Ascension Homily on May 12, 2024 by by Fr. Joe Tedesco
Acts 1: 15 – 26, Eph 4: 1 – 7; 11- 13, John 17: 11 – 19
Ascension marks the moment that Jesus is present to us in a new way. He is with us in His spirit. How often we feel his presence. His inspiration, his power within. Jesus is present now with us as Lord of all at the throne of God.
Luke shares the story in Acts, and we see the developing understanding of the command of Jesus to the disciples to wait for the Holy Spirit in the gospels. The eleven went forth and preached everywhere. The lord continued to work with them throughout and confirm the message through signs which accompanied them. The church grew and here we are. The church gathered as the Body of Christ, present in the power of the Spirit to continue the work of the Lord and with the Lord, each one as the beloved of God.
The powerful promise of the Risen Lord has come to fulfillment. The church has this power to change the world through the spirit. To make a difference. To set things right with mercy and justice and power, because of our faith in the Risen Lord. Jesus, himself has promised as he was ascended into heaven. We celebrate all that this means to us today.
So we reflect on how we as Cistercians are called to live the Gospel and be witnesses to the Risen Lord. Our communities are the very signs of the profession of Faith to all the world of this good news of Christ. Who has brought us God’s merciful love.
So each one of us, especially you as Junior Professed are now called to find your place in the community to use our gifts of faith and love to build the Kingdom right where God has called you to live out this unique life of contemplation in the silence and solitude of our Cistercian Charism. What a gift we all have received! We are the professed monks and nuns of today giving witness by our very lives to the Lordship of Christ Jesus. The Cistercian way – a life of blessedness, because we have His Spirit, we experience Christ and his power.
Let us then be faithful to our call. Truly co-responsible for the fruitfulness of our monastic lives within community. Seeking always to support each sister and brother to be faithful and find their way to holiness. Always gifting each one in the community with the silence and solitude that shapes their prayer and recollection, that deepens the relationship with God and renews their vocation day by day.
The monastic life offers us the opportunity in a special way to be present to God and others that involves the true art of Christian living. It’s based on personal ascetism, a deep listening to oneself and to others, and an act of faith toward God who is always present to us.
The faithfulness to our Opus Dei is key to this whole monastic endeavor. There is the listening that make this all happen. The liturgy nourishes us and creates that space for God to be incarnate again in us and in the world. We always seek to bring forth Christ by our faithfulness and love. Yes, this life is ordinary, obscure and laborious but this is the gift of our life. Hidden with Christ in God that frees us to be all that God has invited us to be in his Son.
The beloved Son now reigning with the Father and in our lives to.
We are compelled to listen to the message of the angels who addressed the disciples saying: Why are you standing here looking up to the skies? Let us be diligent in our silence and solitude and so in our prayer and in all aspects of our vowed life, as we seek to preach Jesus by our fidelity to all dimensions of our life together and feel his presence and power as we continue to know his love for us.
St. Benedict reminds us in the Rule. Let them prefer nothing whatever to Christ, and may he bring us all together into everlasting life.
What a command by our Holy Father Benedict, we have come to know and believe Christ is our way, our truth and our life.
As a community of Cistercians, with all believers, we are thrilled to know that our hope is that together to spend eternity praising God and dwelling in God’s life and love.