Day 26: The Room is Ours

I'm Father Mark Mary with Franciscan Friars, The Renewal,

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This is day 26.

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On the third day, he rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of God the Father Almighty.
From there he will come to judge

the living and the dead. Let's continue to build on this home theme that we talked about yesterday.
This is from John chapter 14 verse 1 and following. Let not your hearts be troubled.
believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms, for not so And I've said it before and I I'll say again, I love doing this.
And I love this opportunity to really just have some space of intentional prayer with these basic truths and articles of our faith. And I love what God is doing and the new insights, et cetera, that he's offering to me and that I'm hoping to offer to you.
And I love this theme of home and this reminder that the Lord has prepared a place for us. There is a room for us in the Father's house.
And what's true of this mystery of the ascension is that in some way, like we celebrate this idea of already, but not yet. In some way, the room is already ours.
We're already there because Christ is there. Jesus has ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the father.
We could say that Jesus has returned and is enthroned in his home,

in the Father's house, in the Father's heart.

And you and I too, insofar as we are baptized in him,

already share in this truth and in this victory.

And I'm going to offer some words from Pope Benedict XVI. I love Pope 16th and I love his reflections on on some of these truths of our faith it's a bit of a longer reading but I think it's worth it this is from a homily in Christ ascended into heaven the human being has entered into intimacy with God in a new and unheard of way man henceforth finds room in God forever.
The room in the Father's house is room in God, in Jesus Christ, ascended into heaven and seated at the right hand of the Father. Those were my words.
Heaven, this is Pope Benedict, heaven. This word heaven does not indicate a place above the stars, but something far more daring and sublime, far more daring and sublime.
It

indicates Christ himself, the divine person who welcomes humanity fully and forever. The one in whom God and man are inseparably united forever.
Man's being in God. This is heaven.
What is heaven? What is our home? What is the room?

It's our being in God, this is heaven. What is heaven? What is our home? What is the room? It's our being in God, in Jesus Christ, through baptism.
This is what Pope Benedict says, And when we draw close to heaven, indeed, we enter heaven to the extent that we draw close to Jesus and enter into communion with him. For this reason, today's solemnity of the ascension invites us to be in profound communion with the dead and risen Jesus, invisibly present in the life of each one of us.
Let's say this again. We enter heaven.
We already are in our room in the Father's house and our Father's heart to the extent that we draw close to Jesus and enter into communion with him. And so here's this already and not yet, are we already in communion with Jesus? Absolutely.
Yes. By baptism, by fidelity, by salvific grace.
And I'm going to share a couple of analogies. And these are really weak analogies.
There's just no analogies for these articles of our faith. They're always going to limp, but it's a little bit like, like Jesus just bought like a huge mansion and, but we're all going to live with them.
And so like we're, we're driving there and we're just, we're just like pulling up the driveway, but you're, you're like FaceTiming Jesus or somebody who's not driving me the past years FaceTiming Jesus. And you already are getting the tour, right? And you're seeing the whole house and you're already taking it in, already appreciated it.
You can already see your room and the setup and the view. And it's like, it's already there.
It's already purchased. It's already prepared.
It's already got your name on the door. And you're already in a certain sense, like experiencing it as you're in relation to Jesus.
You're in this communication with Jesus. There's a part that's totally not fulfilled.
And you know, maybe like you're in the car and it's been a long car ride and you got to go to the bathroom and maybe you're a little bit annoyed with somebody else in the car and your legs are a little bit stiff. Like there's still some suffering.
There's still some pain involved. Like it's not comfortable, but by seeing it, like this hope, this confidence, this experience of already, even though it's not yet, like it fills us and it makes us like, okay, we're almost there.

We're almost there.

We got this.

And again, this is a really poor analogy, but I think this is maybe helpful in community with Jesus, in relationship with Jesus, in our conversation with Jesus, in our following with Jesus.

We already like draw close to heaven. We already experienced a foretaste of heaven here and now.
And this is a real thing. And yes, we still continue our journey in the Valley of Tears and there's the aches and the pains and the sufferings.
But part of the mystery of the Ascension reminds us that these things are passing. Pain and suffering, physical suffering does not have the last word.
Sickness does not have the last word. Sadness does not have the last word.
Death does not have the last word. What does have the last word is that Jesus Christ is risen.
He has ascended to the Father, and he has already prepared a place for us. We already have a place with Jesus in his home, in his heart, in the Father's house.
And as we continue to grow into communion and to remain in communion with Jesus Christ, already now with him, already we draw close to heaven and heaven draws close to us. So practically, like, what do we do with this today? I'm just going to invite you to like with a prayer of your imagination to talk to jesus to facetime jesus and again i'm sorry i know it's kind of like corny but like hey jesus tell us about the father's house like you know what it was to suffer you know what it was to walk in this to all you have to tell us about what it's us about the Father's house.
You knew what it was to suffer.

You knew what it was to walk in this valley of tears. Tell us about what it's like in the Father's house.
Tell us what you have prepared for us. Remind me that it's all worth it.
Remind me that the pain and the suffering are passing. They will not have the last word but that which is eternal in you, Jesus, and with you, Jesus, is the joy of residing with you in the Father's house and in the Father's heart.
Jesus, help me today with you to already rejoice in your victory. Let us pray in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen. Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen.
Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.
Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.
Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. Amen.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

All right.

Thanks, everybody.

Thanks again for joining me and praying with me today.

I look forward to continuing this journey with you tomorrow.

Poco a poco, friends.

All right.

God bless y'all.