Brothers,
There is something deeply human about the Ascension.

The Apostles stand staring into the sky after Christ disappears from their sight, almost frozen in loss. The Lord they walked with, ate with, laughed with, and touched in His risen body is no longer physically before them. Anyone who has stood at the grave of a loved one, walked away from a funeral, or watched a loved leave this life understands that silence.

Years ago, after the funeral of a close fellow officer, after the bagpipes fell silent, several of us simply stood outside staring into the distance. No one wanted to leave. Moving forward somehow meant accepting life had changed forever.

That is the tension of the Ascension.

Yet the versions of Luke and Matthew reveal something powerful for us as Deacons of Christ the Servant.

Luke tells us that as Jesus ascends, He raises His hands in blessing! The last thing the Apostles see is not Christ leaving, and the bottoms of His feet, but Christ blessing. Those hands still reach the world through us: in baptisms, funerals, hospital rooms, prisons, marriages, and quiet acts of charity.

Matthew gives us the mission:
“Go, therefore, and make disciples…”. The Ascension is not Christ abandoning the earth. It is Christ entrusting His mission to His Church.

And then come the angels’ words:
“Why are you standing there looking at the sky?”

Brothers, do not cling to what was. The Holy Spirit is coming. The Ascension teaches the difference between terminal death and paschal death. One ends life; the other transforms it.

As Deacons, we carry both suffering and resurrection. We know loss, but we also know hope.  And Christ’s final promise remains our strength:

“I am with you always.”

Not was.

Am.

Christ the Servant still walks with His Deacons.  Amen. Alleluia.

In Christ the Servant + Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam
Receive + Believe + Teach + Practice