The Ascension: Sacraments show the way

My father grew up in East St. Louis with his older sister Peggy. She decided to marry my Uncle John Flack and wanted to convert to Catholicism. Dad chaperoned Peggy to her weekly instructions with Fr. Weidermeyer, the neighborhood pastor. Their childhood religious instruction was mostly non-existent, but what little there was came from a Congregationalist Christianity.  My dad sat and listened as his sister took instruction. He said that he decided to convert to the Faith because it made so much sense to him. Like many converts, Aunt Peggy and my dad were die hard Catholics. Daily mass, the rosary and Eucharistic Adoration were the keystone of my parent’s life. The doctrine that got my dad’s attention was the whole idea of sacraments.
 
What is a Sacrament?
A sacrament like baptism or Eucharist is a visible sign of unseen grace.
 

“A sacrament is a visible sign [the whole of the sign includes the interpretive word], instituted by Christ, that points to an invisible reality and, through the church and within its life, gives a share in that reality.” Lohfink, Gerhard. No Irrelevant Jesus: On Jesus and the Church Today (p. 189). Liturgical Press. Kindle Edition.

 
A sacrament is touching Christ and him touching you; the connection of heaven and earth.  Dad would tell us kids that Jesus did more than throw the bible down to us and tell us to figure it out if we could. Instead, Christ was still here working among us. Sacraments all point to the purpose of life;

• Don't get sucked into the day to day, only; and

• Live now as God calls you in order to prepare to live life enternally with God. 

Christ Ascends but does not withdraw from us
Today is the Feast of the Ascension. St. Augustine preached,
 

“ He did not leave heaven when he came down to us; nor did he withdraw from us when he went up again into heaven. The fact that he was in heaven even while he was on earth is borne out by his own statement: No one has ever ascended into heaven except the one who descended from heaven, the Son of Man, who is in heaven.”

 
Our Lord never left his Father when he became a human person, a baby. He didn’t leave us when he ascended into heaven in his glorified body. Jesus is somewhere, both in heaven and on earth, working through the Holy Spirit for our salvation. Jesus is both transcendent and immanent; both in heaven and present on earth. We are not alone.
 
The Gospel of Mark recounts that the last thing he said to his disciples after his Resurrection and before his Ascension was,
 

  “ ‘Go out to the whole world; proclaim the Good News to all creation. He who believes and is baptised will be saved; he who does not believe will be condemned.” Luke 16.

 
St. Paul’s letter to the Ephesians states that the gifts Christ gave the Church are for building up Christ's body on earth. St. Luke said that the Church would receive “power” from on high. Baptism, building the body of Christ and power, all for the sake of the kingdom.

The Church is the basic Sacrament
The Church is the basic sacrament, according to Theologian Fr. Romano Guardini. Only in the community of faith do we have access to the Risen Christ. Jesus did not write a book he sent witnesses; disciples to make disciples. The seven sacraments are expressions of what it means to be part of the Church, Christ’s body.

• Baptism forgives our sins, but also we find communion with God and with one another. Jesus sent his disciples to gather us in through the mystery of baptism.

• The Sacrament of Reconciliation releases us from sin that separates us from God and the Church. That is why the absolution of the priest says through the “ministry of the Church, may God give you pardon and peace…”

• Confirmation gives us a share in the life of the Spirit that is shared with all those confirmed.

• Eucharist is communion with the Holy Trinity, Divine Life, and through the presence of Christ, communion with the whole Church living and dead.

• Holy Orders is Christ working through the priest in persona Christi capitis.

• Matrimony is the visible image of the unseen reality of the marriage of Christ and the Church. That is the significance of the story of the wedding at Cana.

A sacrament separated from the Church is like a plant uprooted from its native soil.  We relate to God in and through community. The sacraments make the Divine Life present in our community.

Sacraments and the Banquet
All sacraments work through a physical reality to make present the power of God. The Ascension is the image that Christ and his kingdom is among us. The sacraments are the presence of God’s kingdom in our life. Every sacrament is a festival. It is why we always have a party after the first reception of a sacrament. Baptism, confirmation, first communion, holy orders and marriage are an occasion for rejoicing. To my knowledge, my ordination party was the first in the history of our Diocese to have a jumping castle for the children that came. There were tensions, however. My mom, a cradle Catholic, was excitedly preparing for my ordination party and all her side of the family was coming. My dad, teasing her, asked her why she was making such a big deal about it. Mom shot back, “What do you know about it, you convert!”
 
The Eternal Banquet: The Anointing of the Sick

That of course leaves the anointing of the sick. When received just before death, as often it is, the party is to follow, we hope, in the presence of God and his kingdom. Jesus didn’t write anything in his life. The Gospel says that he left his disciples as his witnesses. They and their disciples gave us our book, the New Testament. They left us the practice of the sacraments. The Gospel of John recounts concerning the mystery of the Eucharist,

“Jesus said to them, "Very truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.” John 6:53.

The Church still shows the Way to Eternal Life. My dad, who loved the Eucharist, told us that Jesus didn’t just throw the bible down in the middle of the street as he ascended, leaving us to figure it out. He left us the sacraments to help us on the way.