Lent-Eastertide Journey Completes with Pentecost: A Pastoral Psychological Perspective

Veni, sancte spiritus!  Veni creator spiritus! Come Holy Spirit!

We awaits the coming of the Holy Spirit. We wait for the Holy Spirit to be poured upon us! We prepare for Pentecost to conclude the 50 days of Eastertide.

Eastertide is the post-resurrection spiritual journey for us to cultivate and renew our object relation to Jesus, through prayer and reflection of his Word. In fact, given the continuity between Lent and Eastertide, in terms of the nature of our spiritual journey, Pentecost is the finale of the Lent-Eastertide spiritual journey from Ash Wednesday, passing the Paschal Triduum into the post-resurrection Eastertide toward Pentecost – so that we can stand on our feet to bear witness of the Lord, whom we are so intimate.

Through this blog article, I want to reflect our spiritual journey toward Pentecost juxtaposing the flow of the Eastertide Gospel readings to a path of object relationship development in psychology.

So, let’s begin the review with this question:

What did Lent prepared us for?     Of course, Easter!

So, we spent 40 days from Ash Wednesday, purifying our hearts, cleansing our sins, letting our sinfulness and defilement die, projecting on Jesus, the Lamb of God, who died on the Cross.  That was Lent. Then, on the third day, Jesus rose from the dead, by the power of the Holy Spirit, sent by the Father.  Our new life with clean heart also sprung upon letting our old sinful life die. That was how the 50 days of Eastertide began, as Lent gave its way to Easter.

Then, what has Eastertide prepared us for?  Ascension and Pentecost!

For the first 40 days of Eastertide, we have gotten much closer to Christ, the risen Lord.

As he did to the disciples walking to Emmaus (Luke 24:13-35), Jesus has helped us better understand his teaching through the Gospel readings throughout Eastertide (John 20:1-9 (Easter Sunday); John 20:19-31 (2^nd Sunday of Easter – Divine Mercy Sunday); Luke 24:35-48 (3^rd Sunday of Easter); John 10:11-18 (4^th Sunday of Easter – Good Shepherd Sunday); John 15:1-8 (5^th Sunday of Easter); John 15:9-17 (6^th Sunday of Easter); Mark 16:15-20 (Ascension – Ascension Sunday in place of the 7^th Sunday of Easter); John 17:11b-19 (7^th Sunday of Easter)) .  For the first three Sundays, Jesus assured us that he is risen and comforted us. Then, for the rest of Sundays during Eastertide, until Ascension, Jesus explained his object relations with the Father and with us.  Jesus described his object relation with the Father as a secure attachment. Then, Jesus describes his object relation with us in the same pattern as his with the Father – a secure attachment. For this, he used a metaphor of a shepherd and sheep. He also used another metaphor of the vine and its securely attached branches. For the shepherd-sheep relational metaphor, the Father is the one who commissioned the shepherd and provided sheep. For the vine-branches metaphor, the Father is the vine grower.

Upon describing his object relations with the Father and us, Jesus goes on to explain the essential quality of the relationship that put the Father, him (the Son), and us.  He tells that it is agape – as in his mandatum novum (John 13:34).  During the Last Supper, Jesus first demonstrated what he means by loving each other as he has loved through his washing of the disciples’ feet (John 13).

Jesus reiterated the new commandment to love one another as he has loved to tell us what it means to be the branches attached to him the true vine.  It is what makes our relationship to each other harmonious. And, Jesus further challenges us to take this loving each other command to the level of sacrificing our own lives for each other, as he, the Good Shepherd lays his own life for his sheep.

With this, Jesus feels that we are ready to handle his departure – until his return (parousia)  at the end of time.  He thinks that now our attachment with Jesus is secure enough to let Jesus return to the Father to be seated at the right hand of Him. In an analogy of developmental psychologies of Jean Piaget, now our spiritual growth is mature enough to recognize Jesus’ constant close presence, even though he is no longer physically present.  So, using Piaget’s term,  I call that now we are at the point of spiritual object permanence. Of course, as John Bowlby and Mary Ainsworth describe what secure attachment between a mother and her child enables, it is our secure attachment with Jesus enabling us to know that his physical absence in our sight does not mean abandoning.  To put it in Erik Erikson’s term, our secure attachment with Jesus means a firm trust between us. And, the secure attachment, characterized with mutual trust, enables us to attain spiritual object permanence, upon his Ascension.

In fact, for the 4^th Sunday (Good Shepherd Sunday), 5^th Sunday, and 6^th Sunday, the Gospel readings  are aimed for us to ensure that we cultivate healthy object relation with the risen Christ, characterized with our spiritual maturity founded upon secure attachment to Christ and based trust. Because of this foundation,  by the end of the 6^th week of Eastertide, Jesus feels confident about our spiritual maturity to demonstrate our spiritual object permanence to accept his Ascension, without suffering from traumatic grief.

