Sunday May 17th. 2009

grow accustomed to doing. The Ascension marks the end of Christ's earthly

mission and his glorious return to the Father. He had achieved the work he

was sent to do. While the trumpets were sounding in heaven to greet the

arrival of the ascending Lord, the apostles must have been experiencing a

deep sadness in their hearts at his departure. However, his final words, “1 am

with you always. Go make disciples of all nations” while full of comfort were

urgent in meaning. Not only was Jesus not abandoning them nor depriving

them of his presence but he was entrusting them with the mission of making

the love of God the Father known, through joyful and selfless lives in the

service of others. In Jesus' absence the disciples are not to remain inactive

but to move into the future with courage. They have a vital and essential role

to play in announcing the salvation Christ has won on Calvary, by

transforming death into the dawn of a new life. Jesus will no longer be

present in a human body but his place will be taken by the Holy Spirit  in his

new body, the Church, and he will be their guide and strength as they journey

through life.

If we ponder within our hearts the meaning of this great feast we may come

to grasp something of the confidence which God has in us because the

Ascension focuses on what we must do to be with Christ forever. Where he

has gone we hope to follow. Like the apostles, we are at the centre of the

stage and our call is also to service. We are to continue the work of those

who have gone before us and help build up Christ's kingdom. In a world full

of so  many problems and anxieties Our Lord asks us to see him in others

and to show our love and compassion, and to try to give comfort and hope to

those who need it. What we are, speaks more loudly than either what we say

or what we do. He is needs each of us to continue his work. Our prayer is

that he will renew within us the work of the Spirit that he gave to his Apostles

so that we may know what is true and have the strength to do what is right.

This great feast is also a reminder that on the last day, by the power of God,

our bodies will rise from the dead to join our souls in heaven. The body is the

instrument of the soul, and it is only right that it too should join in the

happiness of heaven. We have used our bodies in a service of love to God

and our neighbours; we have made countless sacrifices in the vocations to

which God has called us, especially marriage where parents devote their

lives to their children and where no sacrifice is too great. Our bodies, in

sickness and pain, may have shared in Our Lord’s own suffering. So, it is

only right that our bodies one day should join our souls in heaven where

Christ makes all things new, where every impediment will be wiped away,

and where with our eyes we can behold the glory of God and feel the intense

joy of his presence  in every fibre of our being.

Our Lady has already anticipated what will one day happen to us, for she

was taken up body and soul into heaven by her Son for she was sinless  and

did not suffer the corruption of the grave. Each year, we celebrate the feast of

her Assumption which was declared a dogma of the Church by Pope Pius

X11 on August 15,1950, by popular acclamation of the people.

It was something the Fathers of the Church always taught and which was

accepted by the faithful down the centuries. The bishops of the Anglican

Church disapproved of this dogma as there is no specific mention of it in

scriptures. At this time,  part of  roof of York Minster was being repaired, and

when the workman cleaned the boss where the arches meet, they found the

most beautiful 12th century painting of Out Lady’s Assumption (see below)

which had been painted over to conceal it since the Reformation

With the least shade of thought to sin allied.

Woman! above all women glorified,

Our tainted nature's solitary boast;

Purer than foam on central ocean tost;

Brighter than eastern skies at daybreak strewn

With fancied roses, than the unblemished moon

Before her wane begins on heaven's blue coast;

Thy image falls to earth. Yet some, I ween,

Not unforgiven the suppliant knee might bend,

As to a visible Power, in which did blend

All that was mixed and reconciled in thee

Of mother's love with maiden purity,

Of high with low, celestial with terrene!

The 12th. century  boss concealed since the Reformation

             and discovered in 1950 during repairs