T he feast of the Ascension brings our Easter Season to a close and opens up for us the celebration of Pentecost and the gift of the Holy Spirit. The seasons of the Church’s year are like life. When one door closes another door opens. The ending of one aspect of the life of God gives way to the beginning of another new and exciting aspect of the life of God.

Our infancy ended to only give way to the joys of childhood and youth. Our youthful days ended so that the challenges and achievements of adulthood could come to be. Then as one aspect of our adulthood comes to an end the wisdom and contentment of old age becomes a possibility for us.

Of course, for many people the new possibilities of greater joy, challenge, achievement, wisdom and contentment do not always come to fruition. Poverty, injustice, discrimination and false ideologies sometimes make our human ascension to new possibilities an impossibility.

Because of these human realities the Ascension story of Jesus provides we human beings with great hope – A hope that transcends every injustice and every false ideology. Jesus lived, died, rose and ascended to open up the possibility that we might receive an even greater gift of the spirit.

It is this gift, which was made possible by the Risen Lord’s departure from our physical world that enables us to rise up against injustice and to challenge those false ideologies that do not respect human dignity.

On this Sunday, 13th May 2018, we also celebrate Mothers’ Day. Today we honour our mothers who taught us so much about the great gift of human dignity and the joy of life.

HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY!