John 21:20-25 Hanging Out With The Lord

Saturday of the Seventh Week of Easter

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Peter turned and saw the disciple following whom Jesus loved.  When Peter saw him, he said to Jesus, “Lord, what about him?”  Jesus said to him, “What if I want him to remain until I come?  What concern is it of yours?  You follow me.”

When I was very young, my cousin and I agreed that we should marry someone who was better than us.  Back then, that meant someone who had more money than us.  When I was a teenager, my cousin and I agreed that we should marry someone who was better looking than us.  But when I saw an Abbott and Costello movie I changed my mind.  In it, Abbott convinced Costello to marry an ugly woman “because if she leaves you, you won’t care so much!”

Well, our ideas changed over time.  Thank God!  But now I realize that we were on to something good back then, for there is nothing wrong in thinking others are better than you, or that it’s not bad to hang out with people that are better than you.    Our problem wasn’t that we didn’t know enough people. Our problem was that we didn’t know what “better people” meant.  We both learned that many years later.

To “hang out with the Lord” means to hang out with someone who is much better than you are.  You don’t have to be a believer to realize this.  You just have to be intellectually honest to admit it. 

To be united to the Lord means to marry up.  Every time someone goes to confession, they are lifted up, not knocked down; they are loved, not judged.  They are treated better than they deserve; better than they could ever imagine; more than they could ever fathom.

To “hang out with the Lord” teaches us to value everyone regardless of their wealth; regardless of their status; regardless of their citizenship (or non-citizenship); regardless of their faith; and most importantly, regardless of their sins.   

Let’s be honest:  the Lord is not only high above the heavens, He is high above me!   In so many ways He is better than me:  in love, in forgiveness, in mercy and compassion, in understanding and patience, in wisdom and in teaching.  Hanging out with Him is the best thing that could have ever happened to me, for not only did I marry up, but He also shares all that He has with me.  He shares His wealth, His position, His authority, His Father. 

No wonder why the Lord prayed that we are one with Him as He is with the Father.      

You in me and I in you.  Could anyone ask for anything more?  What could be better than the best?  What could be better than to be loved?  Only one thing:  to love and be loved.  What could be better than to be united with another in mind, body and soul?  Only one thing:  to be united with God in mind, body and soul.  Again, to marry up!  To be one with Him means to allow my heart to be His heart; my mind to be His mind; my arms and legs to become His arms and legs.   

It’s a blessing to have a friend; someone to go out with, spend time with, and share some good laughs and tears with.  Friends understand me well.  They know perfectly well what I’m about to say before I say it and what I want to say even when I’m unable to say it.  They know me and can regurgitate me.  But it’s hard to find a friend that will tell me what I need to hear and not what I want to hear.

The Lord is my friend.  He even calls me friend “if you follow my Commandments.”  Ah, yea.  I know what you’re thinking:  No independence!  But what “independence” is there if you are a slave to sin? 

The Lord knows me better than I know myself, and He knows He’s better than I am.  Do I know that too?  If so, then He will give me His inheritance, for humility is worth more than gold in heaven. 

Christ knows all my fears and all my insecurities; especially those I have never revealed to anyone.  Do I give them to Him?  If so, then He gives me His strength:  “Though I am weak, I am strong.”  

That they may be one.     Peter was comparing himself to John, the beloved disciple.  He should have been comparing Himself to the Lord.  That’s where his peace, security, love and dignity will be found.   Boston Strong!  Seek God Strong!  Live Strong!  Seek God Strong! Peter Strong!  Seek God Strong! 

John 21:15-19 A Firsthand Experience

Friday of the Seventh Week of Easter

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After Jesus had revealed himself to his disciples and eaten breakfast with them, he said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?”  Simon Peter answered him, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.”

He ate breakfast with them.  God is so down to earth, literally and figuratively.  It’s almost scary.  “After he had eaten breakfast with them…”    

It appears as though the Apostles make little to no attempt to hide Christ’s humanity – frailty - from the world.  What a welcomed difference from mythical and power-seeking gods!  But why is that?  I think it is because the Lord did not hide it from them.  But why the honesty?  Because there is strength and beauty in weakness and humility.   At first, I suspect the Apostles were a bit taken aback by the fact that God got tired, thirsty and hungry, but then they got over it when he began to walk on water, touch lepers, and multiply bread.  Even back then, these things were unheard of and hardly believable. But the combination of humility and strength, compassion and commandments, made it possible to believe He could experience hunger and thirst and still multiply loaves…for others.

