Friends, welcome to Word on Fire, Catholic Ministries. Word on Fire is an apostolate dedicated

to the mission of evangelization, using media both old and new to share the faith on every

continent and to facilitate and encounter with Christ and His Church. The efforts of Word

on Fire engage the culture and bring the transformative power of God's Word where it is most needed.

Today we invite you to join Bishop Robert Barron as he preaches the gospel and shares the warmth

and light of Christ with each of us. Peace be with you. Friends, we celebrate this weekend the

wonderful feast of the Ascension of the Lord, a feast that in many ways brings to a close the

Easter season. I know it's followed by a pentacost, the sending of the Spirit, and I'll talk about that,

but the Ascension represents, if you want, the closing of Jesus' public earthly ministry. So what

begins at the Annunciation and Christmas now comes to a conclusion with His Ascension into heaven.

Now, here's the thing everybody about the Ascension of the Lord. I do think it's one of the most

misunderstood features of Christian life. One of the most misunderstood fees. And here's what I mean,

we tend to think of the Ascension as Jesus going up and away. I know I'm kind of dating myself.

That's a song from the 1960s when I was a little kid. There's a popular song called Up and Away.

So that's what it means I guess that Jesus used to be with us and now there he goes up into the

heavens and bye-bye to Jesus. Well, I want to suggest to you that's precisely what it doesn't mean

that he was here and now he's gone. In the manner of, say, any great hero or philosopher or

teacher or historical figure who was once here and has now gone and is sort of a distant memory

or an inspiration from the past. That's precisely what we don't mean when we say that Jesus

ascended into heaven. Okay, so what does it mean? Well, take a look at our first reading, which is

from the magnificent Acts of the Apostles, which is volume two of St. Luke's two volume work,

the first volume being the gospel of Luke, but then the Acts of the Apostles, which commences with

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