When Jesus died on the Cross, we suffered from traumatic grief, compounded with our guilt and remorse for our sins, which killed him. Our grief was so severe, in part, due to a lack of our spiritual maturity and not developing health object relation with Jesus upon trust-based secure attachment.  However, this time, we have grown in faith and matured in spirit, as we have cultivated healthy object relation with Christ, based on trust-filled secure attachment, upon his resurrection.

So, here we are, we are able to let Jesus depart from us through Ascension, so that he can move on to his eschatological mission as his next call by the Father.  It is reflected in Revelation 19, the Parousia.  This is, in fact, foretold in John 14:1-4, 28.  Jesus makes it clear in these verses of John’s Gospel that his Ascension is to prepare for the end of time and to secure our place in heaven upon the Judgement.

Additionally, Jesus also explains meaning of his Ascension in regard to the Holy Spirit, which completes the object relations of Jesus with us in Trinity.

Basically, Ascension of the risen Christ is an absolutely necessary step for  Parakletos to come to us.

Up to this point, the Holy Spirit was pneuma, which is a neutral term in Greek in the New Testament. Preceding the New Testament time, the Holy Spirit was ruah, which is a feminine Hebrew word, ever present since before God began His creation (Genesis 1:2). Ruah also gave life to Adam, as it came in the form of Creator God’s breath, as ruah is the divine breath of life (Genesis 2:7). At that moment, the prototype of flesh (clay) became the living flesh as the Holy Spirit, ruah, was infused in, animating it. This scene in Genesis is evoked again, on the evening of Jesus’ resurrection, as the risen Lord put his breath (pneuma) upon the disciples, calling his breath as the Holy Spirit (John 20:21-22), as in the Gospel reading for Pentecost Sunday.

In this regard, as what ruah Elohim the (the breath/life/ Spirit of God) did to clay to become animated flesh of Adam in Genesis 2:7 is renewed as the risen Jesus breathes upon his disciples in John 20:22, as a precursor to Pentecost.  With these scriptural connection, now we can see  ruah Elohim, pneuma, and parakletos are essentially the same.  Also, considering these to be on the same spectrum running from the Genesis on to the point of Pentecost, we now understand  how ruah Elohim (the breath of God in the Old Testament) evolves into parakletos (the Holy Spirit, as Advocate, Comforter, and Counselor, as promised by Jesus through Ascension for Pentecost) , though these are the same pneuma tou theo/theopneustos (the breath of God, the God-breathed condition).  Focusing on this consistency of the Holy Spirit, stemming from the very beginning in Genesis is so critically important for us to attain spiritual object permanence upon Ascension and for parakletos to come upon us on Pentecost.

Understanding the consistency of the Holy Spirit is the very essence of our object relation with Jesus, the Son, and the Father. Thus, this is the bottom line of our object relation to the Triune God.  In this, we understand that manifestation of God may transmorphs or even transmogrify but God Godself in His essence as in the ruah-pneuma-parakletos consistency is immutable, as Thomas Aquinas’ argument in Summa Theologica Question 9.

Just before Jesus Ascends, he assures, too, that we are never be left like orphans (John 14:18). Upon his departure from us in flesh, he also promises that we will remain with us in spirit, given the consistence in Jesus’ messages in John 14:16,20, 15:4, and Matthew 28:20. For this, he teaches us that Pentecost, the infusion of the powerful Holy Spirit, ruah-pneuma-parakletos, upon us is a proof of his pre-Ascension promise, which we have come to better understand through the Eastertide Gospel readings.

So, Jesus instructs to be still and wait for the Holy Spirit to come and to be poured upon us. Namely, this is the baptism of the Holy Spirit that fortifies the effects of the Sacrament of Baptism.

Jesus had to Ascend for Pentecost to happen on us as said in these words: “Unless I go away, the Parakletos (Advocate, Counselor, Comforter) will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you” (John 16:7).

Now, what does Pentecost equip us  for with the Holy Spirit as the power, as said in Acts 1:8?

Mission!  It’s our mission to build the Kingdom of God on earth as it is in heaven!

The Gospel reading for Ascension (Mark 16:15-20), which is also comparable to Matthew 28:16-20, sums up what Ascension prepared us for, which is Pentecost, does.

As Jesus’s physical presence on earth goes away from the world through Ascension,  Pentecost becomes possible to take place  in the world so that we, the believers, receives the power and whatever else necessary to carry on the mission of the Lord – until his eschatological return (parousia) in Revelation 19. The mission is to build the Kingdom of God, the web of agape-filled object relations with one another, reflecting the Father-Son secure attachment (i.e. John 10:30, 38; John 14:10; John 17:21). Its ultimate essence is agape that is strong enough to give our own lives for our love objects, as exemplified by Jesus (John 10:11, 15:13). What makes our agape strong enough to be able to lay our own lives down for each other, our love objects in our object relations in faith, is the Holy Spirit as the power (Acts 1:8) and shepherding of Parakletos (John 14:26).

