Jesus, God-made-Man, soul and body, is now with God His Father. This is the deepest meaning of the Ascension: Jesus, triumphing over death, has started a new life with God, His Heavenly Father. He has gone ahead of us, to prepare a place for us also. Having entered into a new life with His Father, He is now drawing each one of us into that same life, so that we may share it with Him forever. He has not gone away from us for good; He will come back for each of us, so that we may be with Him always.

Meanwhile, as we wait we must stay close to Jesus by faith and the sacraments, especially through the Blessed Sacrament of the Eucharist. Through these sacred signs, Jesus is present and active amongst us, in spite of being removed from our sight by His Ascension. Through baptism and the other sacraments of faith we are, in a certain mysterious way, already risen with Jesus, already present with Him in glory.

We need to be reminded of these things today to keep us from getting caught up in the rat race of modern living. We have to be careful that the cloud that takes Jesus from our sight now is not a cloud of greedy materialism, but the cloud of faith and hope. The Ascension reminds us once more that we live in hope.