The Ascension of the Lord commemorates the fortieth day after Easter Sunday. It celebrates the completion of God’s work of human salvation (which started with Good Friday), Christ’s entry into heaven, and the promise that we will share in eternal life with God. Benedict XVI speaks about this feast: “The meaning of Christ’s Ascension expresses our belief that in Christ the humanity we all share has entered into the inner life of God in a new and unheard of way. It means that we have found an everlasting place in God.”
We believe that we will share in God’s heavenly gifts after our death. But, what does it mean in our day-to-day life to say that we hope to enter into the inner life of God? Let me offer three ways in which we can live our lives as if we share in the inner life of God here on earth. A practice for heaven!
Quite simply, we share in the inner life of God in our daily lives by having a relationship with God. That means we pray. It does not matter how we pray. The most sensible form of prayer is whatever works for us – the use of scripture, spiritual reading, spiritual writing, a prayerful walk in the beauty of nature, the Rosary, or participation in the daily Eucharist. Or, some people find that they maintain that relationship by speaking with others about God.
There are as many ways to pray as there are people praying. We have to find a method that makes sense for our personality and for what is going on in life. For instance, I pray differently when I am busy or when I have all the time in the world to pray. I pray differently if I am well or if I am sick. I pray differently if I am anxious or if I am at peace. That’s because my life circumstances are different in each instance.
Secondly, we manifest our sharing in God’s life whenever we actually live our lives from a conviction that Christ is with us in an ongoing way. Do we really believe Jesus when he says, “I am with you always, to the end of the age”? We can only answer that by looking at our lives with a discerning eye about how we live. That discerning eye is a form of contemplation. I am not referring to some form of contemplation that is exercised by a monk sitting in a chapel. Rather, I am using a notion that has been offered by a Jesuit who defines contemplation as “a long, loving look at the real.” To take such a loving look is to discover God’s life and presence in all kinds of ways – some obvious and some not so obvious.
When we take that long look, we discover God’s presence even in the midst of difficult, challenging and painful circumstances, not just in a day where everything works out well. To share in God’s life is to truly believe that Christ is with me always, whatever is happening in my life. Can I take that loving look at my own life story, at the story of someone else, at my family secrets, at a tragedy in the world? To share in God’s inner life is to be aware of the sacredness of our lives and our daily activities and responsibilities, even when they are not easy.
Finally, once we have a relationship with God and take that long, loving look at everyone and everything around us, we are motivated to action. We desire that others share in that sense of God’s inner life. Jesus told his followers, “You will be my witnesses to the ends of the earth.” There are many ways to witness to Christ. Let me mention just two.
Today, as for 47 years on the Feast of the Ascension, the Church celebrates World Communication Day. Benedict XVI released this year’s message before he resigned the papacy. In the message, he focused on social networks – such as Facebook – as portals on truth and faith, as “new spaces for evangelization.” Perhaps one of our forms of being witnesses to Christ is using our Facebook postings to build up the Church and the world, rather than to tear people apart.
Today is also Canada Health Day, a day when the bishops remind us to take responsibility for our personal health, to prevent illness and to seek a healthy lifestyle. Perhaps a form of witnessing is to recognize that my body is a temple of the Holy Spirit and I should be careful what goes into it, how I treat it, and how I use it.
As we celebrate the Ascension of the Lord, let us take steps now to experience the inner life of God, knowing that we will share later in an everlasting way.