Oblates of St. Francis de Sales

New DeSales World Newsletter - Summer Edition

ASCENSION OF THE LORD (May 17, 2007 or May 20, 2007)

Suggested Emphasis

"Go, make disciples of all nations."

Salesian Perspective

In speaking on the mystery of the Ascension of Our Lord, Francis de Sales wrote: "We forsake our merely human life in order to live a loftier life above ourselves. We hide all this new life in God with Jesus Christ who alone sees it, knows it and gives it. Our new life is heavenly love, which vivifies and animates our soul, and this love is wholly hidden in God and the things of God with Jesus Christ. As the sacred words of the Gospel say, after Jesus had shown himself for a little while to his disciples, he ascended up to heaven, and at length a cloud surrounded him, took him and hid him from their eyes. Jesus Christ, then, is hidden in heaven in God. Jesus Christ is our love, and our love is the life of our soul. Therefore our life is hidden in God with Jesus Christ, and when Jesus who is our love and therefore our spiritual life shall appear on the Day of Judgment, we shall also appear with him in glory. That is, Jesus Christ, our love, will glorify us by communicating to us his own joy and splendor." (Treatise on the Love of God, Book VII, Chapter 6)

Our life is indeed hidden in God. The deepest reality of who we are is known only to God. Still, for Francis de Sales, living a life hidden in God is not the same as keeping that life a secret: it is about giving witness to the deepest truth of who we are - and who God is - by the quality of our relationships with one another. Appropriate, then, that Francis de Sales calls us to practice the hidden virtues, "those little, humble virtues which grow like flowers at the foot of the cross: helping the poor, visiting the sick and taking care of your family, with all the tasks that go with such things and with all that useful diligence that will not allow you to stand idle." (Introduction to the Devout Life, Part III, Chapter 35)

Through the Ascension, Jesus has been removed from our sight: at least, from the grasp of our physical sight. Nevertheless, the same authority that Jesus claimed from his Father is given to us by virtue of our creation and confirmed in our baptism. We are called to continue the work that Jesus began, that is, to make disciples - followers, believers - of all nations. We are called to be convincing signs of the ongoing redemptive and challenging activity of the triune God, but in the simple, ordinary and everyday tasks of everyday life.

Paradoxically, to the extent that we are faithful to practicing the little, the hidden virtues that grow "at the foot of the cross" Jesus is no longer hidden: he becomes visible in our love, our concern, our pursuit of justice, our promotion of peace, our willingness to forgive, our attempts at healing.

What could be a more powerful - and convincing - way of making disciples of all nations?

Or, at least the people with whom we interact every day.

Rev. Michael S. Murray, OSFS, is the Executive Director of the De Sales Spirituality Center.