Through careful reading of the Old Testament one begins to notice something interesting:  an overwhelming amount of Scripture is history, not stories; historical accounts of a people (the Jewish people) in an intimate relationship with their God.  The Jews are truly a unique people in the sense that they did not write their own story; rather, they first lived it first and wrote it later, after great reflection and prayer.  In their history they did not attempt to portray a perfect race, a royal people, a deserving people.  They did not try to hide failures among their leaders, failures among the people and failures in their unique relationship with God.  Instead, they openly admitted to them and discussed them and worked hard to avoid them.  The history of the Jewish people is the history of mankind with and without God. 

The New Testament is not a story written by story tellers.  It is history being recorded.  In fact, the “Acts of the Apostles” is a daily, a live up-to-date account of what the Holy Spirit is doing through an ex-fisherman, or ex-Pharisee and tentmaker! 

In today’s first reading, we read how Paul insists on being brought to Rome for trial.  He wants an audience with the Emperor (cf. Acts 25:13-21).  He wants to present his case of the King of the World before the Ruler of this world.   Who does the Lord want you to present His case to?  To your family and friends?  To your school and/or sorority or fraternity?  Your mission may be just as impossible as St. Paul’s!  But we know with God, “nothing is impossible.” 

Of course miracles help reveal who Jesus is.  But if you examine Scripture carefully, you notice almost immediately that miraculous events are told in the same fashion as non-miraculous events: as a matter of fact.  For even non-miraculous events are necessary in order to paint a more complete portrait of the Son of God.  For example:  We are told that Jesus once changed water into wine (for a bride and a groom).  But we are also told He once abstained from any drink for forty days.  Again, we are told He once walked on water.  But we are also told He got into a boat multiple times to cross to the other side.   We are told He multiplied bread.  But we are also told His Apostles got so hungry that they picked the heads of grain from an unknown field.   Only once did a virgin conceive and bear a son; the rest having been intimate with their husband.  Only Christ rose from the dead. None of His Apostles did.

Again, these ex-fishermen and ex-Pharisees are not storytellers.  They are re-telling the story of Jesus Christ and they are reliving their experiences with the Lord.  The Apostles are not writing from the inside out.  They are writing from the outside looking in.  They are witnesses to what they have seen and heard.  They are not creating a love story.  They are getting a firsthand experience of living Love.  They are living it, now and forever. 

Simon Peter, do you love me?   If there is one thing the Lord repeated over and over again, and is covered throughout the Scriptures, it is this absolute necessity to love and to allow God to love you.  For this reason God asked Peter a very pointed question: “Simon Peter, do you love me?” 

What do you think God is asking you?  Based on all these firsthand accounts, I guarantee you it's the same exact thing.   

John 17:20-26 You’re A Gift To Me

Thursday of the Seventh Week of Easter

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Father, they are your gift to me.  I wish that where I am they also may be with me, that they may see my glory that you gave me, because you loved me before the foundation of the world.

A gift to me.  I’m not a very sentimental guy, but the Lord is; and may we never forget that sentiments are a part - a big part - of who we are.  Sentiments sell in the form of poetry, music and art.  Mathematical formulas sell as well, in the form of gadgets.  They are useful, but music is a must!

The Father has given us over to His Son.  We belong to Him.  He is not our slave master.  We are His friends:  “You are my friends.”  He calls us by name.

I wish that where I am they also may be with me.  What any favored Son wishes for, He usually gets.  But it’s different this time.  The Son must earn our trust, and so He goes after it.  He keeps His word, even if it kills Him.  He keeps His promises, even while others break their own.  The Son must earn our love, and so He loves first.  He forgives us, even while we were not in the mood to be forgiven.  He loves us, even while we were not accustomed to being loved, and loved for no reason!

Jesus wants us to be with Him.  He wants us to experience what He experiences.  Not too long ago I mentioned a flight I took from Chicago to Dallas, and all the pain and difficulties I experienced along the way.  I always knew my plane would land in Dallas.  But with my Christian faith, I never quite know where I’m going to land! And so, when I fought against my natural instincts to throw a fit and to complain loudly (and obnoxiously), and forced myself to place myself in God’s hands; that is, in His Commandments, in His rules, in His Way of doing things - to be tied down, to have my hands bound, and my lips shut - I ended up utterly surprised.  I ended up being loved.

