The Solemnity of the Ascension
June 1, 2025
Sometimes in faith, we know what will ultimately matter, and we are asked to trust God as to when and how God’s providence and our good will be revealed. Of course, that doesn’t stop many of us from trying to predict the future based on what we see happening around us. I once heard this exchange between two older gentlemen in a grocery store: "Those new credit cards with the chips in ‘em--it’s the mark of the beast, right out of Revelation--yeah, I know, that’s what they’re saying! This is it!
It was not the time or the place to talk with strangers about their understanding of the last things, or try to ease their worries. (To be clear, the way these gentlemen understood the book of Revelation and Christ’s return one day is fundamentally different from Catholic teaching). Despite of that, my mind immediately filled in some of Jesus’ words from Acts 1, found in today’s first reading for the Solemnity of the Ascension as an answer to their concerns.
The two men in the store wanted to know what to look for as a sign that the world would be fundamentally changing. Similarly, in the first reading from Acts for the Solemnity of the Ascension, the apostles wanted to know: “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” Jesus had defeated death itself in the Resurrection. Maybe by the apostles’ calculations, all “the signs” pointed now toward the defeat of the Roman Empire that had long crushed Israel. Maybe we look to the news or to the future, expecting hints.
However, Jesus’ answer surprises the apostles. “It is not for you to know the times or seasons that the Father has established by his own authority.” We might also think of some of the passages in the Gospels that speak similarly but of Christ’s return: “You know neither the day nor the hour. So stay awake!” (Matthew 25:13).
Jesus makes it clear to the Apostles that while it is not for us to know the times and seasons of the exact nature of the Father’s plans, they (and we) were not left empty-handed spiritually when Jesus returned to the Father. The Holy Spirit given to the Church at Pentecost will comfort, guide, and lead the Church. “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, throughout Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
We do not need to stand looking at the sky like the disciples after the Ascension, or read news stories as if they are tea leaves cluing us in to Christ’s return like the men in the grocery store. We can instead try to cooperate with what is good, true, and beautiful in all seasons and can take heart knowing that whatever may come we will be given the grace we need, like St. Paul wishes for his readers in today’s second reading:
May the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory,
give you a Spirit of wisdom and revelation
resulting in knowledge of him.
May the eyes of your hearts be enlightened,
that you may know what is the hope that belongs to his call,
what are the riches of glory
in his inheritance among the holy ones,
and what is the surpassing greatness of his power
for us who believe.
As we celebrate the solemnity of the Ascension, may we take comfort in knowing that whatever may come, Jesus has gone before us to prepare a place for us (John 14:3) and that we are given the grace needed to be witnesses of God’s love to the ends of the earth.
Hope Zelmer
Hope Zelmer is a writer and a former theology teacher and campus minister at Fenwick High School, a Dominican Catholic preparatory school in Oak Park, Illinois. Hope has written for publications such as FaithND, Church Life Journal, and FemCatholic. She holds a BA and MA in Theology from the University of Notre Dame.
