command their reverence, faith does not fail, hope is not shaken, charity does not grow cold. […] And so our Redeemer’s visible presence has passed into the sacraments. Our faith is nobler and stronger because sight has been replaced by a doctrine whose authority is accepted by believing hearts, enlightened from on high… for while his glorified body retained the same nature, the faith of those who believed in him was now summoned to heights where, as the Father’s equal, the only-begotten Son is reached not by physical grasping, but by spiritual discernment.”
   Pope Leo’s insight about “Christ’s visible presence [being] passed into the sacraments” brings into focus what we are celebrating today. It is fairly easy to see how the people responded to our Lord when he was walking the earth, teaching at the synagogue, and debating with the scribes and the Pharisees. There is a historical account of these deeds given in scripture. In this privileged age, faith could sometimes be as simple as ’seeing is believing’. The ‘proof’ of physical observation and ordinary reasoning could be used as a logical foundation for believing in and following the ascended Lord Jesus.

   But as the Lord passes out of our sight and the ages and generations grow more distant from the historical events of our Lord’s visible presence among us, faith now requires deeper commitment and greater openness to believing in that which cannot be seen. We are told in the story of “Doubting Thomas” (John 20:29) that this is a ‘blessed’ privilege to have this new kind of faith. Even so, it is hard for a mind formed by the natural order to make this ‘leap of faith’. That’s where the sacraments come into play.

   When we receive the sacraments of the Church in our day, we encounter a visible sign—a laying on of hands, an anointing with oil, elements appearing as bread and wine—all speaking to our human nature, perceptions, and experience. The Eucharist is a meal. Baptism is a washing. Ordination is a commissioning for ministry. The sacraments form and train us to look for the deeper spiritual reality of God truly in our midst. Participation in the sacraments builds the supernatural gift of faith within us, enlightening the eye and emboldening the spirit.  Is our faith ever perfect in this world? No, but our faith becomes more perfect as we learn to accept God’s graces with greater humility, discipline, freedom, and holy desire. Yes, the Lord has passed from our sight, but through the sacraments, the invitation to “follow me” is evermore urgent and ever-more exalted. Now the path of discipleship leads not only to the cross and resurrection, but to hope in an eternal glory of the Kingdom which lies beyond our sight.