Yesterday we celebrated
First Holy Communion here at Our Lady of Lourdes. One hundred and fifty three
of our young people received Jesus in Holy Communion yesterday for the first
time. Many of them will be here today for Second Communion. They have come to
meet Jesus again and so have we. We have come here to meet Jesus again.
Today we celebrate the
Ascension of the Lord Jesus. Forty days after his resurrection, Jesus ascends
to the glory of the Father. He returns to the right hand of the All Powerful
Father because his work is accomplished. He has conquered sin. He has conquered
death. He has claimed the victory. Jesus now enters the temple of heavenly
glory.
But he still has the
marks of his passion. He still bears the wounds in his hands, his feet, and his
side. Jesus still has the marks of one who has suffered. But now in the glory
of the kingdom, the wounds of Jesus are trophies of victory. Each of his wounds
is now radiant in glory. The wounds are not signs of defeat; they are trophies
of victory.
And though Jesus has
ascended to the Father, he has promised to remain with us always. Jesus has promised
to meet us. We have not been abandoned. With the ascension of the Lord Jesus,
the power and the presence of his earthly ministry flow into the sacraments. Jesus
ascends to heaven and he extends his power. He is taken from sight but he still
comes to meet us.
In every sacramental
celebration, we meet Jesus. We are offered a personal encounter with the Risen
Lord. Like Saint Paul on the road to
Damascus, we meet Jesus. Like the disciples on the road to Emmaus, we meet
Jesus. Like Mary Magdalene at the tomb, we meet Jesus. Each of us is offered an
encounter with the Risen Lord. Our encounter with the Risen Lord is no less
real than the encounter of those who walked with him in Jerusalem. The way that
we meet Jesus is different, but the One we meet is the same. We meet the Lord
Jesus in the sacraments.
We celebrate the
sacraments together; we receive them individually. These moments of grace, where God in his love
and mercy has promised to act in a particular way, are personal. One by one we were baptized and one by one we
were confirmed. One by one we are
absolved in the Sacrament of Reconciliation and one by one we receive the holy
anointing. One by one we receive the
precious body and blood of the Lord in Holy Communion. The promise of the Lord Jesus which is
offered to all of us, is received by each of us. Jesus comes to meet you and
me.
Jesus comes to meet you
and me in our joys. Jesus comes to meet you and me in our sorrows. Jesus comes
to meet you and me in the wounds that we want to hide. Sometimes we want to
keep our wounds from Jesus. We want to hide the hurt. We want to hide the pain.
We want to hide the grief. We want to hide the shame. We want to hide the
wounds . . . until we meet the one who is wounded. Our fear falls away when we
look at the wounds of Jesus. He wants to meet me and meet you where we are
broken. There is where Jesus will claim the victory. There is where the power
that conquered sin and death and fear and shame will triumph.
Jesus meets us where we
are broken. Now we will meet Jesus in the breaking of the bread. Amen.