As the He breathed into the clay to bring life to Adam (Genesis 2:7), and impregnated Mary with God incarnate, Jesus, the Son (Matthew 1:18), as risen Jesus breathed upon the disciples (John 20:22), the Father is about to pour his mighty ruah-pneuma upon us on Pentecost, as our Parakletos to give new birth to the Church, whose fabric is our agape-based object relations. 

So, upon receiving the powerful Holy Spirit poured upon us, we become so energized and loaded with manifold gift of the Holy Spirit. Our response to Pentecost, therefore, is charismatization!

Through charismatization by the Holy Spirit, we have become more mature being in faith, fuller in our agape-based object relation in our Triune God – the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. 

A Place of Jesus' Vanishing - A Place of Enlightenment: Emmaus - Mt. Olives Connection

The Ascension of the Lord on the Mount of Olives evokes a memory that Jesus vanished out of the sight of Cleopas and the other disciple in Emmaus. It was the evening of the Resurrection of the Lord when the risen Lord vanished out of their sight after breaking the bread (Luke 24:30-32).

The Lucan narrative of the journey of Cleopas and the other disciples from Jerusalem to Emmaus with the risen Jesus on the day of the Resurrection (Luke24:13-35) seems to hold a key to understand the meaning of Ascension, as the sudden disappearance of the risen Jesus’ body in Emmaus and the Ascension of the risen Jesus do not seem to be independent events.

The physical presence of the risen Jesus vanished as soon as these two disciples recognized the man, who walked with them and taught the meaning of the death and the resurrection of Jesus,  on the way to Emmaus, was the risen Jesus himself (Luke 24:31). I believe that this fact on the evening of the day of the Resurrection is very important to be noted to understand the meaning of the Ascension of the Lord.

The fact that the two disciples’ recognition of the risen Christ and the disappearance of the physical presence of the object of their recognition, the risen Christ, is significant not only theologically but also psychologically. It is because, the vanishing of the physical presence of the risen Christ  suggests that the disciples have become able to recognize the permanently enduring presence of Christ regardless of his physical presence.  Given how analogous the narrative flow of the Lucan Gospel story on the two disciples’ journey to Emmaus (Luke 24:13-35) and the narrative flow of the Eastertide Sunday Gospel stories leading to Ascension (John 20:1-9; John 20: 19-31; Luke 24:13-35;John 10:1-10; John 14:1-12; John 14:15-21; Matthew 28:16-20), it is clear that the Gospel readings  during the Eastertide leads us to an enlightenment at the point of Ascension, as the road to Emmaus led Cleopas and the other disciples to their enlightenment.  And,  what we have become enlightened to at the point of Ascension is the truth that Jesus is indeed Emmanuel, which means “God with us”, as his psychological nature is to be with us as the permanently enduring  parakletos, which literally means “calling to be beside”, both in flesh and in spirit.  To put this truth in light of John Bowlby’s and Mary Ainsworth’s psychological theories of attachment (emotional bonding with affection),  Jesus’ Emmanuel parakletos nature is the bottom life for our secure attachment to God, who Himself is the parakletos through Jesus Christ, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

The narrative flow of these Eastertide Gospel readings from the Resurrection Sunday until Ascension suggests how we have come to understand the meaning of Jesus’ death and the resurrection, projected in the way the disciples gradually come to understand this meaning in these Gospel narratives.  And, this pattern of our understanding is succinctly found in Luke 24:13-35, the Third Sunday of Easter Gospel reading, which changes the tone of the Eastertide Gospel reading from the first two Sundays to the tone of the rest of the Eastertide Gospel readings.

As we have kept listening to Jesus explaining the salvific meaning of his death and the resurrection, through these Gospel readings, we have naturally come to understand the meaning of his Ascension.

Jesus does not have to be with us in flesh when we have reached a certain level of understanding of the meaning of his presence. This point of enlightenment also enables us to understand why his name is “Emmanuel”, God is with us. In fact, Matthew’s Gospel tells that Jesus is the divine being to be with us (Matthew 1:23) in its very first chapter. And, in the very last chapter, Matthew’s Gospel reaffirms this Emmanuel identity of Jesus in Matthew 28:20.  This Emmanuel meaning is persistent and permanent regardless of the condition of Jesus.

This is why Jesus in flesh is the first parakletos and the Holy Spirit is the second (another) parakletos.  Both of them came from the Father, as Jesus has told.  And the Holy Spirit is a vehicle, through which Jesus comes to us and remains with us far more intimately.  In Catholic theology, another vehicle, though which Jesus comes to us, is the Sacrament of the Eucharist.

