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Dear brothers and sisters,

On Thursday we celebrated the solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord. His public ministry complete, Jesus returns to the Father, but He never leaves us. He promises us the Holy Spirit and today we are, as it were, with the Apostles in the Upper Room as they await the coming of the Holy Spirit, which we shall mark on Pentecost day next Sunday.

Today’s Gospel is taken from Jesus’ discourse at the Last Supper, from his prayer to the Father for his disciples. Jesus prays that they – and we – may be one, united in faith, in our discipleship, in our mission. Jesus offers this prayer in the context of a world that will not always welcome the message, a world that is full of distraction, a world in which the power of the evil one will be ever-present. This is the world in which we live too.

It is into this world that the Lord sends us. Our mission is to proclaim His Resurrection, the hope that is the Kingdom of the Father, to a world that is in need of peace, a world in which the dignity of the human person is challenged, a world in which so may live with addictions, a world affected by climate change, a world where so many are seeking life.  

The message of the Resurrection is the one message that brings humanity to fulfilment. It is “Life to the full.”  

With every blessing,

+ Richard

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