He is with Us

“Then he led them out as far as Bethany, raised his hands, and blessed them. As he blessed them he parted from them and was taken up to heaven.”

Luke 24:50-51

First published as “Jesus Did Not Leave” on May 21, 2023.

In many parts of the country, the Church celebrates the Ascension of Our Lord on the Seventh Sunday of Easter. Usually on Ascension Thursday or in many places the Sunday following the Ascension, we celebrate the day Jesus ascended into Heaven, returning to the Father to prepare a place for us all in His Father’s house. It is important to note that Jesus ascended into Heaven and yes, He returned to the Father, but He did not leave us.

After His Resurrection, Jesus stayed on earth for another 40 days, appearing to His disciples, perhaps preparing them for His ascension by reminding them of all He had taught them and encouraging them to keep the faith. When the 40 days came to an end, He ascended into Heaven but assured the disciples that, “I am with you always” even until the end of the age. So, did Jesus contradict Himself when He said this? His actions certainly did not match His words. How can He say He is with us always when He is literally going up into the sky? But we know that there can be no contradiction. There must be something deeper. There must be a more profound reality and truth here.

If Jesus said He remains with us always then He must mean it. Perhaps not in the same way He has been with the disciples, but a presence nonetheless. Jesus had promised to send the Holy Spirit (and, we celebrate this on Pentecost Sunday, next week!). The Holy Spirit is who remains with us and who makes Jesus present to us. For Catholics, at the Mass, it is the Holy Spirit who makes Jesus present in the Eucharist. For the baptized, we have received the Holy Spirit, and so Jesus remains with us always. So, when Jesus ascended into Heaven, He did not leave us, in fact, He remained with us in a way that is most personal — in our hearts, in our beings, and in our minds. Jesus is present in the Sacraments and so whenever we receive the Sacraments we experience a personal encounter with the Lord.

We can also understand this on a more human level. When we are away from our loved ones, we know they are still present in our lives. We can call them and write to them. Physical distance does not diminish their presence in our lives. Even when loved ones pass from this world, their presence does not diminish. If we truly believe in eternal life and in the Communion of Saints, then our deceased loved ones are present to us in a much realer way than ever before. We pray for them and they pray for us. We are bound together in faith and by the Holy Spirit. So, the same Jesus who died on the Cross, is the same Jesus who ascended into Heaven, and He is the same Jesus who remains with us today. Never doubt that Jesus is with you. Close your eyes and call out to Him. He is there. Go frequent the Sacraments — He is there. Kneel before the Blessed Sacrament — He is there. Look at your family and friends — He is there.

No, when Jesus ascended into Heaven He did not leave us, He chose to remain with us in a way that He could not before. He was by your side yesterday, is by your side today, and will be by your side tomorrow and always.

Good Shepherds

“My sheep hear my voice;
I know them, and they follow me.”

John 10:27

Just a few days ago, on May 8, 2025, the Church founded by the Good Shepherd, built upon Peter, welcomed her 266th Successor of St. Peter, the Vicar of Christ, the Visible Head of the Church on earth — Pope Leo XIV.

The Fourth Sunday of Easter is also know as “Good Shepherd Sunday” because the Church proclaim the Gospel passage where Jesus says He is the Good Shepherd. How providential it is that on the first Sunday after the election of Pope Leo XIV is Good Shepherd Sunday. Perhaps it serves as an affirmation by the Spirit that Pope Leo is indeed the Successor of St. Peter, the Chief Shepherd of Jesus’s flock here on earth. At the same time it may also be a reminder for Pope Leo that he ought to imitate the Good Shepherd in his ministry and that it is not he who is shepherding the Church but that it is the Good Shepherd Himself through him.

As members of the Body of Christ, as sheep of the flock of the Good Shepherd, do we know the Voice of the Good Shepherd? Are we attentive to His Voice? He knows us, but do we know Him? If we do not know His Voice, we cannot know Him. If we do not know Him, we will not follow Him.

What are the voices we are listening to? Are the voices we are listening to and the shepherds we are following reflect the Voice of the Good Shepherd? Do these voices affirm our identity as beloved sons and daughters? Do these voices move us to love and mercy and service? Do these voices bring us closer to God?

If we truly are listening to the Voice of the Good Shepherd then how we live ought to show it. The Voice of the Good Shepherd is love and mercy. As sheep of the Good Shepherd we are called to love God and neighbor as ourselves. We must not be afraid of standing up for and defending the Truth, the Truth that is the Good Shepherd. Like Paul and Barnabas who preached Jesus Christ crucified even when told not to and was driven out of the city, we must be relentless in proclaiming the Truth and living out love and mercy.

May we listen to the Voice of the Good Shepherd so that we nay in turn become the good shepherds He has called us to be, configuring our hearts to His, loving those entrusted to our care, and bringing the Good News to all.

Watch this week’s reflection below.

We Must Dare

“None of the others dared to join them, but the people esteemed them.”

Acts 5:13

Every Second Sunday of Easter we celebrate “Divine Mercy Sunday” since Pope St. John Paul II instituted it in the year 2000. The readings for this Sunday is always the account of Jesus appearing to the Apostles behind locked doors not once by twice and where Thomas doubts the Lord. Why did Thomas doubt? Did he really not believe that the Lord has risen and would need to see His wounds and touch His side in order to believe or was it a gut reaction that was not really thought out? In the Gospels we read in several places of Thomas’s inquisitiveness. For example, he asks Jesus since they [the Apostles] did not know where He was going, how they could know the way, to which Jesus responded “I am the way, the truth, and the life” (cf. Jn 14:4-6). So sometimes our doubt may not really by an expression of a lack of faith but maybe one of confusion. Regardless, Jesus takes the time to listen and explain to Thomas, and He does the same for us, if only we would take time to listen.

The mercy of God is as vast and boundless as the sea, and our sins are put away from us as the far as the east is from the west (cf. Psalm 103:12). We need not allow the weight of our sins to keep us from turning to Jesus. We need not allow our doubts to keep us from asking Jesus the questions that trouble our hearts. We need not allow our shame and guilt to keep us from communion with God and His Church. In the first reading we hear how the people did not dare to join them [the Apostles] although they “esteemed them.”

Brothers and sisters, if we truly are an Easter People, then we must not be afraid to shout from the rooftops that Jesus Christ is Risen and that He is Lord! We must not be afraid to show that we are the beloved sons and daughters of a Father who sent His only begotten Son into the world so that may might die no more. We must DARE to proclaim boldly in our speech and action and by the way we live that we are Christians! We must dare live in a manner that accepts, believes, and shares in the divine mercy with which God envelops us. It is not enough to know it in our minds and in our hearts — we must do. We must take time to listen to the Lord so that we may truly receive this love and mercy and in turn share them with those around us. We must be doers of the faith. We must not only esteem the Christians who go before us, but rather be the Christians the Lord’s death and resurrection has allowed us to become.

Blessed Divine Mercy Sunday!