Recognizing the permanent presence of Emmanuel  parakletos with us, until the end of time, till Parousia, we have no reason to suffer from insecurity over the absence of Jesus’ physical appearance.  As long as we have established secure emotional attachment with Jesus by deepening his Emanuel parakletos messianic nature, through the Eastertide Sunday Gospel readings, we know that he is always with us even his physical presence become absent with his Ascension.  In fact, Cleopas and the other disciples’ were no longer insecure when Jesus vanished out of their sight, because they began to realize the meaning of Emmanuel the parakletos a bit ahead of the Ascension of the Lord.

The meaning of Jesus’ Ascension is two-fold. One is that our faith is mature enough to begin understanding the Paschal Mystery and the messianic quality of Jesus, even without the physical presence of him.  The other is that the physical absence of Jesus makes it impossible for the disciples to experience the second parakletos, as Jesus indicated in John 16:7.

One important factor is that Jesus can be more intimately with us through the Holy Spirit, because his presence with us is no longer affected by time, space, distance, and physical factors. Even though Jesus’ resurrected body could transcend physical barriers, as he entered into the firmly locked Upper Room after his resurrection, coming to us in the Holy Spirit enables him to be with us in a more perfect manner. Through the Holy Spirit, upon his Ascension, Jesus can enter not only into our bodies but also deep in our hearts and souls feely. If he still had his body, he would not be with us in such a deeply intimate manner. This is also meaning behind Jesus’ statement in John 16:7.

As we now understand this two-fold meaning of the Ascension of the Lord, in light of the Paschal Mystery and the messianic quality of Jesus, we remain confident that Jesus is the Emmanuel parakletos, in flesh or in spirit - visible or invisible – no matter what form he may be.

Now, we can also understand that Jesus’ physical disappearance in Emmaus on the day of his Resurrection alludes to the Ascension of the Lord on the Mount of Olives. Both of these events are marked with our substantial growth in faith and enlightenment projected in the disciples in respective Gospel narratives.

As we have become enlightened enough for Jesus to return to the Father without worries for us, we are ready to embark on our missions upon receiving the Holy Spirit to be empowered, guided, and comforted. And, we are to give a new life to the Church, as we are the body of the Church.

From Resurrection to Pentecost - "Parakletos" in the Flow of Easter, A Comprehensive Review of the Gospel Readings for Easter Season Year A

For Easter Vigil and the first three Sundays of Easter, the Gospel readings are about how the disciples responded to the Resurrection of Jesus (Matthew 28;1-10, John 20:1-9, John 20:19-31, Luke 24:13-35). Whether Mary Magdalene, Peter and John, Thomas, or Cleopas and the other disciple, we reflected on our own response to the Resurrection of the Lord to the disciples in these Gospel narratives from the Easter Vigil to the 3^rd Sunday of Easter.

Then, there was a shift in the direction of the Easter Gospel readings on the 4^th Sunday, which is also known as the Good Shepherd Sunday. On this Sunday, the Gospel reading is always on Jesus’ self-identification with the Good Shepherd in John 10, regardless of the liturgical year. For Year A, the reading is from John 10:1-10, for Year B, John 11-18, and for Year C, John 10:27-30.

With his self-identification as the Good Shepherd and the gate to the Father in heaven on the 4^th Sunday of Easter, the Easter Sunday Gospel readings continue with Jesus’ own Christological discourse to reveal his messianic nature during the Last Supper for the 5^th  Sunday (John 14:1-12) and the 6^thSunday (John 14: 15-21).

Then, during the week of the 6^th Sunday of Easter, the Ascension of the Lord falls.  That is why the 5^th Sunday Gospel reading and 6^th Sunday Gospel reading from John 14 allude to the looming absence of the risen Christ.

Another important shifting factor to be noted in the Christological readings from John’s Gospel during the 4^th Sunday, 5^th Sunday, and the 6^th Sunday of Easter to prepare for the Ascension and the Pentecost is that the 5^th Sunday Gospel and the 6^th Sunday Gospels from John 14 are taken from the Jesus’ Last Supper discourse.

During the Lasts Supper, Jesus began his long discourse to the disciples, after Judas left, to prepare them not only for his impending death but also for what follows his death: the resurrection, the ascension, and the Pentecost, from John 13:31-16:33. The sequence of these events: the death of Jesus, the resurrection of Jesus, the ascension of Jesus, and the Pentecost, descending of the Holy Spirit upon the disciples, mirrors the sequence of Jesus’ first prediction of his death (Matthew 16:21-28) and thetransfiguration (Matthew 17:1-9), which was the Gospel reading for the 2^nd Sunday of Lent.

