The Book of Psalms (47:6) echoes the spirit of today’s celebration of the Ascension: “God mounts his throne to shouts of joy: a blare of trumpets for the Lord.” This proclamation captures the distinctive character of Jesus’ Ascension as he is lifted to the highest heavens.
Unlike in many parts of the world, especially in Africa and Asia, the Church in the United States celebrates the Ascension of Jesus Christ on the Seventh Sunday of Easter. The Ascension recalls the event when Jesus was taken up to heaven, 40 days after the Resurrection, after assuring his disciples that he would send them the Holy Spirit.
I recently spoke with a friend about the key elements often identified in modern therapeutic counseling, including attachment, separation, integration, and adulthood. These stages reflect the developmental movements we undergo on the path toward maturity and individual responsibility. Focusing on integration, many struggle to accept the coexistence of the good, the bad, and even the ugly within themselves and others. In the Ascension, as Jesus is lifted, we are confronted with the demanding call to transcend whatever holds us down and to elevate the standards by which we live.
The urgency of this invitation is vividly expressed in the Eucharistic celebration. Just before the consecration, the priest calls the congregation to “lift up your hearts.” Today, I hear that invitation through the lens of the Ascension: the Church urges us to rise higher, to see more clearly the full reality of life in its complexity, and to entrust our hearts to the Lord who made heaven and earth.
This moment marks a significant turning point for us. It affirms that our strength is in God and that, in God, we are empowered to move beyond pockets of judgment and toward a more collaborative spirit, a spirit that helps us support and carry one another across the Rubicon. Lifting our hearts is one of the ways to cross that Rubicon of judgment; it helps us see clearly and identify where we could offer guidance to a friend who is derailing to return to the Lord. May God enlighten the eyes of our minds to perceive the hope that resides in His call for us (Ephesians 1:17-23).