“Surprised” is where the Lord wishes us to be.  Heaven is a surprise.  It is where the Lord is, and wherever the Lord is, it is a surprise to find Him there; at least it is for me. 

I’m surprised to find Him in Golgotha and nailed to a Cross.  I’m surprised to find Him in Bethlehem and in a stable.  I’m surprised to find Him among the sick, the lepers, the crippled and the losers.  I’m surprised to find Him in the company of Romans and assisting them.  I’m surprised to find Him forgiving His enemies and persecutors.  God’s don’t do that.  They strike them dead! 

And last but not least, as John Newton put it “I hope to find three types of people in Heaven:  those who I expect to see, those who I never expected to see and myself.”

Because you loved me.  Love is honest.  People who love do not go around telling people what they want to hear; rather, they tell them what they need to hear.  St. Augustine, in his “Confessions”, wrote:  “I was preparing to make an address for praise of the Emperor.  In it I would tell many lies and for my lies men who knew that I was lying would applaud me.”  This is our world, the world of the “public face”; the world of the “public lies”.  We are experiencing this today with a new emperor and those around him.

Why do I believe in Jesus Christ?  Because He knows how to love and to love me.  He captured me.  He rescued me.  I would not be where I am today if it were not for His persistent love.  I would not have left my high paying job, my engineering career, my easy life if it were not for Him. 

The Lord knows how to love us better than we know how to love ourselves.  He does a better job of it than we do, and better than anyone else we know.  He loves others better than we do.  He sheds His skin to prove it. 

It’s obvious:  those who love “the best” simply imitate Him “the most.”

John 17:11-19 Making A Name For Yourself

Wednesday of the Seventh Week of Easter

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Lifting up his eyes to heaven, Jesus prayed, saying:  “Holy Father, keep them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one just as we are one.  …They do not belong to the world any more than I belong to the world.  Consecrate them in the truth.

The Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke beautifully retell the day-to-day life of Jesus Christ, especially his interactions with various types of people.  In contrast, the Gospel of John beautifully penetrates the heart and mind of Jesus Christ and how he consecrated himself to the world…to all of us.

It’s one thing to do your work.  It’s another thing to love your work.  It’s one thing to live your life.  It’s another thing to give your life.  It’s one thing to keep busy.  It’s another thing to keep being meaningful.  It's the difference between surviving and succeeding; breathing and living; a job and a vocation.

Being a mom/dad is not a job.  It is a vocation - not vacation.  Being a priest is not a job.  It is a vocation.  Being a Christian is not just adhering to a set of rules.  It is The Way to Life.

Before someone starts a business, they carefully plan it out.  They take time to make sure they know their business.  They take great pains to get the skills necessary.  They plan this for years and invest the necessary resources to make it happen.  They don’t leave much room for chance.

Do you do the same with your life?  Do you think about it?  Have you dedicated some time to understand it?  I wish we all lived our lives with that same kind of dedication and determination.
Well, the Lord invites us to do just that.  He invites us to consecrate our lives to Him; to set aside our heart, mind, will and strength to Him.   

Keep them in your name.   Your name means a lot more than you think.  It means more than just a convenient “calling card.”  Your name is your reputation.  Your name is - in the deepest sense of the word – your identity.    

Who am I?  Who do I strive to be?  Who do I wish to belong to?  What kind of questions are these???  Very important questions!  Again, no one would ever start a business without having a business plan.  So why in the world do we not have a “business plan” for our lives? 

Nobody likes to be asked questions.  Difficult questions tend put us on the spot.  They force us to either lie or reflect.  Sure, they can make us question our very own intentions and feel uncomfortable, but they will sure save us a lot of heartaches and headaches down the road.

Why are people so stressed today?  Let's face it:  we're not very spiritual.  And the less spiritual you are, the more stressed you are. 

Modern man is a very stressed man!  But I personally consider stress to be a warning sign; it warns me that my "means" have become my "ends" and that I am focusing far too much on myself (and others) and not enough on God.  Stress also reminds me that my priorities need some re-adjusting.

When I did some mission work in the Philippines, I noticed how stress free some very poor people were.  They lived in a true community.  People depended on each other.  They were dependent.  In America, we take pride in being "independent".  But independence can easily lead to loneliness.   
      

Will you leave your life to chance?  Will you throw yourself out there like a fresh piece of meat?  Will you learn the hard way?  Will you learn to listen to and take advice from those who have gone before you?  Will you listen to God? 