In the 5^th Sunday Gospel (John 14:1-12), Jesus identified himself as the Way, the Truth, and the Life.  This second Christological discourse by Jesus in John 14:1-12 for the 5^th Sunday smoothly follow the first Christological theme, Jesus as the Good Shepherd and the Gate to the Father in John 10:1-10 from the 4^th Sunday.

Jesus’ messianic identification as the Way, the Truth, and the Life, is a response to Thomas’ question, “Master, we do not know where you are going; how can we know the way?” To this, Jesus said, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you know me, then you will also know my Father. From now on you do know him and have seen him”.

Thomas asked Jesus where he would be, because Jesus said, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You have faith in God; have faith also in me. In my Father’s house, there are many dwelling places. If there were not, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back again and take you to myself, so that where I am you also may be. Where I am going you know the way.”

Jesus’ self-identification as the Way was prompted by Thomas’ anxious feeling, perhaps, anticipatory grief, over a prospect of disappearance of Jesus. A pastoral implication of this for our needs is that Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, who shepherds us through turbulent times of anxiety and stress in our life, as in Psalm 23.  That is why Jesus said, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me”(John 14:1), sensing his disciples’ anxiety upon giving the new commandment and making his impending departure known to them toward the end of the Last Supper.

When Jesus indicated about his departure to prepare dwelling places for the disciples, Thomas began to feel anxious with anticipatory grief. And, he indicated Jesus to tell him where he is going.

The answer Jesus gave to Thomas was his self-identification as the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Namely, Jesus is telling the disciples that he is the Way to Salvation, the Truth of Salvation, and Life into Salvation, as he is the Way to the Father. To put the Good Shepherd and the gate perspective from the 4^th Sunday Gospel, it means that Jesus shepherds us to the Father and is the gateway to the Father. And, he is the only way to the Father. Of course, connection to the Father means salvation, as where the Father is, where salvation is.

Then, Jesus began to add the Holy Spirit in his Christological discourse, in addition to his relationship with the Father, in the Gospel reading for the 6^th Sunday, making his departure more evident.

A very important shifting factor to be noted here is that the Holy Spirit is introduced, as another Advocate (parakletos) in Jesus’ ongoing Christological discourse to reveal his messianic quality in addition to the Father-Son union in his identity.

In the 6^th Sunday of Easter Gospel reading (John 14:15-21), we can discern the Trinity, as all of its elements are in place: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.  In this, Jesus indicate that the Holy Spirit as “another Advocate (Counselor)”(John 14:16), in place of his physical presence upon his body’s departure, the Ascension. This suggests that Jesus the Son, is the first and original Advocate (Counselor). Additionally, this also suggests that the 6^th Sunday of Easter Gospel reading also prepares us for the Trinity Sunday, which follows the Pentecost Sunday.

What the 6^th Sunday Gospel (John 16:21-15) teaches us is that God the Father in heaven, has given us Himself incarnate, in the human flesh of Jesus the Christ, the Son, as the first  "parakletos". I prefer to use the original Greek word for “advocate” in English translation. It is because this original Greek word, "parakletos" gives another important insight, not probably drawn from the English translation, “advocate”. Perhaps, the closest English translation of "parakletos" is a comforter and a consoler, who is sent and has come to be with you. To me, “advocate” seems like rather a bit distant translation of"parakletos". However, translating "parakletos" as “advocate” offers an image of the Holy Spirit as the Good Shepherd. Given that Jesus identifies the Holy Spirit as his successor to be with the disciples after his departure, upon his Ascension, and that Jesus has already identified himself as the Good Shepherd, translating "parakletos" as “advocate” also makes sense in this contextual flow in the Easter Gospel readings from the 4^th Sunday to the 6^th Sunday.

It is also important to note that love is an important theme for the 6^th Sunday of Easter Gospel narrative (John 14:15-21). As a continuation of his Last Supper discourse (John 13:31-16:33), which Jesus began with “Mandatum Novum”(new commandment) (John 13:34), he reiterated “Mandatum Novum”, which is to practice “agape”, not only with one another but also including him and the Father. Jesus further teaches that the coming of “parakletos” is Father’s response to the disciples’ practice of Jesus’ “Mandatum Novum” in light of Luke 10:27, loving God to the very best of ourselves in order to love one another as neighbors, as loving ourselves.

