"HE WAS LIFTED UP". Those four words give all of us HOPE, we all need to be LIFTED UP. Our attachments to this world are at times heavy like chains. Jesus encourages us to look up. As HE is being LIFTED UP TO HEAVEN, he gives us the HOPE that we too can be LIFTED UP and be with HIM in HEAVEN. This is Our Lord's PROMISE of the Coming of the Holy Spirit to transform us and lift us up. This is what the ASCENCION OF THE LORD is all about.

Every year at this time we hear the beginning of the Acts of the Apostles (Acts 1:1-11) narrating the ASCENCION OF THE LORD, the amazing event that took place 40 DAYS after the Lord's RESURRECTION. Jesus invites the APOSTLES to stay in Jerusalem and WAIT FOR THE PROMISE OF THE FATHER. He announces that "In a few days you will be BAPTIZED WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT ...You will RECEIVE POWER when the HOLY SPIRIT COMES UPON YOU and you will be my witnesses". This is PENTECOST, which we will celebrate next week.

Do we want to be lifted up? We do not have to await our departing from this world. We can be lifted up today. Heaven begins right here right now on earth. Jesus promised to His Apostles that He will not leave them alone. He was going to leave this world, but He was not going to abandon them. They will never be alone. He will send them an Advocate, the Paraclete, THE HOLY SPIRIT, the Spirit of Truth who will GUIDE them (John 16:12-15). At OLHOC, we are still glowing in the JOY of our 34 youth receiving the Holy Spirit at CONFIRMATION three weeks ago. St Paul says so eloquently to the Ephesians (Ephesians 1:17-23): "May the God our Lord Jesus Christ GIVE YOU A SPIRIT OF WISDOM and REVELATION resulting in KNOWLEDGE of Him. May the EYES OF YOUR HEARTS BE ENLIGHTENED, that you may KNOW WHAT IS THE HOPE that belongs to His call...what is the surpassing greatness of HIS POWER for us who BELIEVE."

Because of the chains of sinfulness that attach us to the world and may bring us unbearable pains, we may feel at times that GOD has abandoned HIM. Where are you GOD? Our Lord Jesus Christ promised us that we will never be left orphans. GOD will never abandon us. If we feel separated from God, it is because we are the ones abandoning us. Jesus promises the coming of the Holy Spirit. In every sacrament, the HOLY SPIRIT is at work. This is why the Mass and the Sacrament of Reconciliation are so foundational for our being LIFTED UP: they provide the basic nourishment for our SOULS. GOD loved us first. HE loves each one of us unconditionally. HE wants us to feel that LOVE in our hearts and to share His love with one another. The EUCHARIST is the SIGN of HIS LOVE. JESUS humbles Himself in the Eucharist at every Mass. Every consecrated host contains the Body, Soul and Divinity of Our Lord Jesus Christ. Every time we receive the Holy Communion, we are LIFTED UP to HEAVEN for a few minutes as we are totally united with GOD, Jesus Christ.  

Let us all receive the Eucharist with the utmost reverence and respect. Let the mark of the little Red Cross where one consecrated host had been found (SEE PICTURES BELOW and click here to read the last two columns) be a constant reminder of the sanctity of the Eucharist. Let us never abandon Jesus! As Jesus laid down on the floor between two pews at the foot of Our Lady of Fatima for over 15 hours (between the end of 5 pm Vigil Mass and end of 8:30 am Mass next day), Our Lady must have been crying and her heart must have been bleeding.  The "red" of our little cross is to remind us of the "heart of blood" that appeared on that host five days later while being dissolved in water in our sacrarium in the sacristy: the bleeding Heart of Jesus as seen in the image of Jesus Divine Mercy that had just been brought into our church just a few days before the event of our "little" Eucharistic miracle, truly a SIGN FROM GOD!

NOVENA TO THE HOLY SPIRIT:before Pentecost, GOD wants to LIFT US UP and HE is inviting each one of us to begin nine days of prayer to the Holy Spirit this FRIDAY MAY 14, ending on Saturday May 22 (Vigil of Pentecost). One parishioner inspired by the Holy Spirit recommended a very simple  (and short) Novena Prayer focusing each day on one of the NINE FRUITS of the Holy Spirit https://www.praymorenovenas.com/novena-to-the-holy-spirit  Here is an excerpt of the second day, the second fruit JOY: "O HOLY SPIRIT, by Your power, Christ was raised from the dead to save us all. By Your grace, MIRACLES are performed in Jesus' name. By Your love, we are protected from evil. And so, we ask with humility and a beggar's heart for YOUR GIFT OF JOY within us. All of the Saints are marked with an uncompromisable JOY in times of trial, difficulty and pain. Give us, Oh Holy Spirit, the JOY that surpasses all understanding that we live as a witness to Your love and fidelity... AMEN."

May GOD uplift our spirits on this Solemnity of the ASCENSION of the Lord and prepare our hearts for receiving the FIRE of the HOLY SPIRIT at PENTECOST!

One in Christ,


Fr. Alain