You have a name, but your real name is Love.  You are a very special gift of God’s love.  Yes, you can be a natural resource.  But you can also be a supernatural resource.  You can feed the poor or you can love the poor.  You can work from nine-to-five, or you can be available at anytime.

Today, our Lord is inviting us to consecrate (to set apart) our life and all that we do for Him.  A few “names” come to mind:  St. Ignatius, who consecrated His life to the Lord and set to defending The Church through education; St. Francis, who consecrated His life to the Lord and set to rebuilding The Church through humility; Mother Teresa, who consecrated her life to the Lord and set to seeing Christ in the forgotten. 

They all changed their names and made a name for themselves; a name very familiar to all of us:  Jesus Christ (or Love).

John 15:9-17 The Door Swings Both Ways

Feast of St. Matthias

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Jesus said to his disciples:  “As the Father loves me, so I also love you.  Remain in my love.  …I have told you this so that my joy might be in you and your joy might be complete.  This is my commandment:  love one another as I have loved you.”

Today is the feast day of St. Matthias.  I wonder how he reacted when he was chosen.  Did he celebrate, like a politician, with arms raised in victory?  I doubt it.  He must have known better.  He knew what this meant:  sleepless nights, endless nights and most likely a short life, a painful life and certain death (martyrdom).   

There were no surprises for him in what to expect.  The surprise was that he accepted it. 

It’s always worth standing up for what is right, good and holy.  Even to spend some time in prison for Christ is an honor.  To die for him…well, it’s worth a worthy friendship:  “There’s no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”

The door swings both ways.  That’s what someone recently said to me.  They were referring to the fact that even Christians discriminate against non-Christians, or that even Christians deny non-Christians certain things.  They’re right and very wrong.   And let’s not just talk about Christians.  Let’s also talk about God.  Couldn’t we say the same thing about God?  Don’t good people suffer like bad people?  Don’t people die for good reasons and for bad reasons?  The door swings both ways, right?  So, where is God in all of this?  I guess the answer is found in what happens next.  Does the door stay wide open for you or does it swing back hard…and hit you from behind?

The New York Times claims to print “All the news that’s fit to print.”  Well, apparently the multiple murder trial of abortionist Dr. Gosnell was news that was not worth printing; at least not until The Times was called to task over it.  Why the silence?  I will tell you why:  Because there coverage would conflict with their interest.  The New York Times wants you to believe they are reporters and not indoctrinators.  But they are vehemently Pro-Choice, Anti-Catholic and extremely liberal.  And yet they have the audacity to claim to print all the news that’s fit to print.  How bogus!  On the other hand, Catholic newspapers discriminate.  In other words, they select.  They don’t print all the news that’s fit to print.  They print news that is Catholic related.  They make no secret about that.  Yes, the door swings both ways.  That’s true.  But some people get hit from behind.  The New York Times would like you to believe they are all about reporting news.  They swung the door wide open and got hit hard from behind!

Dr. Gosnell was a licensed medical doctor who owned his very own clinic in Philadelphia.  The abortion lobby has been pressing local, state and federal governments to get their hands off their clinics!  They claim they don’t need regulations (that they can regulate themselves); that government regulations make it harder for women to have safe and painless abortions.  Well, they swung the door wide open and got hit from behind.  It turns out Dr. Gosnell was not only operating a filthy clinic, he was routinely murdering full term babies.  Yesterday, a jury convicted him of three counts of first degree murder.  To make matters even more hideous, Dr. Gosnell reportedly laughed and joked to staff while he snipped a baby’s spine [See article:  Warning, very graphic].   Are we to believe that he is the only one that does this?

As a senator, Mr. Obama voted three times against the born alive bill.  As the Governor of Pennsylvania, Tom Ridge refused to have government inspectors inspect abortion clinics, claiming it could infringe on a woman’s right to an abortion.  It is clear the door has not only hit the New York Times from behind but also the abortion lobby (especially the disgracefully silent Planned Parenthood abortion mill industry) as well.  

When it comes to the Church, the Catholic Church’s doors remain wide open.  It promotes life, all life, all forms of life, and all types of life:  good and bad.  It doesn’t claim to make any distinctions between a child born and a child unborn.  It doesn’t claim to make any distinctions between a “deformed” child and a “normal” child.  It doesn’t even claim to make any distinction between a loved child and an unloved child; for an unloved child can easily be loved by another.  It does however make one distinction:  it distinguishes the mother (and father) from the child.