Secondly, the 6^th Sunday of Easter Gospel reminds us, in John 14:17, that “parakletos” is the Spirit of Truth (as Jesus is the Truth (John 14:6)). In the following verses, Jesus further teaches the love that characterizes “parakletos” – the “agape” that is Jesus’ “Mandatum Novum”, stemming from the Father-Son unity, which is characterized with “agape”, the self-sacrificing love to the point of “kenosis”(self-emptying for the sake of an object of love). Therefore, Jesus assures that the disciples will not be left alone like orphans even though his physical presence will soon cease with the Ascension. It is because of the very nature of “parakletos”, coming to be with, as Jesus said, “I will come to you”(John 14:18).  The world, “parakletos” is composed of “para”(close, besides) and “kaleo”(making a call). Thus, this Greek word used for the Holy Spirit that Jesus promises as another Advocate, and his replacement while he returns to the Father until Parousis, is the being, who comes to us to be right besides us. And, the mission of “parakletos” to be with us on Pentecost is to remind us that the Son, Jesus, is in the Father, as we are in him (John 14:20). Jesus also teaches that following his “Mandatum Novum” in John 13:34 in light of Luke 10:27 will be loved by the Father (John 14:21). Because being loved by the Father as we practice Jesus’ “Mandatum Novum”, and because Jesus loves his Father (John 14:21), we are known to the world that we are the disciples of Jesus the Christ (John 13:35). Thus, the 6^th Sunday of Easter Gospel reading also indicates our sacramental nature that we receive upon the coming of “parakletos”.

But, for the “parakletos” to be poured upon and infused into us on Pentecost, the body of Jesus has to ascend and to return to the Father, who is the source of “parakletos”, evolved from “ruah”, which blew over the waters when God’s Creation began (Genesis 1:2).

This is where Ascension falls on the week of, in fact, on Thursday of, the 6^th Sunday of Easter, always.

The Ascension is the consummation of the mission of Jesus to the world, as the first Advocate. The period between the Ascension and the Pentecost is the transition period. But, through his words in the Gospel narratives of Sunday Gospel narratives through Easter, our first Advocate, Jesus has prepared us for this transition until another Advocate, the Holy Spirit arrives on Pentecost.

In the first reading for the Ascension (Acts 1:1-11), which describes how the Ascension took place, Jesus is, once again, assuring the disciples of the Pentecost to come soon after his departure. In this, he tells that the Pentecost is the baptism with the Holy Spirit for the disciples (Acts 1:5) to give them the power  so that they can be a witness of Jesus to all over the world from Jerusalem (Acts 1:8). This suggests that the Holy Spirit is not only another Advocate, who teaches (John 14:26), but also the power to spread the witness of the risen Christ throughout the world.  Therefore, right before his Ascension, Jesus is assuring the missionary nature of the Pentecost.

The Gospel reading for the Ascension (Matthew 28:16-20) further goes along with Jesus’ teaching on the missionary nature of the  Pentecost  from the first reading.

Though this Gospel reading’s setting is shortly after Jesus’ resurrection, we remind ourselves, once again, that we, the follower of Christ, are commissioned to go on our mission to make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, and catechizing them to observe all of his teaching, especially his “Mandatum Novum” (Matthew 28:19-20). In fact, this also leads to “charismatizing” those whom we make the disciples by baptizing and catechize, so that they also receive the power, the Holy Spirit, to join us in our evolving mission.

There is an analogous connection between the Resurrection and the Ascension, as Matthew 28:16-20, a resurrection narrative, and Acts 1:11, an Ascension narrative, are used to celebrate the feast of the Ascension. It is that Jesus commissioned the disciples in Galilee to make the disciples of all nations upon his Resurrection (Matthew 28:19-20) and commissioned them on Mount of Olives near Jerusalem to go proclaim the Good News of the glorified Christ to the ends of the earth right before his Ascension (Acts 1:8).

This really reminds us of what Catholic Mass is about – its Pentecostal nature upon the Resurrection and the Ascension of Jesus, in addition to the Eucharistic nature, of Mass, as it always concludes with a commissioning statement pronounced by the presiding priest, “Ite, Missa Est!” (aplolysis).

With this, the Church is emptied after Mass, as we come out, nourished by the Eucharist, and empowered by the Holy Spirit, commissioned anew to make more disciples of all nations, bearing our witness of Christ, the Good News, to the ends of the earth – so that everyone will be baptized, catechized, and “charismatized”, to be shepherded by the Good Shepherd, the Chris, in “parakletos”, to the Father!

Though there is a bit of grief for not seeing Jesus in flesh upon the Ascension, the scripture readings for theAscension Mass sure gives us fresh inspiration. And, it is what Jesus wants us to experience, as he did for the disciples.

Though many Catholic dioceses in the United States celebrate the Ascension, which is always on the Thursday of the week of the 6^th Sunday of Easter, on the following Sunday, the 7^th Sunday, we do have the designated scripture readings for the 7^th Sunday of Easter. It is important that we read and reflect these words, whether your diocese or archdiocese cerebrates the Ascension on the Thursday and celebrates the 7^th Sunday or not.

The 7^th Sunday of Easter Gospel (John 17:1-11a) is taken from the last long prayer of Jesus in thegarden of agony, Gethsemane, shortly before his arrest to be tortured and killed. Jesus began his Passion with this intense prayer to prepare his way to the Calvary, the Cross, the tomb, and the Resurrection. It is also to shepherd us to salvation, to the Father in heaven, to the dwelling places in the Father’s house.

