Scripture Reflection, The Ascension of the Lord, June 1, 2025

Acts 1:1-11 Ephesians 1:17-23 or Hebrews 9:24-28; 10:19-23 Luke 24:46-53

Today we are celebrating the Solemn Feast of the Ascension of the Lord. There are two choices or “options” for the Second Reading. I am focusing on the second option, as it speaks an important message for me.

That message, from Paul’s Letter to the Hebrews, is: “…let us approach with a sincere heart and in absolute trust, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed in pure water.” Our hearts have been sprinkled clean, cleansed of the evil that we have done by choosing to turn away from God. All we need to do is to acknowledge God’s forgiveness and be grateful for it. Remember, it is not a case of having to make ourselves worthy to be with God. God’s love for us and God’s offer of everlasting life for us - these are gifts. We do not earn them. However, we demonstrate our love for God and our acceptance of these gifts by acting in accordance with God’s desire for us to truly love — God, our neighbors and ourselves. The key is love!

As I have written a number of times in this space over the years, I often find myself working with people in spiritual direction on one very important concept: Learning to forgive themselves. Frequently, they come with a heavy heart, troubled by the effects of poor choices they have made. Sometimes, those choices involved an impulsive action, like snapping at a spouse who interrupts their train of thought; or cursing at someone who cuts them off in traffic. Sometimes, those choices have involved a larger transgression, like intentionally committing an act of violence, slander or fraud. No matter what the “bad act” is, if we ask with a sincere heart, we can be sure that God forgives it. In fact, God is simply waiting to shower us with forgiveness and love. Celebrating the Sacrament of Reconciliation is a wonderful way to experience the full effect of God’s love and mercy. It is a gift from God, via the Church, to us.

And of course, the pure water referenced in the reading is the water of our baptism. A sacrament that we celebrate again symbolically, every time we dip our fingers in the baptismal font and anoint ourselves with that fresh clean water, while making the Sign of the Cross. It’s another gift of our Catholic faith! I once had a Baptist Minister say to me: “I am so envious of you Catholics, that you get to celebrate your baptism every time you go into a Catholic Church by using the water from the font to bless yourselves. I wish we had that as part of our rituals.”

God’s messages of mercy and forgiveness are all part of God’s instruction to us regarding the importance of love. How well have I been “loving” lately?

by: Bill Miller