Homily: May 17, 2026 The Ascension Sunday (Not alone)

 “This Jesus who has been taken up from you into heaven will return in the same way as you have seen him going into heaven.”

The disciples were just standing there, staring into the sky, even when Jesus was already out of sight. What were they thinking and feeling?

The Ascension of the Lord always evokes a strange feeling in my heart. Jesus is going away. I wonder how would I be thinking and feeling if I were there too?

I have a sister who lives in Florida, she has three children. The youngest son enjoys my presence whenever I vacation at their house, he would spend every minute of his waking moments with me. 

And every time at the end of my vacation, as I drove off away from their house, my young nephew would run behind my car all the way to the end of their street. He would keep waving to me until he could not see me anymore. I imagine he may have stood there for some time, looking into the distance, even when I was no longer in sight. Possibly hoping I might suddenly appear again.

Every time this happens, my heart breaks. I always wanted to stop the car, get out, hug him, go with him back to the house and stay maybe just one more day. But I knew, eventually I would still have to leave.

Leaving people we love is painful. Jesus loves us more than anyone else in the world.

And saying good-bye to someone whose presence meant the world to us, is heart-wrenching.

I remember when my older siblings left home for colleges far away, I cried. Even though I fought with them often, right to the day before their leaving, it was still sad to say good-bye. Years later, when I departed from Rome after six years of studies and forming beautiful friendships, I felt the same sorrow.

Attach and detach. Bond and break. Love and loss.

These are human experiences that evoke deep emotions which sometimes never completely go away, especially with the death of someone close. The empty chair, the quiet space, the inactive phone number, which trigger memories of the person who used to be there.

The disciples experienced those emotions on the day of the Lord’s Ascension.

For three years, they lived with Jesus, intimately. They went through day and night, thick and thin together. They doubted and questioned, and finally they believed and trusted. They learnt to leave everything to follow Jesus. Jesus became everything to them.

They lost Him once at His death, then He came back. They doubted and questioned anew, and again they learnt to believe and trust Him with new eyes and new heart. They became more attached, bonded stronger and loved deeper.

Now, after forty days of reuniting, they are losing Him again.

They stared into the sky, possibly hoping for Him to suddenly appear again.

What next? Life would never be the same ever again.

This time, it is for real. Jesus would no longer walk with them, speak to them, eat with them in the same visible, physical way. The attachment had led them to the pain of loss. Such pain triggers a deep yearning for reunion.

And thus, the angel of the Lord reassured them, “This Jesus who has been taken up from you into heaven will return in the same way as you have seen him going into heaven.”

But Jesus has a better plan for them, and for us. Jesus wants to be fully present for and united with His disciples always, even before His second coming.

He promised them: “You will not be left alone.”

He will send them the Holy Spirit — God’s own Spirit. The Spirit of love. The Divine Consoler. The faithful Helper. The unrelenting Advocate. The real and enduring presence of God, not to live with them, but to dwell within them.

And indeed, the Holy Spirit was sent and empowered the disciples. Jesus kept His promise, they were no longer left without Him, He now lives in them and moves with them wherever they went.

The disciples received the Holy Spirit fully and joyfully because they yearned for Him painfully, their hearts were empty when He left and ascended, they had bonded so intimately with Him that their hearts wanted to be filled only by His presence.

Do you yearn painfully for His presence?

If you don’t, then you may not have been attached intimately to Jesus yet, you have not encountered Him personally. You could be bonded to something else in your life, stronger than you are to Jesus.

But if we do not sense His presence and are still feeling alone, it could well be because we are detached from Him who makes us full and are instead attached to the world that makes us feel lonely.

But today Jesus reminds you: “You are not alone.”

If you learn to detach from the world and re-attach yourself to Jesus, you will discover this truth and rejoice when you begin to experience the presence of the Lord for real. You will begin to follow clearly and confidently the direction of the Holy Spirit. You will indeed never be alone.

Jesus wants to tell you, “I am closer to you than your own breath. My Spirit lives within you.”

It is the Spirit we received at Baptism, sealed within us at Confirmation, the Spirit who prays inside us when we have no words, who sits beside us in lonely nights, who holds us together when life falls apart, Jesus’ Spirit is still with us.

So whenever life feels empty, whenever you feel the loss with goodbyes, whenever loneliness overwhelms you, remember this: Jesus did not leave us orphaned when He ascended. He yearns to be close to us. He sends us His Spirit, waiting for us to receive Him fully.

Today, let us stop looking outside for signs of God, let us stop searching for happiness from the world and begin to listen quietly within us, calling upon the Holy Spirit to lead, guide and help us. The Holy Spirit is already there in our hearts, whispering to us: “I will never leave you alone.”

Amen.