Father Rick’s Three-Minute Homily for the Ascension of the Lord

Sunday, May 17, 2026 https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/051726-Ascension

A favorite way to pray the Scriptures is to enter the scene and experience what the people are experiencing alongside Jesus. In today’s scene, as Jesus ascended into heaven, I began to wonder what it would be like to hear that He was leaving and that we would never see Him again.

We have been with Him for three years, and now He is leaving? How are we going to manage? I am so overcome with grief that everything else He said went right by me.

The closest we can come to that experience is when a family member or someone close to us dies. The sorrow in our hearts is unbearable. Jesus told the disciples that He was leaving them, and they would grieve.

I would have recalled the three times he predicted His agonizing death. All my life would stop, and I would be overwhelmed with this news. It would be too much to bear.

A little later, I recall that Jesus said He would return to us and send His Holy Spirit, who would teach us everything we need to know in every moment.

One time in adoration of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, this happened to me concerning the death of my family members. In an instant, I felt them with me, in my heart, and it was incredible.

Then I realized how this happened. It goes like this: In the Eucharistic Prayer at Mass, the priest, with his hands held over the bread and wine, says, “Send your Holy Spirit upon these gifts to make them holy, that they may become for us the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ.” The bread and wine truly become Jesus, His Body, and Blood at the consecration—the substance changes.

St. Paul teaches us that the Church is the Body of Christ, and the Body of Christ is in heaven, including my family and yours. In Holy Communion, the priest or minister holding up Jesus says, “The Body of Christ.”

We say, “Amen.” And at that moment, we receive with Jesus everyone in heaven, including our parents, relatives, and friends.

During adoration that morning in the chapel, I realized that the Body of Christ, Jesus, the Head, and all the Church members are in my soul. How incredible is Jesus!

He returns to us in Holy Communion, bringing all our loved ones with Him. They stay with us, and I have found that they intercede for us in all we do.  

When I receive Jesus in Holy Communion, I want to be free of sin so I am worthy of Jesus, my Mom and Dad, my nephew Craig, and all my relatives and friends. It’s an act of love and thanksgiving for all they did and meant to me. So regular Confession is a true friend to me and to them. 

Gospel Challenge:

When you receive Jesus, your family, and your friends in Holy Communion, thank Jesus. I promise you, they are closer to you in Holy Communion than in all the moments they were on earth with you.

Yes, He ascended to heaven from a mountain, but He never left us.

What do you see and hear on that mountain when Jesus ascends into heaven?

Fr. Rick Pilger, IC  www.bscchurch.com     www.rosminians.com