Launched to witness with power

The commemoration of the Ascension of the Lord by Roman Catholics in North America can take place, this year on Thursday May 17 or Sunday May 20. The texts in the Roman Catholic Lectionary for the Ascension are alive with hope and the promise of power in tension with the closing of Jesus Presence in human body form in the temporal realm. The challenge of what to do now is indicated by Jesus as being witness to the ends of the earth. This task is both geographical and temporal. The launching of the mission of the Body of Christ is accompanied with the gifts which Paul proclaims to the Ephesians and which sustain witnesses to this day; hope in the mission and vision of the Good News; the spiritual riches which have been and are continuing to be visible in the lives of His witnesses; and the power of the Holy Spirit to transcend all material, temporal, political and cultural obstacles to being His witness. Friar Jude Winkler reflects on the growth which we experience as people when the "boss is not around". The marvelous relationship of the Teacher to His disciples is that He allows us to live and make our own mistakes. We learn and grow and develop the needed empathy for our brothers and sisters through our joyful struggle to carry out the Great Commission. As the words of the psalmist continue to ring true today "God is king over the nations... the princes of the peoples gather as the people of the God of Abraham" (Psalm 47)