Many countries, including the Vatican City, celebrated the Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord last Thursday. Other countries, due to pastoral reasons or convenience, are celebrating the Solemnity of Ascension today, which is supposed to be the Seventh Sunday of Easter, of course, approved by the church’s liturgical calendar. Our reflection is on the Liturgy of the Seventh Sunday of Easter. We stand on a unique spiritual threshold on this Sunday. The liturgy places us in a moment of what some Theologians call “holy suspense”. Jesus has ascended to the Father, leaving his earthly ministry to us, yet the roaring fire of Pentecost has not yet fallen. Like the early Church, we find ourselves lingering between a departure and a promise.
The School of Mary
In the first reading from the Acts of the Apostles, we are given a beautiful glimpse into the Upper Room. The Apostles are there, but they are not alone. Scripture explicitly notes that they were praying “together with some women, and Mary, the mother of Jesus.” Mary is there as the Anchor of faith. The Apostles were fearful and uncertain, but Mary was the one person who had already experienced the overshadowing power of the Holy Spirit during the Annunciation. She who carried Christ in her womb now cradles the infant Church in her prayers. Mary teaches the anxious disciples, and indeed all of us, how to wait without panic, transforming their fear into faithful expectation.
The Double Epiphany of the Spirit
Mary’s presence in the Upper Room forms a perfect circle with the very beginning of the Gospel story. She acts as the essential bridge between the Incarnation and the birth of the Church. At the Annunciation, the Holy Spirit came upon Mary to conceive Christ, giving him a physical body. At Pentecost, the Holy Spirit comes upon Mary and the Apostles, giving birth to the Church, Christ’s mystical body. Just as she formed Jesus in her womb, she now helps form Jesus within each of us through her intercession. This is Her Maternal Mission.
Entering the Upper Room Today
How do we live this week of waiting under Mary’s guidance? The early Church offers us three clear steps:
1. Pray with One Accord: Gather with your family and community, setting aside divisions to seek God with a unified heart.
2. Lean on Maternal Intercession: Bring your anxieties, doubts, and fears to Mary, trusting her to point you back to her Son.
3. Open Your Heart to the Flame: Sit in holy silence, asking Mary to help you say “Yes” to whatever the Holy Spirit asks of you next Sunday and beyond.
Let us step out today knowing we are never left as orphans. We are held securely in the prayers of Christ and wrapped in the maternal care of His mother. As we wait in joyful hope, may we live as vibrant witnesses to the truth that Christ is risen, and His Spirit is about to renew the face of the earth. Amen.
[Readings: Acts 1:1-11; Ephesians 1:17-23; Matthew 28:16-20]
