Grow as a Disciple: Pray, Study, Engage, Serve

In today’s first reading, we hear how Moses, obedient to God’s command, ascends Mount Sinai early in the morning. Up at the summit, the Lord appears to Moses in a cloud and shares his name with Moses: “LORD” (in Hebrew, the tetragrammaton, the unspeakably holy divine name).

Grow as a Disciple: Pray, Study, Engage, Serve

The Solemnity of Pentecost is about the gift of the Spirit in our lives. St. Paul reminds us that despite the variety of gifts we have received, we are one Body. To make sense of this, consider that on a human level, some of us are introverts, while others are extroverts. Each personality type has particular gifts and struggles. Sometimes, our differing personality types can grate on each other, causing tension.

This year, I cannot help but notice how kingdom-centric the readings for the Solemnity of the Ascension are. In our first reading, Jesus appears to his disciples for forty days after his resurrection and speaks to them about the kingdom of God. Our psalm beckons us to rejoice that God is mounting his throne – another kingdom image! Our second reading tells us that God has given Christ authority over “every principality, power, and dominion” – a clear sign that he is the one reigning over all.

Several years ago, while praying in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament, I heard the words, “I just couldn’t bear to leave you.” It was one of the clearest responses to prayer that I have experienced, and it occurred at a time when I was feeling incredibly lonely. I have spent years reflecting on those words, which resurface often as I receive Christ in the Eucharist. In the Gospel today, I hear echoes of those words again as Christ explains to the Apostles the many ways in which they – and we – will not be abandoned after his ascension into heaven.

When the needs of ministry became overwhelming, the Apostles did not say they would sleep less or pray less in order to have more time to serve others. Instead, they appointed leaders from the community to help so they could continue to devote themselves to prayer and preaching. This reminds me of a story I read about Saint Teresa of Calcutta, in which the sisters of the Missionaries of Charity asked to be excused from the mandatory daily Holy Hour because the needs of the poor were so overwhelming.