Ascension of our Lord

Catherine of Siena and Francis of Assisi have to be two of my favorite saints.  to be sure both hold a very important place in our Church, but even more so, their lives were bold and faithful.  In the reading from the Acts of the Apostles, the disciples are told to stop staring up into the sky and get busy about the mission entrusted to them.  In Matthew, Jesus mandates his Disciples, that would be us, to go to the ends of the earth, baptizing, and proclaiming what is true, good and beautiful. 

Catherine and Francis found themselves in challenging times for the Church.  We could no longer afford to simply 'be' on the top of a mountain, but needed to respond to the immediate crisis at hand in all that we had seen and heard.  In a time and place where me and women wandered in darkness, holy people such as Catherine and Francis brought light and hope to peoples. 

On this feast, and at this time in our Church we are in need of lively witnesses.  The temptation is to remain on the mountain, or even to revert back to a time and place we are familiar with, but that can never serve the Church.  We have to die to our desires, sinfulness, and doubts, and become proclaimers of truth.  We are today enamored with sound-bytes that can make us question our legitimacy.  So we fall back on the Gospel, and the Paschal Mystery. 

Jesus entrusts the Church to the frail yet faithful disciples.   We continue the work of the Church baptizing in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.