In Ireland, law makers are currently debating a bill that would allow abortions in certain cases.  This new piece of legislation comes after a pregnant woman was wrongfully denied a morally acceptable "abortion" by medical staff.  She died soon afterwards.  Now the anti-Catholic government blames her death on Catholicism and its morals.  But we see with these hypocrites that their door hits them from behind.  Again, in the Gosnell trial, a pregnant woman died during an abortion.  She wasn’t the first.  In fact, an expert witness claims these types of deaths occur.  One expert shockingly said, “People die, you know.”   So the door that hit the media and the abortion mills now hits women from behind as well:  “People die, you know.”   

Now Christians have never claimed that Christianity is safe and painless.  Instead, it has been brutally honest and claimed just the opposite.  Child birth and motherhood are dangerous, but both are worthwhile.      

Freedom of speech and women’s rights are doors that routinely hit people from behind.  We now know that three teens were kidnapped and held hostage for ten years by an individual who would bind them and rape them.  And yet, this type of behavior is a billion dollar industry.  You know that, right?  It’s what the pornographic industry routinely portrays and often with underage looking eighteen-year-olds!  They know their business well:  the younger, the better.  Now aren’t they feeding predators?  Or are we to believe that this type of imagery does not feed (and maybe even create) a few sick minds?  Where is the anger over violent pornography from feminists?  Does it make it any better that it is consensual?  Hardly!  If anything, it makes it even more horrible! 

And yet it is called “art”, and they are called “actors” and “actresses.”  The whole business is called “freedom of expression.”  How polished!  How logical!  This door has swung so far wide that when it hits us, it really hits us…and hits us hard and everywhere:  in our society, in our way of life, in our way of thinking, in our marriages, children and families.  Why are people so shocked?  Did they think they (and their children) wouldn’t get hit one day? 

The door swings both ways, but only hits us one way.    Americans think of themselves as the most open (door) society in the world.  Come on in, our doors are wide open.  Here, you can be different.  You can do whatever makes you happy.  You can be yourself. 

And then they get hit from behind. 

Christians, on the other hand, say walk through the narrow gate.  Be holy.  Love one another as Christ has loved you.  Be another Christ.  No false advertisements.  No hidden doors. 

We shouldn’t be shocked when we teach (or legalize) bad things and our children start doing them.  We should be shocked when we teach good things and our kids start rejecting them!   

The door may swing both ways, but we still only get hit one way:  from behind. 

John 16:29-33 Do Not Be Afraid

Monday of the Seventh Week of Easter

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The disciples said to Jesus, “Behold, the hour is coming and has arrived when each of you will be scattered to his own home and you will leave me alone.  But I am not alone, because the Father is with me.  I have told you this so that you might have peace in me.  In the world you will have trouble, but take courage, I have conquered the world.”

In the world you will have trouble.  But take courage, I have conquered the world.  These are the most comforting words I have ever read in my life.  They speak to me.  They are so important to me. 

When I first came across these words, many years ago, I wrote them down.  I placed them in my pocket.  I placed them on my desk.  I kept them at my fingertips.  Over the years I have referred to them on numerous occasions:  when I have to make an important (or difficult) decision; when I’m frightened; when I’m alone or dejected; when I feel the weight of evil upon my shoulders. 

I must have spoken these words a thousand times.  I love these words.  I love the one who spoke them.  I feel like He spoke them directly to me.

I did.  I said them to you.

I have heard beautiful things all my life.  I have been surrounded by loving people all my life.  But not one thing ever said to me has had the impact these words, spoken long ago, have had on me.  No poet ever spoke them.  No human ever dared to own them.  Only a lamb could ever assume them.   Only God could say them. 

Take courage, I have conquered the world.  Only the Lord Jesus Christ would say such a thing, and at the most awkward of moments:  on the night He was betrayed; his weakest moment. 

Who could grasp such a concept?  Who could trust such words?  Only men of God.  Only men of faith. 

My faith is my response to God’s grace.  It is my personal and proper response to God’s presence in my world.  We walk by faith, knowing perfectly well where it will lead me, but not quite knowing how it will all happen.  Therefore, faith allows God’s story to be played out through me; or better yet, faith allows Christ story to be retold through me.   God wants me to see the Christ I did not see.   Faith allows me to experience what Christ experienced, and in living color. 

