SOLEMNITY OF THE ASCENSION, A
RISING UP… WE WILL
FLY!
photo from the internet
In the middle of the corona virus
lockdown a friend asked me: Father, do you think we can still rise after all this
destruction?
I heard not only her question but
the sadness and the fear behind it. Deaths, business closures, unemployment,
hunger, insecurity – name it, we’ve had it and some people lost their bearings
over these things!
Immediately I gave my answer: a
resounding “Yes!”. We can do it!
Of course, I just wanted to
console my friend. The truth however, is that I do not know how we will recover…
or when we will recover.
Deep in my heart, I just know we
will.
My former student shared with me
a trend some historians see in past epidemics. They said that since the 1700s
an epidemic occurred almost every 100 years. And after each epidemic, there
followed life blossoming and prosperity shooting up.
Today, Feast of the Ascension, we
know the reason why we will rise up from the ashes of coronavirus… as we have
risen from the many other travails of life we encountered in the past.
More than will power, more than
economic planning, more than better health services, more than social
discipline, we will rise up because our faith in Jesus will give us power to
overcome and surpass all obstacles and troubles in life.
Imagine how the Lord Jesus
suffered… his unjust arrest and condemnation, his torture and maltreatment, his
crucifixion and death. To one without faith, it was the end!
In the first reading today (Acts
1:1-11), we see him not only risen from the dead but ascending to the glory of
heaven. He promises his disciples that they will “receive power when the Holy Spirit
comes,” and that he will be with them always (Mt 28:16-20), in a mysterious,
but very real way!
What better inspiration, what
stronger encouragement, what stronger promise can we have in a time like this,
when we are slowly moving back to rebuild our lives.
Our God is in heaven guiding and
protecting us. He gives us the power of His Spirit. He is truly with us, in our
hearts, giving us courage to fight and to hope for better thing.
My cousin stayed in the hospital
due to the corona virus for close to two months. He was mostly sedated that
time but when his tube was removed and he was fully conscious, his told his
wife his first wish – to go home, NOW! When the doctor asked him if he knew
what day it was, he said he didn’t know, but he knew he had to report back to
work!
When we heard those stories, we
knew we had a survivor in our midst. He will rise up and fight for his right to
live and to enjoy his life again!
Life is beautiful but is not
always easy. There will be bumps on the road and we will fall in one of those. But
with the Lord Jesus Christ, we will rise up from where we fell.
A coffee commercial has an
inspiring song: We will rise up… we will move forward…
Jesus tells us today: We will
rise up; we will move forward. And we will soar and fly because of our faith in
Him.
Pls share with a friend…
