Readings 051726
Blessed be God.
Praise be to Jesus Christ, forever and ever. Amen.
Come, Holy Spirit, fill us with joy,
set our hearts ablaze with Your presence.
All my ministries —
Deacon at Our Lady of Fatima and Saint Lawrence.
Spiritual Director at CCM,
Certified Spiritual Director for the Archdiocese of New Orleans,
serving the Diocese of Shreveport.
Whenever Our Lady of Fatima School Elementary
or Saint Frederick High School calls,
I am always there to help.
Then there is my family —
my ministry as husband, son, brother, father, grandfather, and friend.
There’s OCIA, baptisms, marriages, funerals…
and yes, Fr. Vu’s joke writer.
Since the school year just ended,
I have this joke with him and for you:
Why is it that as people grow older,
they tend to read the Bible more?
Answer: Because that’s when we start
cramming for the final.
Honestly —
It is not use cramming…
Because have you ever noticed that in God’s eyes,
even the longest of lives are short
Most of us may have seventy, eighty, or even ninety good years.
Some live longer —
I read about a woman who is 108 years old,
still working out, still driving.
But even 108 years,
in the vastness of God’s eternity,
is only a moment — a breath.
And that is why one moment in the Ascension story
always stops me.
It makes me look at myself,
my life,
and how I have lived it.
The disciples are standing there,
staring at the sky —
necks craned, mouths open, hearts confused.
And the angel asks the question
that still echoes through every age:
“Men of Galilee, why are you standing there looking at the sky?”
Friends, Jesus ascended into heaven,
but He left His body here on earth —
the body of His apostles, disciples,
and all who believe in Him.
He gave them a mission:
Go out into the world and baptize
in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.
But they needed a little prodding to get moving —
so the angel said,
“Why are you just standing there?”
Honestly, we need to ask ourselves the same question:
Why are we just standing there?
We stand there when life feels heavy.
We stand there when trials stretch long.
We stand there when the world overwhelms us
and we forget that even the longest life
is only a breath compared to eternity.
Our hardships feel enormous while we’re in them,
but in the reality of God’s creation,
they are small — not meaningless, but small —
compared to the unending life that waits for us.
Life ends, but eternity does not.
Is it because of this short time we have here on earth
and thinking we can cram for the final exam?
Sometimes we just want answers —
just like the disciples did.
They asked Jesus:
“Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”
They wanted timelines.
They wanted clarity.
They wanted the plan.
Just like us —
we think we can wait until the last moment
to cram for the final exam.
But Jesus gives them something better:
“It is not for you to know the times or seasons…
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you.”
Power.
Presence.
Purpose.
Not a schedule — a mission.
Why are you standing there?
Why are you frozen in fear?
Why are you staring at the sky,
hoping God will act without you?
We are His body — the Church.
In Christ we are given everything we need:
He is with us always.
He has sent the Spirit,
enlightening the eyes of our hearts.
In Christ we are given the hope
that already belongs to His call.
My friends, the Ascension is not Jesus leaving us.
It is Jesus lifting us —
lifting our mission,
lifting our courage,
lifting our eyes from the sky
to the world that needs witnesses.
The promise of eternity reframes everything.
When we remember eternity,
our trials shrink into their true size —
not erased,
but held inside a much larger story.
A story where Christ reigns.
A story where the Spirit empowers.
A story where death is not the end.
A story where we are sent.
So the angels ask us again today:
Why are you just standing there?
Christ has ascended.
The Spirit has been poured out.
The mission is already in your hands.
Go. Witness. Love.
Baptize. Teach. Serve. Trust.
And remember —
He is with you always,
until the end of the age.
Be good. Be holy.
But don’t just stand there.
Life is too short.
Go preach the Gospel
by the way you live your life.
Love one another.
Forgive. Lift someone’s burden.
Shine Christ’s light.
Praise be to Jesus Christ, forever and ever. Amen.
Prayer
Lord Jesus,
lift my eyes from the sky to the mission before me.
Holy Spirit,
set my heart on fire with Your courage and Your peace.
Father of eternity,
teach me to live this short life for Your everlasting glory.
Amen
