Denver Newsroom, 30 May, 2022 / 10:40 am (ACI Africa).
Reflecting on the feast of the Ascension, Pope Francis on Sunday discussed the two acts that Christ performed immediately before ascending into heaven: he announced the gift of the Holy Spirit, and blessed his apostles.
The pope said focusing on these acts can help us to understand the meaning and importance of the Ascension.
“[A]s he makes his ‘exodus’ to Heaven, Christ ‘makes way’ for us, he goes to prepare a place for us and, from this time forth, he intercedes for us, so that we may always be accompanied and blessed by the Father,” Pope Francis told the crowds gathered in St. Peter’s Square May 29.
The pope noted that Christ “does not want to limit our freedom” by his presence. “On the contrary, he leaves space to us, because true love always generates a closeness that does not stifle, is not possessive, is close but not possessive; on the contrary, true love which makes us protagonists,” the pope said.
“And so, ascending to Heaven, instead of remaining beside a few people with his body, Jesus becomes close to all with the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit makes Jesus present in us, beyond the barriers of time and space, to make us his witnesses in the world.”
