Regina Coeli: Looking to heaven with our feet on the ground

Source: Vatican Media

The mystery of the Ascension was the focus of Pope Francis' reflection at the Regina Coeli with pilgrims gathered in St Peter's Square on Sunday. (The Solemnity of the Ascension, is observed on Sunday in Italy and some other parts of the world - although not in the UK and Ireland.)

The Holy Father said the Ascension directs our gaze to heaven, where Jesus, glorified, sits at the right hand of God - but, he said: "On the other, it reminds us of the beginning of the mission of the Church."

The mission to spread the Gospel, which Jesus commits to the Church, is literally unlimited, the Pope said. This seems particularly audacious when we look at the small band of disciples to whom Jesus entrusted the work. But this helps us realise that the Church can fulfill her mission only with the strength that God Himself gives. In the Gospel, Jesus tells the disciples: "you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, throughout Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." This mission, begun by the Apostles, has been carried on by their successors through the ages, and continues even today. "It requires the collaboration of all of us," the Pope said.

The Ascension also reminds us that we must be ready to meet Jesus and serve Him, and to be His witnesses to our fellow women and men. We must seek after Christ in our own day, and bring His "words of salvation even to the ends of the earth." In this journey, Pope Francis said, we encounter "Christ Himself in our brothers and sisters," especially the poorest among us. From the very beginning of the Church, the Risen Christ called disciples to offer concrete and visible signs of hope to others - and we are called to do the same today.
Pope Francis concluded his reflection with the prayer that the Blessed Virgin Mary might help us to "lift up our hearts" to Jesus, and at the same time, to have "our feet on the ground" in order to courageously proclaim the Gospel in our own lives.

In remarks after his reflection, Pope Francis prayed for victims of attacks in Indonesia, and calls for prayers for an end to violence. He assured the "dear people of Indonesia," and especially Christians in the city of Surabya, that he was "particularly close" to them in the wake of deadly attacks earlier on Sunday.

Three churches in Indonesia's second-largest city were bombed in apparently coordinated attacks, leaving at least 11 people dead and more than forty others injured. It's the deadliest attack in Indonesia since 2005.

Finally, Pope Francis recalled that it was Mothers Day. He said: "I want to greet all Mums, thanking them for their care of families. I remember, too, the Mums who are looking upon us from heaven, and continue to keep us safe with their prayers."

Pope Francis noted that Sunday is the feast of Our Lady of Fatima. "Let us pray to our heavenly Mum, who today, May 13th, with the title Our Lady of Fatima, helps us to continue the journey."