In these forty days between Easter and the Ascension of the Lord, the Church invites us to keep our eyes fixed on Heaven, our definitive Homeland, to which the Lord calls us. This invitation becomes more pressing as the day approaches when Jesus ascends to the right hand of the Father.
The Lord had promised his disciples that after a little while he would be with them forever. Yet a little while, and the world will see me no more, but you will see me..... The Lord has fulfilled his promise in these days in which he remains with his own, but this presence will not end when he ascends with his glorious Body to the Father, for by his Passion and Death he has prepared a place for us in the Father's house, where there are many dwelling places. Again I will come," he says to them, "and I will take you to myself, so that where I am you may be also.
The Apostles, who had been saddened by the prediction of Peter's denials, are comforted by the hope of Heaven. The return to which Jesus refers includes his second coming at the end of the world and the meeting with each soul when it separates from the body. Our death will be just that: the encounter with Christ, whom we have sought to serve throughout our lives. He will take us to the fullness of glory, to the encounter with his heavenly Father, who is also our Father.
There, in Heaven, where we have a place prepared for us, Jesus Christ awaits us, whom we keep present and speak of in our prayer, with whom we have conversed so many times.
From our habitual contact with Jesus Christ comes the desire to meet him. Faith smoothes away many of the rough edges of death. Love for the Lord completely changes the meaning of that final moment that will come for everyone. "Those who love each other try to see each other. Those in love have eyes only for their love. Is it not logical that this should be so? The human heart feels these imperatives. I would be lying if I denied that I am so moved by the eagerness to contemplate the face of Jesus Christ. Vultum tuum, Domine, requiram, I will seek your face, O Lord".
The thought of Heaven will help us to live detachment from material goods and to overcome difficult circumstances. It is very pleasing to God that we foster this theological hope, which is united to faith and love, and on many occasions we will have special need of it. "At the hour of temptation think of the Love that awaits you in heaven: foster the virtue of hope, which is not lacking in generosity." Even in moments of pain and tribulation, when fidelity or perseverance in work or in the apostolate are hard to bear, the prize is great! And it is just around the corner, not long from now.
Meditation on Heaven, towards which we are heading, should spur us to be more generous in our daily struggle, "for the hope of the prize strengthens the soul to do good works.
The thought of that definitive encounter of love, to which we are called, will help us to be vigilant in the great and small things, doing them thoroughly, as if they were the last ones before we go to the Father.
Hablar con Dios