Dear Parishioners of Mary Immaculate and Saint Rose,

This Sunday we celebrate the mystery of the Ascension of Jesus into Heaven.  Even though Jesus has been telling the Apostles that He must be leaving, on the day of the Ascension they seem to be taken by surprise.  One can’t blame them; we all like to get used to things as they are, and it is difficult to deal with change.

Ever since the Resurrection, Jesus has been dropping hints that His time in His bodily form on earth is limited.  He often speaks of going to the Father.  He also says that He must ascend to Heaven in order to send the Advocate. But even as He speaks of going to the Father, Jesus also says that He will always be with us.  It is as if He will be away and present at the same time, which is the mystery of the Ascension.  Jesus goes to be with His Father in Heaven, and yet He remains with us forever.

As believers, we are aware that we live with the mystery of the presence of the Lord.  We know, through faith, that Jesus is always with us.  We see glimpses of His presence all around us in everything that we do.

As a parish community, we celebrated recently First Communion for eight of the children of our parish.  This year I baptized eight children who attend Mary Immaculate School.                               

Last Sunday we celebrated a Baccalaureate Mass in honor of our high school graduates, we recognized our Truman State University graduates, and we had a blessing for our mothers in honor of Mother’s Day.  All of these events are ways that we give glory to Jesus in our midst.  You see it in the eyes of our parishioners, in the tears of the parents of our graduates as they wonder at how quickly the years have passed and how their babies have grown up!  It is in the laughter in reaction to the honest answers given at the First Communion Mass.  It is in the pride of those who bring their children and babies forth to be given to God in the cleansing, life-giving waters of baptism.  The presence of Jesus shines forth to Kirksville and beyond in the worship and prayers of the parishioners of Mary Immaculate.

Today we celebrate that Jesus ascended to the Father.  Today we celebrate the presence of Jesus in our midst.

Msgr. Cox
 
Ascension, Francisco Camilo (1651)