“We cannot remain inactive, because our Lord has told us clearly, Trade till I come.”

Jesus has gone up to heaven, as we have seen. But a Christian can talk with him, in prayer and in the Eucharist, as the twelve Apostles talked with him. –St. Josemaria Escriva

Gospel text: (Jn 16:5-11 )

Jesus said to his disciples:
“Now I am going to the one who sent me,
and not one of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’
But because I told you this, grief has filled your hearts.
But I tell you the truth, it is better for you that I go.
For if I do not go, the Advocate will not come to you.
But if I go, I will send him to you.
And when he comes he will convict the world
in regard to sin and righteousness and condemnation:
sin, because they do not believe in me; 
righteousness, because I am going to the Father
and you will no longer see me;
condemnation, because the ruler of this world has been condemned.”

How can he go, yet still remain?

This mystery was explained by Pope Benedict XVI Emeritus: «Given that God embraces and sustains the whole cosmos, the Lord's Ascension means that Christ has not gone far away from us, but now, thanks to the fact that He is with the Father, He is close to each one of us forever».

Our hope is in Jesus Christ. His conquest of death gave us the life that death can never destroy. His resurrection is verification that the spiritual realm is real. Nothing can separate us from the love of God. Nothing can diminish our hope. The imperfect world we live in, a world where the innocent suffer, can point us to pessimism. But Jesus Christ has transformed us into eternal optimists.

Today in the Gospel Jesus says something truly shocking: "I tell you the truth, it is better for you that I go. For if I do not go, the Advocate will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you."

The importance of the Holy Spirit in our life as Catholics cannot be overstated.

If we wish to understand the faith, if we wish to live it, if we wish to pass it on, we must allow ourselves to be guided by the Holy Spirit, even if we are beginning as adults. For us, the "great unknown" must become the "great known," the teacher, the leader, the consoler, the advocate.

"Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and kindle in us the fire of your love!"