May 23-24, 2009
The Ascension of the Lord – USA Memorial Day Weekend
Acts 1:1-11 Ephesians 1:17-23 Mark 16:15-20
No matter how big the party, eventually things begin to wind down. The picnics and festivities of this Memorial Day Weekend have been planned, the food and beverages are being consumed…and eventually people will stretch and start to get back to ‘normal’ as they prepare for a resumption of the work-week. So too, the Easter Season has lingered since April 12th as we have explored the Resurrection and come to some fresh understandings of the empty tomb. Our commemoration of the Ascension of Jesus marks the end of Jesus’ physical presence among us. What began with a long-ago miraculous birth in Bethlehem now is entrusted to the care and feeding of mere mortals. One era is ending…and with the Ascension of Jesus, the Church prepares to be born with the outpouring of next week’s Holy Spirit of Pentecost. Living as we do in this present manifestation of the Church, we continue to tell the story of Jesus, drive out demons, speak new languages (like the language of compassion, inclusion, diversity, forgiveness, etc.), handle deadly serpents (especially the two-legged kind), drink deadly things (you name it, anything and everything is available in modern America…) and yet people are still emerging from their darkness’s and finding the light of Christ. Ascension is also a good time to pause and take stock of the moments of transition in our own lives, sort of a reflective opportunity to more clearly see the things that have come and gone over the years. Once we were children, then we were teens, then we were adults; once we were employed, now we are retired; once we were married, now we are divorced or separated, etc. Keeping in mind that the ‘grace of God is in all things’, how has the presence of Jesus been apparent in your ‘ascension moments’?
Welcome and thank you for joining with our Corpus Christi Catholic-Christian Community on this Memorial Day weekend. Please accept a Bulletin on your way home, this weekend being the official start of summer, all our activities and plans for the next few months are contained in that handy-dandy hand-out provided to you free of charge! Please remember that the Parish Offices are closed on Monday, May 25…and then during the week of June 1-5 there are NO weekday Masses as all the Diocesan priests of the Diocese of Orange are away for the annual Priest Retreat. In the midst of sun, fun and picnic delights please offer a few minutes of private prayer and remembrance of the families of those who have died in service to our nation. Scattered throughout our land are families for whom today is not so much a fun frolic but a tearful journey to a cemetery or photo album….and the least we can do is acknowledge their sacrifice and give them our prayers of gratitude….letting them know, that like you, they are loved. FKB
