Today the Church celebrates the glorious feast of the Ascension of the Lord. Forty days after His Resurrection, Jesus returns to the Father not to abandon the world but to reign over it, to intercede for it, and to prepare humanity for the gift of the Holy Spirit. The Ascension is not an ending. It is a beginning. Christ ascends so that the Church may arise.

The Gospel given to us today from the Gospel of John is often called the "High priestly prayer" of Jesus. Before His passion, before the Cross, before the disciples fully understood what was happening, Jesus lifted His eyes to heaven and prayed. What we hear today is not merely instruction; it is the heart of Christ revealed in prayer.