"The family is a place of hope [...] even with its imperfections and its limitations, Jesus himself becomes present, who wishes to dwell in us and in our homes, in our daily work"

30 May 2022 - Sunday 29 May, on the occasion of Family celebrationUniversità Campus Bio-Medico di Roma, the Prelate of Opus Dei Msgr. Fernando Ocáriz celebrated Holy Mass for employees of the University and the Foundation. In this way, a Sunday of leisure and entertainment began for all employees and their families.

Ascension of the Lord

Praised be Jesus Christ!

"The Lord Jesus, king of glory, conqueror of sin and death, today ascended into heaven among the joyful choir of angels". In a moment, in the preface, we will read these solemn words which present to us the mystery of the Ascension of the Lord which we are celebrating today.

Jesus leaves this earth to fulfill his redemptive mission. He ascends to the right hand of the Father, in the glory that belongs to him. At a superficial glance it might seem like a simple estrangement. Probably the Apostles themselves at the beginning felt a certain bewilderment due to the detachment from the Master: in fact they continued to stare at the sky, until men in white clothes presented themselves to admonish them: "Men of Galilee, why are you looking at the sky?" (I Lit.). But immediately afterwards, as St. Luke writes, they "they returned to Jerusalem with great joy" (Lc 24, 52); in reality the Lord had not left them, because as he had told them: "I am with you always, until the end of the world" (Mt 28, 20).

From the moment of the Ascension, the Humanity of Christ participates fully and definitively in the glory of the Triune God. And this is a source of hope for all of us. The liturgy itself underlines this forcefully: "Judge of the world and Lord of the universe, he has not separated himself from our human condition, but has preceded us to his eternal abode, to give us the serene confidence that where he is, head and firstborn, we too will be his members, united in same glory” (Preface). So the Ascension is a celebration that kindles our hearts with hope. Jesus had said: "I'm going to prepare a place for you". So he did, and he awaits us to share his glory with us.

But there is another important reason for joy in today's celebration. Precisely after the Ascension, Jesus will send the Holy Spirit, who is the Spirit of the Father and of the Son, and who in his mission as sanctifier, identifies us with Jesus himself, who continues to live in each of us.

The Ascension, as we heard in the Gospel, is also the moment in which the mission of the disciples resounds: "Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and in his name conversion and forgiveness of sins will be preached to all peoples, starting from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of this" (Catch.). From then on all the disciples will be witnesses, apostles in the midst of the world. We can therefore underline three ideas in today's feast: hope, presence of Jesus among us, apostolic mission.

Today we celebrate this solemnity in a day of meeting of the families of the Campus. A festive, joyful moment of friendship.

The family is a place of hope. Jesus awaits us in Heaven, he has prepared a place for us. But we can add that in addition to preparing a place for us for the future, he also showed us the way to it, which for so many of you is family life. Despite its difficulties and hardships, the life of every family can be illuminated by hope: when we go through difficult moments, problems of all kinds (relational, economic, professional, educational) we can feel encouraged by the Lord who wants us to reach our goal and give his grace to reach it.

In the family then, even with its imperfections and its limitations (since there are no perfect families), Jesus himself becomes present, who wishes to dwell in us and in our homes, in our daily work. The reality of every day, in fact, does not constitute something profane to which at best Christian commitment would be juxtaposed, perhaps limited to participation in Sunday Mass and little more. On the contrary: as St. Josemaría said, "there are no noble realities that are such in an exclusively profane sense, since the Word has deigned to fully assume human nature and to consecrate the earth with his presence and with the work of his hands" (It is Jesus who passes by, no. 120).

Lastly, the family is a continuous opportunity for mission. In fact, every family, in addition to taking care of its own future and harmonious growth, can collaborate and help other families: families that help other families. This doesn't mean putting yourself in the chair. Instead, it means with naturalness and friendship helping a family of friends who are going through a moment of particular difficulty, guiding young spouses who face the adventure of family life with one's own example and experience, supporting and accompanying wounded families, etc.

Our Lady, who accompanied the Apostles after the Ascension and welcomed with them the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, is also particularly present at the side of each of us: she certainly was in this month of May which is about to conclusion, and it always is.

Amen.