The next step

Today, the Church celebrates the Ascension of the Lord.  After having been raised from the dead, and having appeared to his disciples in order to open their minds to understand the Scriptures ... and their predictions that the Christ was to suffer and to rise from the dead ... he also instructed them to proclaim repentance and forgiveness of sins ... in his name, beginning from Jerusalem (Lk 24:45-47).  Strengthened in their conviction of these truths, Jesus ordered them not to leave Jerusalem (Acts 1:4), but to wait until the Father had baptized them with the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:5).

Even after having been instructed in this way, the disciples were still uncertain about how their future would unfold.  When they had come together, they asked him, 'Lord, is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel?' (Acts 1:6).  They still clung to human understandings of what the kingdom of God would be like.  In fact, they probably found it difficult to envision any other possibility.

Today, we have gathered in this church to celebrate the final Mass with parishioners of Our Lady of Fatima.  Like the disciples, we have some understanding of what the future will hold.  We know, for instance, that next weekend, a new parish will be established, a parish that will gather all Catholics in Elliot Lake.  Still, there is a part of us that remains uncertain about how our future will unfold, because very few of us have ever experienced this kind of change.

These are very interesting times for our community.  While one chapter is coming to an end, there is another that is about to begin, and - at least at this point in time - it's ok for us not to understand all the details.  We can look back over the past six decades and we can recall many occasions when we gathered in this place, when we celebrated significant moments in our lives, and there is a part of us that still may be reluctant to believe that any of this should change.

When he was about to leave his disciples, Jesus assured them that they would never be alone.  You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8).  At this precise moment in history, Jesus is also assuring us that we are not alone.  Like the disciples, we too can rely on the power of the Holy Spirit; something new is about to take place, and we too are being called by the Lord to be witnesses of his presence, witnesses of his forgiveness, witnesses of his joy ... in Elliot Lake, in Northern Ontario ... and beyond.

The disciples could not grasp the concept of the Holy Sprit, but at some level, they trusted that what Jesus had told them was true.  They agreed to stay in Jerusalem until they had been clothed with power from on high (Lk 24:49).  Like those disciples, we too must remain faithful.  Not knowing completely what the future holds for us, we must also trust that we are not alone, but that we will have the guidance that we need.  What we are doing today is an act of faith.  Let us entrust ourselves to the intercession of Our Lady, under whose patronage we have gathered until today, and let us ask Saint Bernadette to intercede for us too, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give us a spirit of wisdom (Eph 1:17) so that together, we can continue to walk in faith and trust, hand in hand with him.