The world is so much smaller today. Even beyond the world of air travel which for decades has allowed us to be anywhere in this world in a matter of hours, technology has advanced allowing us to virtually traverse these great distances instantly. Through the internet and apps like Skype and FaceTime, we can talk with people and experience events live in HD, from anywhere in the world. Through social media, we’re able to keep up on what our loved ones, friends, and those whom we follow are doing at any given moment, see how things are going in their world, view pictures and stay current on what’s happening.
Technology can bring people together, and when coupled with our faith, I think technology can be used in a great way to bring out global Catholic Church together than ever before. The fact that many of you reading this are from countries in Africa and Asia and others places around this world illustrate this.
We are all connected in this world unlike we have ever been before. Of course, there are many problems that this same technology has caused, and in many ways, this virtual-connectedness has taken the personal-connectedness out of the equation, but that’s a topic for a different article. Overall, I love how technology has made this world smaller, and more connected, how we can express and share ideas and experiences with others around the world.
This connectedness shows me even more, how truly connected everything is, and how ones actions and experiences shape those of everyone around us, everyone watching. There is a connectivity in everything. For every action that happens in this world, there is a reaction, a chain of events. There is a reason for everything, and for every good or bad thing that happens, even while there may be pain and sorrow, I truly believe God brings a greater good from it.
Look at all the readings for today. There are so many. Some parishes are celebrating the Ascension, while others are celebrating the Seventh Sunday of Easter. But when I read through all of them – connectedness sticks out.
When Jesus ascended into Heaven, He connected the human race. He fulfilled the prophecy that not only would the Christ rise from the dead, but that He would ascend into Heaven. This was the event that finally brought it all together, proving once and for all that He is God. This event showed us that He is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end, and the ultimate gift He gave us. His ascension opened up a door to Heaven for all of us, a door that remains open today. He wants us to follow Him.
But sometimes it seems so daunting. We can see this open door to Heaven on the horizon. There is nothing in our way, or so it appears. The path is straight and flat. But as we step closer, storms come. Sometimes there’s quicksand we need to avoid. There’s a trap here, or hole there. Sometimes we fall into holes so deep, we need help getting out. In a path that seems so connected from a distance, it quickly becomes fragmented and disjointed. People are going their own different directions, misguided, disconnected. All of a sudden we lose sight of that door.
What can connect us again? Our Faith. Our Catholic Church. This is what Jesus gave us. He gave us the means, through Him and His grace, to connect us and bring us back on that path to Heaven. It’s simple really, and it’s a major theme of both sets of readings today. Before He ascends into Heaven, Jesus’ last lesson to the disciples was about repentance and forgiveness. That’s the first step. Seeking forgiveness from God through Confession, and then forgiving others.
The next step is the Eucharist. The reading from Revelations from the Seventh Sunday of Easter readings speaks of Jesus coming again, repeatedly. Let us all come to the real presence of Christ. We become connected to Christ by consuming Him in the Eucharist. And the more we receive Him, the more connected to Him we become.
The third step – the community. Through His ascension, Jesus became the head of the Church, of which we are His body. We are all connected in what we do, we each have a role. And then in the first reading from the Seventh Sunday of Easter readings, we hear about Stephen’s martyrdom. But one thing sticks out to me from that reading, where while Stephen was being stoned; it says that “the witnesses laid down their cloaks at the feet of a young man named Saul…”
Here was a man, who was leading the persecution of these disciples of Jesus, a man who would become Paul – one of the greatest Disciples of Christ. For all the hate and anger that took place in that stoning, the events played a purpose. We’ll never know this, but perhaps Saul felt something that day. Perhaps experiencing that event stuck with him after he became Paul, and perhaps it made him a better disciple.
We shape each other, and the events of today shape the events of tomorrow. We are all connected, and it is our faith that connects us to Christ. Saul was a faithful Jew, who became Paul, a faithful Apostle of Christ shaping the lives of others.
For us in today’s world, though, the challenges are many. But perhaps it has never been more evident that we are all one body, one connected race. Perhaps through our advanced technology, we can see others around this world, and see them for the humans that they are, instead of just another news story from a foreign land.
For us as Catholics – we belong to a global Church. Christ’s Ascension connected us to Him, and to Heaven. It opened up a door from Heaven, which as we’ll see next week allowed the winds of the Holy Spirit to gush into the world, connecting all of us in our Faith.
We are One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church! This is what truly connects us, and what brings us together, and it’s all through the ascended Christ. Through Him we shape each other, and in this day and age, we can truly shape the world.
