Homily on the Ascension
Look Up
May 9, 2024
Not too
long ago, a man in Philadelphia accidentally fell onto some train tracks…because
he was distracted looking at his cell phone. Thankfully he was okay, but it
just goes to show the dangers of not looking up!
Cell
phones are not the only things that keep our eyes glued to the earth. Any good
thing can tie our hearts to this world and prevent our souls from flying to the
heights of holiness. Consider – where does gold come from? It comes from the dirt
of the earth. Where does grace come from? It comes from the very Throne of God.
Which should be more valuable? Or consider - where does food end up going? Into
the sewer. Where does the Heavenly Food of the Eucharist take us? To Heaven.
Which one, then, should we be more concerned about?
This feast
urges us to keep our eyes on Heaven, where Jesus is. He was like us in all
things but sin, but took our frail humanity with Him into Heaven to show us
that our final destiny is to be there, as well. Yes, Jesus came down to our
mess, but He didn’t leave us in our mess – rather, He made our human nature
truly able to contain glory and real holiness!
Anything
we do, we should strive for the heights. Like most kids, I dreamed about being
a major league baseball player. I wanted to hit .400, slug 50 home runs a
season, and make it to the Hall of Fame. But imagine if a kid said, “Yeah, my
goal is to play center field…for the local minor league team!” Why would we set
our sights so low? Why would we be happy settling for mediocrity, when we were
made for greatness?
It
drives me crazy when people say, “Ah, Father, I just hope to make it to
purgatory by the skin of my teeth.” Why aim so low, when we were called to
become saints? After all, if you aim for Heaven and you miss, you end up in Purgatory;
but if you aim for Purgatory and you miss, you end up in Hell!
One of
my favorite holy people will be canonized a saint next year: Blessed Pier
Giorgio Frassati will be named a saint in 2025. I love him because he was a
great outdoorsman and hiker, and he had a phrase he would often repeat: “Verso
l’alto!” (To the top!). That was his motto in mountaineering, and his motto in
life – strive, not to wallow in the valley where the path is flat and easy and
comfortable and doesn’t require much of us, but be willing to strive for the
heights of holiness, which is difficult and taxing, but once we are upon the
heights of holiness – what a view we will have – not the view from a mountain
peak but to see the very Face of God!
So what
must we do? We must “look up”. Put down the cell phone and pray. Stop working eighty
hours a week, and start volunteering. Consume media that is truly beautiful,
not just entertaining. Spend time with your family, and in nature. Care more
about your soul than about your bank account or your physical appearance. Go on
a retreat; take a pilgrimage; live simplicity and chastely and humbly before
God.
CS Lewis
once said, “Aim at heaven, and you will get earth thrown in. Aim at earth, and
you will get neither.”
Look up,
and see our destiny.
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