May 12th: Luke 24:46-53

Today we celebrate the feast of the ascension and we hear Luke’s account of Jesus leaving the disciples, his final words and gestures to them. Jesus’ departure does not cause the disciples to be anxious, instead we are told that they return to Jerusalem and praise God in the Temple. For Luke, this is a celebration of the mission to come. Luke’s Gospel begins in the Temple and there it ends in anticipation of the Church’s mission, a mission that was meant to be rooted in prayer and service. We might pray these words of St. Teresa of Avila today:

“Christ has no body now but yours, No hands, no feet on earth but yours. Yours are the eyes through which he looks compassion on the world. Yours are the feet with which he walks to do good. Yours are the hands with which he blesses all the world.”