In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, amen.

My Lord and to my God, I firmly believe that you are here, that you see me, that you hear me.

I adore you with profound reverence.

I ask your pardon for my sins.

And the grace to make this time of prayer fruitful.

My Immaculate Mother, St. Joseph, my Father, and Lord, my guardian angel, intercede for me.

The act of the apostles tells us all about those absolutely luminous days that our Lord spent with the disciples,

his risen presence.

He was teaching them and they were learning everything they needed to know for their mission,

the mission that he was entrusting to them because he knew he was going to ascend into heaven.

Maybe they weren't fully aware of this. They were just getting ready for this great mission. He was opening up horizons and of course with Jesus there

were no improvisations. Success comes from carefully planning and then rigorous and constant execution of that plan.

And, well, they were being prepared for Pentecost,

even though they probably didn't fully understand what was going on.

And so today we celebrate the Feast of the Ascension,

that is, Jesus going up, but Pentecost is Him in the Holy Spirit coming down.

And the Holy Spirit has a purpose, to move our minds, to look up and to continue to be with Jesus in heaven.

There's a beautiful excerpt I read from St. Augustine,

how he felt sad by Jesus' leaving in the ascension.

This is from his homilies on the ascension.

He says,

Today our Lord Jesus Christ ascended into heaven. Let our hearts ascend with him. Listen, he says, to the words of the apostle. If you have risen with Christ, set your hearts

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