At Sunday Masses this weekend we are celebrating the great Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord. But did you know that in many parts of the world, this feast is celebrated the previous Thursday? Last Thursday marked exactly 40 days since the celebration of the Resurrection of the Lord Jesus on Easter Sunday. When I lived in France many years ago, Ascension Thursday was actually a statutory holiday and made for a great long weekend! I guess we could say that Jesus loves Canada so much that he wanted to stay with us a few extra days before returning to his seat at the right hand of the Father! All kidding aside, we celebrate this important feast day on Sunday so that more of us can contemplate this great teaching of our faith. Jesus has ascended into heaven, but he does reassure us that this is for our own good. “It is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you.” (John 16:7) Jesus of course means that he will send us the Holy Spirit. And it makes sense when we think about it. Now that he is in heaven seated at the right hand of the Father, he is with us in a much deeper way than before when he was with his disciples. He now transcends time and space and all of us now have direct access to Him through the Holy Spirit that we receive at Pentecost!
So, what do they celebrate this Sunday in countries and dioceses that celebrate the Ascension on Thursday? They celebrate the 7th Sunday of Easter, which has its own readings from Scripture. We don’t hear these readings proclaimed at Mass, but the first reading from the Acts of the Apostles stands out. After Jesus ascended into heaven, the apostles returned to Jerusalem and stayed in the Upper Room. “Peter and John and James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James son of Alphaeus, Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James. All these devoted themselves with one accord to prayer, together with some women, and Mary the mother of Jesus.” (Acts 1:13-14). Mary the mother of Jesus was with the apostles. She was praying with the Early Church. There is a beautiful carving at our diocesan cathedral, Notre-Cathedral in Ottawa, that depicts this scene. It is pictured with this article and is one of the most beautiful carvings in our cathedral. It is located just across the seat of the Archbishop.
I’ve often wondered why May is the Month of Mary. It seems to me that May is the ideal month if any month is dedicated to Mary because May is most often when the Church celebrates Pentecost Sunday. We often associate Mary as bringing us to Jesus, something very true, but she also brings us to the Holy Spirit. She calls down the Holy Spirit with us, the Church of today, just as she did with the infant Church. Throughout this month of May, the month of Mary, let’s ask her to pray with us for a renewal in us of the 7 gifts of the Holy Spirit: wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, and fear of the Lord. Regina Caeli! Veni Creator Spiritus! Queen of Heaven! Come Holy Spirit!
