We are now in that extraordinary interval between Our Lord’s glorious Ascension into Heaven, which we celebrated last Thursday, and the coming of the Holy Spirit on Our Lady and the Apostles at Pentecost, which we celebrate next Sunday. We heard in the reading from Acts on Thursday (1:1-11), how the Apostles watched Our Lord ascend into Heaven from Mount Olivet, after which they returned to the Upper Room in Jerusalem to pray and wait for the coming of the Holy Spirit – just as He had commanded them.

But the Ascension of Our Lord is far more than His just leaving this earth – it is His triumph and victory! Forty days after the Resurrection, Our Lord ascended bodily into Heaven to take possession of His eternal Kingdom, and to open the gates of Heaven to all whom He had redeemed by the His Passion and Death on the Cross. It is an incredible thought that JESUS Christ, the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity, now sits on the right hand of the Father not only as God, but also as Man, and He bears forever those five glorious wounds on His hands, feet and side, as eternal signs of His love for us, and a reminder of what it cost Him to redeem us.

But for us, it means something even more tremendous: where the Head has gone, the members must follow. Before Our Lord’s Passion, Heaven was closed to the whole of mankind because of sin. But Our Lord having now entered the heavenly Sanctuary, reminds us that this world is not our final destination. We are only pilgrims on this earth, and Heaven is our true homeland, and so we want to follow where our Head (Christ) has gone before us. Society today likes to tell us to cling to the things this world – its pleasures and passing joys, whereas the Ascension tells us to look up! That’s why the saints always meditated on Heaven. They understood that every Mass devoutly heard, every good Confession, every Rosary, every act of kindness and sacrifice, every temptation resisted, was bringing them closer to their longed for homeland. That’s what we need to recover today – a supernatural vision of where we are heading, because ultimately, that is the only thing that really matters.

Following the Ascension, the Apostles didn’t run off in confusion or despair. Together with Our Lady, they gathered together in the Upper Room to pray. This is the origin of the Pentecost Novena – the very first novena in the Church, where the Apostles and Our Lady prayed for nine days for the coming of the Holy Spirit. So what is the lesson for us here? The lesson is that when the Church passes through darkness, confusion and persecution – all of which are happening on a grand scale today – Catholics must return to the spirituality of the Upper Room. We must pray with Our Lady for a new outpouring of the Holy Spirit in the Church and in the world. We don’t need any more programmes or political movements. We need saints on fire with God’s love. This is why the Pentecost Novena is so important. Pray for His seven gifts of wisdom, understanding, counsel fortitude, knowledge, piety and fear of the Lord. Let’s pray for light in confusion, courage in our trials, purity in temptation, and perseverance in the Faith. Please pray also for all our RCIA group members who will receive the Sacrament of Confirmation from Bishop Patrick next Friday evening.

And it’s always important to remember Our Lady’s presence in the Upper Room with the Apostles. She is the Spouse of the Holy Spirit and Mother of the Church. They prayed with her and so should we. May these holy days prepare our hearts for a renewed Pentecost in our own souls.

Fr Paul Gillham, IC