The message of Ascension Day: we are pilgrims

My God, may I ask You?

Today in church during the sermon I heard these words. Although I haven't taken any notes, so I can't quote the priest* verbatim, it comes down to this:

The message of the Lord's Ascension is that we are pilgrims. We are on our way, we are in this world, but not of this world. Man has the promise of Christ that He will always be with us until the end of the world. But that man must regard this whole world as a place of pilgrimage, that we must not lose ourselves in the delusions of the day, that we are on our way, and that the promise of Christ is that spiritual life, eternal life, is the goal.

It is precisely during this period that it touches me very much. Around me and in myself, I see us losing ourselves in the fears and anxieties of life, the war in Ukraine, the destruction of the environment, the discord in society, and so on. And suddenly through these words of the monsignor that we are pilgrims, I make contact with You again, with the example of Christ, with the promise of eternal life. I realize again that this earthly valley of tears, which lasts only a maximum of 90 years for every human being, is only a path and not the goal. My heart is touched in this sermon, in this mass, and I reconnect with our real purpose on earth: never, ever forget that we are children of God, that an eternal and special life awaits us, that all this is only temporary and that we must remember it every time. 

Would You like to comment on this?

My son, man is a pilgrim, life on earth is only a beginning. The promise of the beauty, happiness, and perfection of eternal life make up for everything, truly everything you experience in difficulties, misery, and sorrows. Once you have arrived in the spiritual world after this temporary and brief phase on earth, all negativity, all sadness, all imperfections, all blockages are swept away. And your long and beautiful path is then perfectly paved to the house of God.

Ascension Day is the most beautiful holiday on earth. The Christ has lived for your future, lifted up the earth, paved the way to eternal life. The son of God has triumphed over the evil forces on earth and belittled them, enslaved them, dealt them a very great blow. Ascension Day is the greatest success experience of the greatest spiritual being that the earth has ever visited and was truly a great sacrifice. A son of God who immerses Himself in man and is willing to become the son of men. 

Great commission, great task, great sacrifice. 

And the priest calls you to remember that on this day.   

The monsignor is blessed.  

My blessings to you all

*Monsignor Ad van Luyn, Emeritus Bishop of Rotterdam

No 552

How does one actually pray?

My God, may I ask You. I personally notice that people struggle with prayer and what they can and cannot ask for, especially when it comes to war, difficulties and misery. A friend said to me, "I'm not going to ask God to take care of me when I'm struggling, just like God doesn't take care of me though and like I'm rebuking God." Well, then I ask You, I of course want to respond to that.

Respond first, my son. 

I said to her, no matter how hard your life is at the moment, and how you pray or what you pray for, in all cases you open even more of a window to the spiritual world through which the spiritual world can better reach you. And God is certainly not offended if you ask “take care of me”, and will not say "Am I not already doing enough?"

Kind of.

So it is, my son, and although there is much to say about it, and in the blogs the subject of prayer has been discussed before, and some things may be repeated endlessly, this is it. 

When a person prays, he opens a window to the spiritual world, and thereby the spiritual world can serve him better, reach him better, influence him more strongly, achieve more than if a person does not pray.

And that is not because God does not know exactly when what is needed on earth, but because man, from his free will, then contributes more to the cooperation between God and man. Prayer is strengthening this cooperation. Shorter and better and more powerful We can't bring it. So you have spoken to your female friend well and honestly and purely. Keep up the good work, my Son. 

My blessings to you all

No 551