Homily: June 1, 2025, Ascension Sunday

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 “He put all things beneath his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of the one who fills all things in every way.”

Today’s second reading concludes very clearly the role and relationship of Christ and us, the church.

This day of solemnity is not merely a commemoration of Jesus the Son returning to the Father. It is a firm proclamation of our identity, our mission, and our destiny as Church.

Jesus Christ is the head of the Church. We, the Church, are His Body. And where the Head has gone, the Body will follow.

The opening prayer for today’s celebration puts it beautifully for us: “Where the Head has gone before in glory, the Body is called to follow in hope.”

Our destiny is heaven, confirmed. But we are not going alone as individuals, we are going as one united Church.

When Jesus ascends into heaven, He goes in the same human body He took on through the Incarnation, the body which still bears the wounds of His sacrificial love, inflicted by our sins. He brings our humanity with Him to heaven, to God. In heaven, He sits at the right hand of God, who puts all things beneath His feet.

As His Body, we too will share that same power and authority. All things will be beneath the feet of Christ and His Church. By virtue of our baptism, being a part of the Church, we inherit this dignity, power and authority.

Are we aware of this gift?

What does it mean?

If we are still asleep and unaware, it is time to wake up and do something about it, because Satan knows this truth, and at every opportunity, he tries to destroy it for us. He is jealous of the glory promised to us, envious of the authority Christ shares with us.

For as long as we remain ignorant, the devil will keep us distracted and attracted by the world’s poor version of power and authority which is fake and temporal. By making us believe that we have power over ourselves and others, by deceiving us into thinking that we can rule the world by turning against God, or pretending to be our own gods, the devil presents an inferior imitation of what God has prepared for us.

When we are aware of and fully claim our identity, when we live out our true dignity and remain in Jesus, allowing Him to remain in us, through the Eucharist, the sacraments and the Word of God, we become truly powerful and are a big threat to the kingdom of darkness.

We are the Church of the Risen and Ascended Christ! As Pope Leo XVI assured us in his first public address:

“God loves us - all of us. Evil will not prevail. We are all in the hands of God. Without fear, united, hand in hand with God and with one another, we will go forward.”

Noteworthy and I emphasize here the words we must not overlook: “without fear”, “united”, “hand in hand with God and with one another”.

We do not go forward on our own, alone. Jesus Christ is the head, we are His Body, where He goes, we will go with Him.

The Crucified Christ looks like the victim of life, but the Risen Christ proves He is the victor of world. The Ascended Christ shows He is the glory of the universe.

Therefore, we too will be victorious and glorious with Christ. Be awake and aware, hold on to our real and true identity, claim the full extent of the gifts and graces our God has given us. Look to the Lord ascended into heaven, and know for certain that there we will be, there is our destiny.

Amen.


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