On the Ascension of Jesus ~ Worldliness/Humility

This is one of my favorite books for meditating on the Life of Christ. 

My Meditation on the Gospel ~ Confraternity of the Precious Blood

ON THE ASCENSION OF JESUS —WORLDLINESS

1. Jesus at table with His Apostles for the last time.
2. The grace of complete trust, my King.

The forty days of the Master’s resurrected life were drawing to a close. Jesus had made His Apostles gradually used to the idea of His leaving them for good.

He was not with them all the time now. He appeared to them at different times and different places, reviewed their studies in His teaching and laid down the guiding rules for the Church and the Sacraments. But now before He left them, He wanted to dine with them once more.

So back they went to the old familiar setting in the Upper Room. Their joy was overflowing now. Jesus’ success seemed so complete that they toyed again with thoughts of a worldly kingdom.

As soon as Jesus reminded them to wait in Jerusalem for the Holy Spirit to come upon them with power, the unexpressed thoughts and ambitions were put into words: “Lord, wilt Thou at that time restore the kingdom to Israel?”

It was such a blow to Jesus. After all His teaching! After all His efforts to make them spiritual men! And they still thought in terms of worldly success and material show.

 He was patient still. There was no complaint—He didn’t even answer their question directly. The Holy Spirit would teach them all things. He just continued His instructions. It was not for them to know the times or the dates, not for them to know the results; just for them to do their part, “to bear witness to Him to the ends of the earth.”

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Dear Master, worldliness is an insidious evil — like fine dust that can work its way into the cleanest room no matter how tightly we close the windows.

 It comes gradually but steadily until it covers the bright lustre of our faith and charity with its dull ugliness. And we begin to measure success in terms of comforts and money, in terms of appearances and worldly splash!

We forget spiritual values — the good of souls, the redemptive value of suffering the success of failure. We forget the measure and the standard of the Cross.

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O my Lord, I must be honest with myself on this score. Haven’t pure spiritual motives given way in me to the pull of natural likes and dislikes? Have not worldly honors and praise and flattery become very dear to me? And am I not very impressed by people with money and worldly position?

The dust of worldliness has seeped into my soul and covered all the fine ideals. I consider that I’m a success when people praise me; that I’m a failure when my plans don’t work out: And suffering I consider a sorrow! I have come to look upon them as the worst evils, things to be avoided at all costs.

Dear Holy Spirit, come with Your strong wind of refreshing faith and blow away the dust of worldliness. Let me see that sorrows can make me like Jesus. Teach me that only success is doing all for the love of Him. Let me live by faith once again!

ASCENSION OF JESUS (2)—HUMILITY

1. Jesus blessing each one before His Ascension.
2. The grace, my Lord, of true humility.

After the supper in the Upper Room had ended, Jesus led the Apostles, Mary and the women and some of the disciples out of the city towards Olivet. They must have recalled the sorrowful journey along that same route on Holy Thursday. Now all was so different!

And yet as they walked along, there was a bit of sorrow. They couldn’t help but feel that something was going to happen.

The formality of the supper they had just finished, the discussions, all so reminiscent of Holy Thursday, made them feel that He was about to leave them again.

They came to the top of Olivet. All was beautiful in the warm sunshine; the trees and flowers were in bloom. Jesus went to each of them and said His farewell. They were choked up. They had so much to say, and yet somehow or other they couldn’t say a word of it.

Then before their eyes, He was lifted up. And as they gazed at Him, lost in wonder, a cloud took Him from their sight. And in His place came two angels to bring back their thoughts to this world and to the work that was yet unfinished.

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Dear Master, this scene gives me a good overall picture of what life with You entails. In this one scene the Apostles have all the joy and thrill of victory and all the ache and loss of separation from You.

You teach by action as well as by word that those who follow You must be ready for both joy and sorrow.

True humility, my King, means accepting this wholeheartedly. We are creatures—in a world darkened by original sin—and therefore must have our share of ups and downs, of success and failure, of friends and enemies.

This is our lot, simply as creatures. And when we add to that the fact that we are followers of a crucified King, then suffering is a necessary part of our transformation into Your image. For Christians, there are greater joys and deeper sorrows—many times both on the very same occasion.

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Dear Lord, what peace true humility would bring into my life! How completely it would end resentment, anxieties, sulkiness and all those other negative emotions that kill peace in my heart.

The obstacle is my pride, which just can’t tolerate failure in myself or faults in others; pride which just can’t see why things should go wrong when I took the pains to plan everything so well!

Won’t You teach me, my King! Let me stand there and watch You ascend into Heaven. Let me feel what they felt — all the joy of it, and all the sorrow. Lord, let me realize what it means to be a Christian, and then I’ll be happy to receive all that You send me. Take me, risen, glorious King! Send me what You will!

“When children are taught that their chores can be prayer….that the drudgery can be applied to the sufferings of some other child somewhere, who has no bed to make, who must spend his nights curled up in a hole, shivering, starved, unhappy, and with no one to care for him…those same chores can be changed into great spiritual joy!” -Mary Reed Newland, How to Raise Good Catholic Children

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