Given the flow of the themes from the Sunday Gospel readings during Easter, as I indicated above, Jesus made this prayer not only to prepare himself for his way into the Calvary and to the Cross but also for us to receive  new “paraklete” on the Pentecost, after his Ascension.

It is important to note here that the 7^th Sunday of Easter gospel reading ends with Jesus’ statement, “I am coming to you”(John 17:11).  Jesus’ statement of this nature, expressing his desire to be with us, is also found at the end of the Gospel reading for the Ascension, “I am with you always, until the end of the age”(Matthew 28:20). Such sentences are also found in the 6^th Sunday of Easter Gospel, “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you”(John 14:18) and in the 5^th Sunday of Easter Gospel, “I will come back again and take you to myself so that where I am you also may be” (John 14:3).

This indication of Jesus’ desire to stay with us, regardless of his physical presence in the world, is extremely important to appreciate the nature of “parakletos” as “para”(being intimately close) and “kaleo” (making a call). Throughout the Gospel readings from the 5^th Sunday on, Jesus has been consistentlyreminding us not only his “parakletos” nature as the first Advocate but also the same nature of the Holy Spirit, which is now called another (second) Advocate, “parakletos”.

Therefore, we are about to conclude the 50 days of Easter from the Resurrection, with the Pentecost, though the Ascension, as we now come to better understand the “parakletos” nature of Jesus and the Holy Spirit – the comforter, consoler, advocate, the power, the teacher, as well as the Good Shepherd (John 10:11) the Gate to the Father (John 10:7), the Way, the Truth, and the Life (John 14:6) – the eternal life of the resurrection (John 11:25).  As not only physical being but also spiritual being of all of these qualities, Jesus is always coming to us, to close to us, as our “parakletos”, as in flesh, the Sacrament of the Eucharist, and as in the Holy Spirit, always. We also now better understand that the “parakletos” nature of Jesus, the Son, and the Holy Spirit is a reflection of the Father’s “agape”, which binds the Son with the Father consubstantially (John 10:30). Therefore, as we are about to conclude Easter with Pentecost, we are also ready to celebrate the Trinity Sunday, which follows the Pentecost Sunday.

As we prepare ourselves to complete Easter, reflecting on the “parakletos”, in Jesus, the Son, and in the Holy Spirit, sent by the Father in heaven, let us listen to this beautiful Catholic hymn by David Haas.

This hymn begins singing, “I will come to you in the silence”.  Given that now is the transition time between Ascension and Pentecost, it is a good time to listen and sing this hymn, as we wait for and  prepare ourselves for Pentecost.  We know Jesus has assured us of the coming of second “parakletos”, the Holy Spirit, we still may feel anxious during this “waiting period”, though we are now definitely hopeful. As anxiety and hope are mixed in us, we take a lesson from the disciples in terms of how they spent this time.

The first reading for the 7^th Sunday (Acts 1:12-14) tells that the disciples spent this anxious and hopeful transition time between Ascension and Pentecost praying and praying in the Upper Room in Jerusalem.  They were praying perhaps silently while waiting to receive the descending Holy Spirit from the Father in heaven. Perhaps, this is like a quiet incubation period – getting ready for actions, called mission.

Let us be comforted and empowered by our “parakletos” to be sent out to make the disciples of all nations with “Ite, Mass Est”! 

The Ascension of the Lord and the Ascending Spirit of the Deceased in the Smoke out of the Crematorium's Smokeatack

Images play significant roles not only in human psychology but also in Catholic theology, as well as in many religious traditions, including Buddhism.

Today is the feast day of the Ascension of the Lord. This is the second glorious mystery in the Rosary, following the Resurrection of the Lord, preceding the Descent of the Holy Spirit (Pentecost).

Because religions are based on memories passed on throughout generations, it is about reminiscence (anamnesis/  ἀνάμνησις) of early religious and mystical experiences. So, on this feast day of the Ascension, we remember how Jesus ascended into heaven, as we always say in the Nicene Creed, through Luke 24:50-53 and Acts 1:1-11, which is the first reading for the Ascension Mass, regardless of the liturgical year.

In Acts 1:1-11, there is this image of the risen Jesus, being taken up into heaven, the whole body, immediately after giving his last instruction to the disciples and assuring them of the coming of the Holy Spirit upon them.

Images often brings another images for associations.  It is to make sense and to discern meaning out of images in religious or theological concepts, such as what Luke 1:1-11 describes about the Ascension.

What an image of the Ascension from Luke 1:1-11 triggers out of my own personal memories is an image of the black smoke billowing out of a crematorium in my grandmother’s town in my childhood. And, the memory of my grandmother explaining to me that the smoke coming out of the crematorium’s tall smokestack means the spirit of the deceased person is rising into heaven, just as the smoke was rising. 

