Joy marked the annual pilgrimage of the Dioceses of Clonfert, Galway, Kilmacduagh and Kilfenora to Knock Shrine.
Our thanks to Fr Ian O’Neill and Fr Pat Conroy, pilgrimage organisers, and to all who contributed to the day. A special word of thanks to the Cathedral Choir, Loughrea, and to Knock Shrine for their generous hospitality.
During Mass, Bishop Michael reflected on the Solemnity of the Ascension and the enduring presence of the Risen Christ in the lives of believers.
“Far from marking the end of Jesus’s presence with us back then, or some sort of divine ‘social distancing’, the Ascension marks a new beginning – the beginning of Jesus being present to everyone, in every place and in every time.”
— Bishop Michael
Homily of Bishop Michael
Recently, as I was leaving back my shopping trolley, I noticed, along the ground, the faded remains of those yellow “two metres keep a distance” stickers from the time of Covid. My mind began to wander back to March 2020. I could almost feel the fear and uncertainty that filled those turbulent days. From the recesses of my memory the idea of what we called “social distancing” came to mind. I had not heard of it before. Had you? In a short while, however, we were not only to learn about the theory of “social distancing”, but we were also to quickly put it into practice in every aspect of our lives.
As I walked to the car, memories of “social distancing” filled my mind. Queuing two metres apart. Sitting or standing at a distance from colleagues, classmates, family and friends. Churches with congregations segregated. Hospital and nursing home visits curtailed. Mourners separated. Gatherings for so many things cancelled. Visits to each other on hold.
The more we practised it, the more we came to realise that “social distancing” or “physical distancing” is not easy. Our natural human instinct is to reach out, to shake hands, to touch and embrace loved ones. We are social creatures and we dearly want to be together. They were strange days. Days when we craved to be social. Days when we didn’t like to be distant.
Today we celebrate the Solemnity of what has been traditionally called the Ascension of Jesus. It brings us back to strange days too – those days when the disciples experienced a definitive ending to the physical presence of Jesus with them after the resurrection. That day when, in his humanity, Jesus returned to the spiritual realm of the divine – to the Father who lives in the heavens. The writers of the Scriptures search for words to describe the mysterious reality of what happened. In the First Reading, we hear how … as Jesus was speaking to the disciples “he was lifted up … and a cloud took him from their sight.” (Acts 1) However it happened, one thing is clear. Jesus is no longer present to them as he was. A certain distance emerges. The early disciples feel deeply this divine “social distancing”.
The Bible recounts how they underwent a second wave of loss, similar to the loss they felt when they saw him die on the cross. They retreat, they become afraid, they turn in on themselves. I often wonder if, in that moment, they pondered on the times when he spoke to them about having to go away so that the “Spirit”, the “Advocate”, would come.
It was ten days later, on the Day of Pentecost, when they came to the realisation that the divine “social distancing” that they were experiencing was to be short-lived. For in and through the gift of the Holy Spirit, the Risen Jesus was now to be powerfully present to them in every place and at every time. Reflecting on the Ascension, Martin Luther speaks of Jesus going “up there” that he might be “down here” – that he might now “fill all things and be everywhere present.” (Sermon for Ascension Day, 1523) The Pentecost outpouring of the Holy Spirit renewed the early disciples’ sense that Jesus was close to them. It gave them a new heart, a new spirit, new energy. It prompted them to respond to that great commission of Jesus to go out and tell the people of their day about Jesus and about what he had taught them concerning how to live life well. It ultimately gave them – and those who came to believe in the Gospel through them – a new enriched way of living.
In time, the early disciples came to understand that far from distancing himself from them in the Ascension, Jesus was creating a space in which he could come even closer to them. He would now live, not at any distance, but rather in the depths of their hearts at the very core of their being. This new reality was not only to be true for the early disciples, it was also to be true for every human being, in every part of the world and in each and every age since. Far from marking the end of Jesus’s presence with us back then, or some sort of divine “social distancing”, the Ascension marks a new beginning – the beginning of Jesus being present to everyone, in every place and in every time.
There is never to be “social distancing” when it comes to God and us. Through the Holy Spirit, Jesus now dwells in my heart and your heart. If only we were to stop and think about it. If only we could hush our busy world to give ourselves time to realise it and the space to experience it. Through the Holy Spirit, Jesus himself dwells in us. The whole reality of God, Father, Son and Spirit is extraordinarily close to you and to me. The great St Augustine speaks of God being “closer to us than we are to ourselves” (Confessions III, 6, 11).
Because of these days, those many years ago, Jesus is no longer distant – God is no longer distant, he is near to each and every one of us. Did he not say back then; “know that I am with you always; yes, to the end of time.” (Mt 28) Like human beings, God’s innate instinct is to be social, to reach out, to be with people, to be close to people, to be there for people.
Here in this sacred place, on this great Solemnity, perhaps it might be good to ask: Do I believe this? Do I really believe that Jesus is near me? That God is present in the depths of my being? Although we may not always think of it, at times we might even want to ignore it or distance ourselves from his presence, the Risen Jesus is always with us on the journey of life. Always there for us. Always there to direct us, to encourage us, to assist us in becoming the best possible version of ourselves. By being present, God enhances not only our own lives and our living, but through us, he enhances the life and living of our families, our communities and our world beyond our greatest expectations.
Although it may seem the complete opposite, today’s Solemnity loudly proclaims that when it comes to humanity, when it comes to me and you – God does not practise social distancing. He went “up there” so that he might be ever more “down here”, helping us transform for the better the rough and tumble of our everyday living.
Our Lady of Knock – Pray for Us. Amen.