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The feast of the Ascension is a time to consider how the body of Christ (that is, all the baptized) are called to follow after the Head (that is, Christ himself) in the journey to heaven, the Pope reflected before praying the Regina Caeli on May 12.
"And we, the Church are precisely that body that Jesus, having ascended to Heaven, pulls along with Him," the Pope said, adding an image that it's like being pulled with a jump rope.
Thus, this feast is a time to ask ourselves about our outlook on Heaven, the Holy Father suggested.
The Pope proposed these questions:
Is the desire for God, the desire for His infinite love, for His life that is eternal life, alive in me?
Or am I a bit dulled and anchored to passing things, or money, or success, or pleasure?
Does my desire for Heaven isolate me, does it seal me off, or does it lead me to love my brothers and sisters with a big and selfless heart, to feel that they are my companions on the journey towards Paradise?
Anchored
In considering where our anchor is attached, the Pope alludes to Hebrews 6:19 and the idea that our anchor should already be in Heaven, pulling us that direction:
“The first Christians depicted hope like an anchor, as if life had cast the anchor into the river of Heaven and all of us journeying towards this river were clinging to the anchor’s rope,” explained Pope Francis some years ago.
“This is a beautiful image of hope: to have the heart anchored there where our ancestors are, where the Saints are, where Jesus is, where God is. This is the hope that does not disappoint,” he said on All Saints Day in the year he was elected.
Already there
Before praying the Regina Caeli on Sunday, the Pope offered a prayer to Our Lady, who has already gone before us to Heaven:
May Mary, She who has already arrived at the destination, help us to walk together with joy towards the glory of Heaven.