Whenever I imagine Jesus’s whole risen body being taken up into heaven, this image of the crematorium’s billowing black smoke comes back to the surface of my consciousness from my memory storage in the subconscious domain.  

I remember that day as if it were yesterday, when I asked my grandmother what the black smoke coming out of the tall smokestack next to a small building at the far corner of the cemetery. It was back in the 1970s, when we used to have crematoriums with tall smokestacks in Japan – though most crematoriums in Japan are “smokeless”: no tall smokestacks and no smokes.  This change is mainly due to environmental concerns, as many people in recent years have found tall smokestacks of crematoriums and smokes are eyesores, besides environmental concerns about the smoke.

 But, back in the 1970s, black smokes from tall smokestacks of crematoriums were common memories of attending funerals, as a funeral process in Japan continues all the way until picking up white dry bones in crematorium and placing the cremated remains at home upon returning from the crematorium.  Usually, during the first seven days of intense prayers, the cremated remains in the urn are placed at the mourners’ home.

As it says, the cremated remains are remains – just dry bone fragments. It has no spirit, as the spirit was released from the flesh of the corpse through the fire of cremation. Thus, the smokes from crematorium’s smokestacks  were believed to be the spirits of the deceased being released and rising into heaven, as my grandmother said to me.

Jesus did not ascend into heaven as smokes. He was not taken into heaven in smokes. He was not dead when his whole body was taken into heaven. He was alive, when he rose into heaven out of the sight of his disciples on the Mount of Olives, between Bethany and Jerusalem.

But, because I did not personally witnessed this event together with the disciples on the Mount of Olives in the Holy Land, about 2,000 years ago, while relying on the anamnesis passed on through the scripture narratives, such as Acts 1-11, I can only relate to this significant event with my personal relevant experiences, such as my memory of the rising smoke out of the crematorium and my grandmother explaining it as the spirit of the deceased rising into heaven.

Once again, I am reminded how personal life experience can affect the way we understand religious truth and how we appreciate images in religions and religious experiences. Not to mention, as our life is affected by culture, there are some cultural bearings to the way we make sense out of religious concepts and truths, including the Ascension of the Lord. In my case, it is my visual memory of the rising smoke out of the crematorium’s smokestack.

My grandmother’s explanation of the smoke as the rising spirit plays a very important role for me to associate the visual memory of the smoke out of the crematorium’s smokestack to the Ascension of the Lord.

When we die, it is our bodies – flesh – that die and disappear.  The essence of life, the spirit, is released from the bodies that no longer function. When our bodies stopped working, then, the spirit no longer need to be with the flesh. So, the spirit is totally free – as free as the air that fills the sky. And, it also becomes winds that blows.

So, now, the song, “I am a Thousand Winds” comes nicely in connecting my memory of the rising smoke from the crematorium’s tall smokestack and the feast of the Ascension of the Lord.

Don't stand at my grave and weep
I am not there, I do not sleep
I am the sunlight on the ripened grain
I am the gentle autumn rain

I am a thousand winds
I am a thousand winds that blow
I am the diamond glint on snow
I am a thousand winds that blow

Don't stand at my grave and cry
I am not there, I did not die
I am the swift rush of birds in flight
Soft stars that shine at night

I am a thousand winds
I am a thousand winds that blow
I am the diamond glint on snow
I am a thousand winds that blow

Don't stand at my grave and weep
I am not there, I do not sleep
I am the sunlight on the ripened grain
I am the gentle autumn rain

I am a thousand winds
I am a thousand winds that blow
I am the diamond glint on snow
I am a thousand winds that blow

I am the diamond glint on snow
I am a thousand winds that blow

Though our remains, though they may become cremated remains or even completely integrated into the earth, will not be raised until Parousia, the spirits of the deceased continue to be around us, just as winds, which are movements of the air.

As the rising smokes from the crematorium’s smokestacks are becoming part of the air in the sky, we know that the spirits of the deceased as alive and well, as free as the air in the sky. And, they remind us that they are always with us, just as we cannot live without the air, as blowing winds.

The above song is based on Mary Frye’s 1932 poem, “Do Not Stand at My Grave and Weep”.

Do not stand at my grave and weep

I am not there. I do not sleep.

I am a thousand winds that blow.

I am the diamond glints on the snow.

I am the sunlight on ripened grain.

I am the gentle autumn rain.

When you awaken in the morning’s hush

I am the swift uplifting rush

Of quiet birds in circled flight.

I am the soft stars that shine at night.

Do not stand at my grave and cry;

I am not there. I did not die.

Let us remember those who have gone before us and now with us in the air we feel through winds and we breathe to sustain life on earth, as we remember the Ascension of the risen Lord.