“Go
into the whole world and proclaim the gospel to every creature.” (Mark 16:15)
Our experience of God shapes who we are. It shapes our relationships, the way we treat
people, the way we live, the way we love, and the way we share His love with
others. It goes without saying that the
disciples had the ultimate experience of God because they ministered with the
Son of God for three years, and for forty days after the resurrection, they
were able to experience the Risen Jesus like no one else for they had a front
row seat to his mighty words and works.
Now on this day of the Ascension, they want to hold tight to the Lord,
but as he goes up to heaven, the story doesn’t end, for now the real work
begins of sharing their unique experience and witness of the Risen Lord with
the entire world.
When I began at St. John Vianney Seminary 19 years ago, they
assigned me a seat in the large seminary chapel of St. Raphael’s in the first
seat of the front row directly in front of the pulpit. I could not fall asleep when we gathered for
prayer and Mass that early in the morning because there was always a priest
preaching in front of me (though I must confess that I did at times doze off
because of our early start times). I
spent much time in that seat which allowed me to see everything transpiring in
the sanctuary up close and pick out each of the priests’ idiosyncrasies, their
gestures, and even those of the servers.
But what I gazed up at the most was that marvelous mural above the
sanctuary which is probably the most beautiful work of sacred art that we have
in this Archdiocese. It is a complex
work of art that has so many details, but the first words of Jesus in today’s
gospel are engraved on that mural and became engraved in my heart: “Go into the
world and preach the gospel to every creature.”
Over the four years that I spent praying in that chapel, my experience
of God went from a very innocent experience to a more mature understanding of
the Eucharist and of what was expected of me as a future priest. I gazed up and memorized every detail of that
mural and to this day, every time I walk into that chapel I sit down in that
same seat in the front row to gaze up and look up at the images that moved me
then and always find new ones that move me now.
And like the disciples, having gotten to know the Lord in my seminary
formation, when the time came to be ordained and truly preach the gospel, I shared
with the people of God my experience of him. (Click on image below to make it larger.)
Our experience of God evolves as we grow closer to him. The key is being open to experiencing him in
new ways, and this is my challenge to you this week: try to experience God in a totally new
way. Come and spend some time before the
Blessed Sacrament. Come to a daily
Mass. Pray a rosary. Open your Bible at home and see what God has
to tell you. We have to experience him
in new ways like the disciples did after the Resurrection and Ascension in
order to share these experiences, like they did, with the rest of the world.
