The point of having an open mind, like having an open mouth, is to close it on something solid.

Oh, how great peace and quietness would he possess who should cut off all vain anxiety and place all his confidence in God. -- Thomas à Kempis (ca. 1380-1471), priest, monk and writer.

Gospel Text: (MT 28:16-20)
The eleven disciples went to Galilee,
to the mountain to which Jesus had ordered them.
When they saw him, they worshiped, but they doubted.
Then Jesus approached and said to them,
“All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations,
baptizing them in the name of the Father,
and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit,
teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.
And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.”

Eyes That See………………………………………

We often harbor the illusion that if only we were able to see the Risen Jesus with our own eyes, we would be firm believers. The brief gospel account of the Lord’s Ascension should cause us to pause. As the Eleven gather on the mountain in Galilee and catch sight of Jesus, the gospel relates: “When they saw him, they worshiped, but they doubted.” They actually see him, they know he is alive, yet their faith is not as firm as we might have imagined!

How striking, then, are St. Paul’s words in his Letter to the Ephesians when he prays: “May the eyes of your hearts be enlightened, that you may know what is the hope that belongs to his call. . . .”(Eph 1:18) St. Paul reveals that there is a different kind of seeing, leading to a deeper kind of knowing. The inner heart has “eyes” that see, a gift of the “Spirit of wisdom and revelation.” These eyes give sure knowledge of the hope that is ours, the hope of sharing in the glory that is our destiny.

We who live in the post-Pentecost times have all been enlightened through that one Holy Spirit. We possess the new eyes and the certain hope that the Eleven had yet to discover when they gathered on the mountain top. Are we aware that all of us already possess these inner eyes? If so, are we exercising those inner eyes or have they become atrophied? Do we claim the hope that is ours? On this Ascension Day, let us make St. Paul’s prayer our own: Lord God, enlighten the eyes of our hearts, that we may know the hope that is ours!