Sunday, May 17

Seventh Sunday of Easter

Last Thursday, the Church celebrated the great Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord, when Christ our Savior, after His Resurrection, returned in glory to the Father. While He ascended bodily into heaven, He did not abandon His people. Rather, the Ascension marked not an ending, but a new beginning: Christ now reigns eternally at the right hand of the Father, interceding for us and preparing a place for us.

As we enter the Seventh Sunday of Easter, the liturgy invites us into a time of prayerful waiting with the Apostles and the Blessed Virgin Mary in the days between Ascension and Pentecost. In today’s Gospel from Saint John, we hear Jesus’ High Priestly Prayer, offered just before His Passion. He prays not only for His disciples, but for all who belong to Him, asking the Father to protect us, sanctify us in truth, and unite us as one.

This Sunday reminds us that, just as the Apostles gazed upward at the Ascension, they were also commissioned to continue Christ’s mission on earth. We too are called to live not as passive observers, but as faithful witnesses. Our Lord’s return to heaven strengthens our hope, for where Christ has gone, we are called to follow.

In a world often marked by confusion and division, Jesus’ prayer for unity is especially urgent. As members of His Church, we are invited to deepen our communion with God through prayer, the sacraments, and lives of holiness, trusting in the promised gift of the Holy Spirit.

During these final days before Pentecost, may we join Our Lady and the Apostles in prayer, asking for a fresh outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon our parish, our families, and our hearts.

Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful, and kindle in them the fire of your love.