We are the body of Jesus in the world today!

Ascension of the Lord Matthew 28:16-20 The eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had ordered them. When they saw him, they worshiped, but they doubted. Then Jesus approached and said to them, “All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.” Today we celebrate the Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord. In the middle of the Easter season we take a day to consider that Jesus, after his death and resurrection, ascended into heaven. What is it that we are celebrating today? We are remembering that Jesus, after his resurrection, ascended into heaven. Which simply means that Jesus' body is not here on earth. But we are here. We remember very well the stories of the Resurrected Jesus. Eating with the disciples, even preparing breakfast for them. Inviting Tomas to put his hand in his side. It was a time of blessings for the disciples, a time for Jesus to give his final instructions to the 12. Jesus, is always here amongst us and, in a week we will celebrate the feast of Pentecost, the gift of the Holy Spirit and the birth of the church. But the body of Jesus is not here, we cannot see Jesus, we cannot touch him, his physical presence is not here anymore. Others cannot know Christ directly, but they can know us. They can see us, they can touch us. They can know Christ through us, the church, the believing people. In the gospel Jesus sends the disciples with the command to baptize all nations in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Baptism, is one of the seven sacraments. We are a sacramental church; through the celebration of the sacraments, we form the church. Through the sacraments we make Christ present in today's world. And in the church Jesus is still visible in the world today. It has always been the truth, but today, especially here in the diocese of Toledo, among the Latino community it is more important than ever. For the last year the Redemptorists have had the opportunity to walk with you, but you are the presence of the church here in Bryan, in Defiance, Wauseon, Lima, Toledo, Willard, Norwalk and many other towns and communities here. The Spanish-speaking church continues to grow. And the truth is that we don't have enough priests to serve the community. And the priests they have make a lot of effort, but they don't speak Spanish very well. So, it is through you that Jesus is still present. 500 years ago, St. Teresa of Avila expressed this reality very well. I want to leave you with her words: "Christ has no body, but yours, He has no hands, or feet on the ground, but yours, Yours are the eyes with which you see Compassion in this world, Yours are the feet with which he walks to do good, Yours are the hands, with which all the world blesses. Yours are the hands, yours are the feet, yours are the eyes, you are His body. Christ has no other body on earth but yours." –Saint Teresa of Avila