Let The Spirit Guide Your Life

Homily 05 12 2013
Ascension Of The Lord Year C

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It is hard to believe that someone who has been missing for ten years (and who many presumed dead) has been found alive. It is even more remarkable that it is not just one person, but three!

Three women, each missing for around a decade, were found alive and rescued from the house where their captor kept them hidden in the years since they were kidnapped. They were in their teens or early twenties when they went missing. Each was taken individually and then apparently kept in a house on Cleveland's west side.

There were stories over the past decade which discussed the women's disappearances beginning in May, 2003.

Two and a half years after Gina's kidnapping her mother told reporters, "I know deep in my heart that my baby's still out there."

Annual vigils took place in the areas from where they had been taken, the most recent in April.... the spot where Gina DeJesus was last seen in 2004.

Despite setbacks in the investigations and times when the worst was feared (in 2004 a psychic told Berry's mother that she was dead; in 2006 an arrest was made in Gina's disappearance but the suspect was later released; and in 2009 a body was found in Wisconsin that was first thought to be Amanda), family and friends did not give up hope.

On Monday, their hopes were fulfilled when the women were found.

Much of the story remains to be told, and many questions still remain, but the three are safe, and after a brief hospital stay will return to their loved ones.

Ten years is a long time to wait for the fulfillment of one's hopes. The disciples only waited three days after the crucifixion to witness the risen Lord.

In Acts of the Apostles, Luke tells us that Jesus ascended to heaven on the fortieth day and that the apostles only waited another ten before the Holy Spirit burst upon them and they courageously went out to preach the word.

The other Gospels suggest that Luke's timeline is more construct than history, highlighting that the gift of the Spirit is an effect of the resurrection, and that once Christ was risen from the dead, believers are endowed with that gift (cf. John 20 and Matthew 28).

The waiting that we endure is not in expectation of the gift of the Spirit. We already have all of the Spirit's gifts. They were poured out on us in our baptism, and invigorated in our confirmation. The Spirit is already within us to animate our lives in accord with the risen Christ, lives of charity toward our brothers and sisters and love of our God.

The waiting that we endure is a life-long path to final union with the divine. The feast of the Ascension is a reminder of where we are headed. We are not waiting for someone to come back as three families had been doing.

Instead, we are waiting to join the one who has gone before us. We are waiting to be fully united with God in heaven.

The Prayer after Communion for the Ascension puts it succinctly: "We pray, that Christian hope may draw us onward to where our nature is united with you."

In this feast we catch a glimpse of our final goal, that is, to dwell in the heavenly realms with our Redeemer and Lord.

The three missing women are welcomed by their families with great joy. They will be enveloped in love and care as they heal from their ordeal.

With trust in God's eternal love, we can be assured that one day we too will be welcomed to our true home. With the Holy Spirit at work in our hearts we can walk the path of holiness that leads to eternal glory.

As a tribute to mothers on this Mother's Day a few words which truly describe a Mother's Love.

Rudyard Kipling wrote:

If I were hanged on the highest hill, I know whose love would follow me still.

Mother of mine. Mother of mine.

If I were drowned in the deepest sea, I know whose tears would come down to me.

Mother of mine, Mother of mine.

If I were damned by body and soul, I know whose prayers would make me whole.

Mother of mine, mother of mine

You may mail your pledge envelope to the parish office or bring it next weekend to Mass and place it in the collection basket or send it using the Archdiocesan web.

Please join our parish in making a joyful contribution to this year's appeal as we," strive to continue God's work of spirituality, charity and education.

"On behalf of Archbishop Sartain and myself and the Stewardship Committee, I thank you for your contribution to the Annual Catholic Appeal. May God bless you."

jjl

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