Christ leaves us, but remains with us

05-17-2026Pastor's LetterFather Wilson

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

The disciples fully believed that Jesus’ farewell was forever. They would never again see Jesus with their human eyes and so their hearts were full of sadness and nostalgia. However, I’m sure they remembered His promise: “I will be with you always, until the end of the world.” Christ is going away, but he's also staying? How were they supposed to understand this paradox?

As we celebrate the Ascension of the Lord into heaven today, how well do we understand this liturgical feast? Without a doubt, the event was for them, as it is for us also, a declaration of faith in Christ's divinity, in his victory over death, in his glorious Resurrection.

The Lord does not abandon us; rather he is sowing the seeds of hope in our heart. “We know we already possess paradise,” said St. Leo the Great, “because we have entered with Christ to the heights of Heaven.” In other words, “a part of us” is already in Heaven.

If we are faithful, one day we will be in Heaven. It's not a gift we will get with no merit of our own, but the reward for a holy life. The thoughts of Heaven don't rid you of your responsibilities on earth; on the contrary, it is a motivation for you to do more for the world and the Church. This is the meaning of Christ's last mandate as He went away: He is sending us to the whole world to preach the Good News and share the faith.

The Church Fathers used to call the Ascension the “hope of the body,” because this Christian event guarantees the triumph of life over death. Man's existence is not just a road looking forward, in the limited sense of economic and scientific progress, but it's especially a road leading upward toward complete human fulfillment. That is why we should commit ourselves to seeking the joys of Heaven, as St. Paul exhorts us: “If then you have risen with Christ, seek the things that are above.” (Colossians 3:1-2).

To seek "the things that are above" is to seek God, seek Christ, and to allow Him to fill every corner of our existence. In this way everything takes on its true value and falls into place.

It is true that Christ has gone up into Heaven, but then how was he to stay with us down through the centuries? In three concrete ways: through the Sacred Scriptures, through Sacred Tradition, but especially through the Eucharist.

All the best...in Christ,

Father Wilson