On the Sunday in which many countries around the world celebrate the solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord, Pope Leo at the Regina Coeli explains that the Ascension is not something that distances Christ from us, but quite the opposite. «In fact we are united to Jesus like the members to the head, in one single body. And his ascension to heaven also draws us, with Him, towards full communion with the Father.”
After quoting Saint Augustine, Leone explains: «The whole life of Christ is a movement of ascent, which embraces and involves through its humanity the entire scene of the world, elevating and redeeming man from his condition of sin, bringing light, forgiveness and hope where there was darkness, injustice and desperation, to reach the definitive victory of Easter”.
The Pope continues: «The Ascension then does not speak to us of a distant promise, but of a living bond, which also attracts us towards celestial glory», bringing our way of thinking and acting closer to God. The path of this path of ascent, Leone underlines, «we find it in Jesus, in the gift of life, in his examples and in his teachings. Just as we see it traced in the Virgin Mary and the Saints”those who Pope Francis loved to call “next door, with whom we live our days, fathers, mothers, grandparents, people of all ages and conditions”, who are committed to living according to the Gospel. Thanks to their example and their prayer “we too can learn to rise towards Heaven day by day”, putting into practice what we have seen and heard, making the divine life that we received in baptism grow in us and around us and which constantly draws us upwards towards the Father and spreading precious fruits of communion and peace throughout the world.”
After invoking the help of the Virgin Mary and reciting the Regina Coeli prayer, Pope Leo recalls that today in various countries World Communications Day, which this year dedicated to the theme “Guarding human voices and faces”. «In this age of artificial intelligence, I encourage everyone to commit themselves to promoting forms of communication that always respect the truth of man, towards which all technological innovation can be oriented».
The Pope also recalls that «from today to next Sunday the “Laudato Sì” week dedicated to the care of creation and inspired by Pope Francis’ encyclical will take place. In this jubilee year of Saint Francis of Assisi we remember his message of peace with God, with all brothers and with all creatures. A field in which, Leone underlines, in recent years progress was greatly slowed due to the wars. The Pontiff therefore encourages “all those who work for an integral ecology to renew their commitment, care for peace and care for life”.
