Christ’s powerful message of love continues to touch people’s souls, 2000 years later. As we celebrate the Ascension of the Lord, Marianne Seggerman invites us to reflect on the power of Jesus’s teachings and the work of the Holy Spirit throughout history.

June 1, 2025: Solemnity of The Ascension of the Lord/Seventh Sunday of Easter
Acts 1:1–11
Psalm 47:2–3, 6–9
Ephesians 1:17–23
Luke 24:46–53

An Everlasting Message

A reflection by Marianne Seggerman

Breath of the Spirit is a team effort–a team of which I've been a member for several years–and I recall having the Ascension readings as my assignment in the past; perhaps even this cycle! I'll repeat what I wrote a few years back: I have progressive friends who mock parts of Christianity, and this particular event in the Christian calendar is one which is a target for their scorn. But there is a point to this celebration, even if the details of the event veered from what was written down in today's gospel–Catholics have never approached the Bible as if each word was as factual as, let's say, a decent history book. The point is simply this: Jesus was a human being who lived, walked, ate, and did everything that any other human being did, but at some point, he ceased to remain on the Earth. The Ascension marks that event, however it actually happened.

From time immemorial, some men and women have claimed to have a better connection with the higher power we call God than others. Many have attracted followers based more on the strength of their personal magnetism–their charisma–than the content of their message. Only a very few have had a message that lived on after them. Even fewer intentionally or unintentionally have had their disciples morph into a religious denomination after they died. Only a very few actually founded religions.

Did Jesus have charisma? Undoubtably. Did His personal magnetism contribute to His popularity? I don't doubt it. Did some of the multitudes that followed Jesus around do so for the wrong reason–hoping He would do something about Roman rule or because they found entertainment value in His miracles? Almost certainly. Jesus Himself sadly recognized that many of His followers' faith wasn't what it should have been. In the first reading from Acts of the Apostles, Jesus’s followers gathered together and asked him, “Has the time come, Rabbi? Are you going to restore sovereignty to Israel?” And yet, after He was gone from the Earth (however it actually happened) and the last of the disciples who actually knew Jesus likewise died, His teachings lived on.

The first manifestation of the Holy Spirit may have been the communities of believers who seemingly sprung up everywhere St. Paul went. Not only that, but their faith was strong enough and real enough for them to still maintain their belief after Paul left (or was chased out, which is what happened in the first reading a few weeks back). Do we even know how Paul preached? All we have are the letters he wrote back to the faith communities he created–and maybe not all the letters he wrote, at that. What I am trying to say is that the content of Jesus’s message was so powerful that even without His physical presence, it found its way into people’s souls.

As I write this, we are a few days into the papacy of Leo XIV, the Chicago-born pope. His predecessor Francis pivoted the Papacy to more closely align with the priorities of Jesus–recognizing that God favors the most marginalized. If nothing else, I pray and hope that Pope Leo continues the path set by his predecessor, prioritizing Christ’s teachings and allowing the Holy Spirit to work in the Church.

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Marianne Seggerman joined the chapter of Dignity New Haven around 30 years ago. That chapter is no longer alas but she continues to attend the biannual conference. In her day job she is a computer programmer living (and for the moment working) in Westport Connecticut. She is in a long-term relationship with a person raised Jewish who converted to the Mormon faith.    

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