Sins continue to repeat themselves.  Why shouldn’t Christ repeat himself?  Pontius Pilate may be dead and gone, but newer and more improved “Pontius Pilates” are alive and well.  The massacre of the innocents did not play out once.  They continue to be played out today, and in even greater numbers.  Romans continue to roam the streets, maybe not in legions but in gangs.  The IRS, like the tax collectors of long ago, continue to extort and persecute those who rub them the wrong way.

Behold, the hour is coming and has arrived when each of you will be scattered to his own home and you will leave me alone.  The hour has come.  Good people flee.  Detractors, well…detract.  Doubters love to sow seeds of doubt.  Can you believe that there are people in this world that would love to share their darkness with you?  Can you believe that there are people in this world that would love to take your faith away?  There are plenty of nasty people in this world that would love to crush you, chew you and spit you out; that wouldn’t think twice about slitting your throat, snipping a baby’s spine, and terrorizing a peaceful city.  Again, there are plenty of people who live in total darkness and would love to share their darkness, rob you of your faith, question your experiences, and lead you to absolutely nothing.  Don’t stay away from them!  Don’t keep your distance!  Are you kidding???  Don’t be afraid.

“In the world you will have trouble.  Take courage, I have conquered the world.”   

Repeat these words.  Memorize them. Teach them to your children.  Share them with your friends.  Take comfort in them.

Luke 24:46-53 Ascension Reloaded

The Ascension of Our Lord Part II

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Jesus led his disciples out as far as Bethany, raised his hands, and blessed them.  As he blessed them he parted from them and was taken up to heaven.

In upstate New York, our Lord’s Ascension is celebrated on a Thursday.  I celebrated it there and then.  In Dallas Texas, the Ascension is celebrated on a Sunday.  So today, I’m celebrating it here and now.  I guess I was wrong when I wrote, “You can’t go back in time.”  I guess in some ways you can.

 Taken up to heaven.  The Apostles saw with their very own eyes Jesus taken up to heaven.  This “taken up” should be taken literally; but it should also be taken figuratively, for grace is very “uplifting”, very “releasing” of earth’s downward pull. 

On the day He was born, the Son of God penetrated earth’s realm.  Today, the Son of Man penetrates heaven’s realm and is taken up into heaven.

Mary’s yes.  This is how it all began.  The Messiah’s story began when a young woman said yes to God.  Mary’s yes allowed the Lord to penetrate our public lives.   He walked with us, spoke to us.  He even listened to us.  And while His smile was always sincere, some of those who smiled back were full of deceit and intrigue.

Who hasn’t been following the news lately of the three young women kidnapped and held hostage for nearly ten years?  But what we find even more shocking is the suspect who did this hideous (“hidden”) crime.  From all the news reports I have read, it appears as though Ariel Castro was a normal looking guy.  He looked “normal”, acted “normal” and spoke “normal”.  He lived a “normal” life.  Even family members never suspected any wrong doing.    

We all have our public face.  But “what you see isn’t necessarily what you get.”  In fact, most likely, “What you don’t see is what you really get!”  That’s what so many of us don’t get! 

The Lord ascended into Heaven and went “private” so that He could penetrate our public face.    He went private so that we could go public!  That is, be who we were created to be! 

During His public ministry, the Lord would enter rooms through an open door.  But after He died, He entered rooms through the wall.  Before His crucifixion, He would walk from one village to another.  But after His resurrection, He traveled throughout the world through His Apostles; by those who received His Spirit.  Pure love, authentic love, is not public; it us private and personal.  True love not only penetrates brick and mortar but most importantly stony hearts. 

Christ’s love story began with so much hope.  Scripture tells us that He came into the world not to condemn the world but to save the world.  Unfortunately, things went terribly wrong.  His love was rejected and people preferred darkness over light.  Even His own people rejected Him.  But the Lord did what He came to do, regardless of the outcome.  He brought hope to the hopeless and love to those who had forgotten how to love.  He brought His message to the humble, not the prideful.  And though His life came to a tragic end, His life remained a great success.  The Ascension of our Lord into heaven is a great ending from a tragic event.  Love conquers all things, including death.   

Don’t worry; you don’t have to be perfect to love someone.  You just have to love someone.   The Lord ascended because He loved us.  The Blessed Virgin Mary was assumed into Heaven because she loved Her Son and said “yes” to her Father. 

We will be taken up into heaven if we love God and love others as He has loved us.