On this day, the Church celebrates the Feast of Ascension, known as the moment in which Jesus Christ “ascended into heaven,” and commonly accepted as one of the most important events that marked the beginning of the Church. Today’s readings invite us to consider three things: 1) that God has given us a unique role as stewards of God’s reign; 2) that role is intrinsic to the power of the Spirit that dwells in each one of us; and 3) the connection of these two moments, i.e., the gift of the Spirit and the commission of the disciples, marks the beginning of the Church. This has profound implications on how we perceive the Church. At the womb of the Church, we do not find the farewell of Jesus, nor the election of a leader, nor even the institutionalization of a group. Both Luke and Matthew connect the raison d’être of the Church with its mission, with the building up of the Reign of God that impends over those who follow Jesus. 

Yet, the disciples were confused and slow to understand Jesus’s words. They continued asking when Jesus would restore the Reign of Israel. However, the restoration of the Reign of God cannot be seen as a one-time event that would come from above and would radically change everything. “Why are you standing there looking at the sky?” Asked the two men dressed in white garments. According to Luke and Matthew, the restoration of the Reign of God depends primarily on how we live out the mission that has been entrusted to us in the life of the Spirit. In other words, the Reign of God depends on how we look not at the sky, but at the reality.

Ignacio Ellacuría (1930-1989) was a Spanish-Salvadoran Jesuit priest. He is a renowned theologian and philosopher who helped to lay out and solidify the philosophical basis of the Latin American movement of liberation theology. He became the president of the University of Central America (UCA) and was able to create a “different kind of university” that has been actively engaged with the social reality. Ellacuría assumed a central role shaping not only the vision of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) in Central America, but also the role of the Church in Latin America. He became what we could call a “mystic with open eyes,” committed to God’s love for the world, and in particular to bringing the crucified people down from the cross. Ellacuría was murdered in 1989 – along with five other Jesuits with whom he lived, their housekeeper and her daughter – by members of the Salvadoran army.

‘Historical reality’ is a central category to Ellacuría. Love That Produces Hope: The Thought of Ignacio Ellacuría, edited by Kevin F. Burke and Robert Lassalle-Klein, reads: “An adequate knowing of things as elements of historical reality must go far beyond an observation and description of realities from the outside.” Rather, such knowing must include “a being in the midst of the reality of things” (156). The more one delves into the depths of reality and embraces it, the more one will be open to the possibility of an encounter with the other and with the Divine. 

In “Laying the Philosophical Foundations of Latin American Theological Method (1975),” Ellacuría explains how this encounter with reality encompasses three dimensions. The first dimension, ‘becoming aware of the weight of reality’ requires an honesty in the face of reality and, thus, a respect of the truth of God’s presence in that reality whether that reality be one of grace or sin. This implies not only attentiveness to reality, but also a call to oppose those forces that disfigure that reality and dehumanize women and men. The second dimension, ‘shouldering the weight of reality’ demands a necessary ethical commitment. Finally, ‘taking charge of reality’ leads to action that seeks transformation. For Ellacuría, “no real change of meaning occurs without a real change of reality” (81).

During the Feast of the Ascension, we should not only recall Jesus’ farewell, but also make memory of the great commission through which we are called to embrace our reality in the light of the Spirit. 

We usually tend to pick quiet and more isolated places to meditate. This time, I would like to invite you to meditate “amidst the reality of things.” This week, choose a moment amidst the hustle and bustle of your day or routine to engage with your own reality. It can be during a class you teach (perhaps, you can find a moment while students are doing group work); it can be in the traffic on your way home or in the subway, train, streets during rush hours…Try to be fully present to that reality already inhabited by the Divine Spirit.

José Simeón Cañas Central American University (UCA) is Jesuit university in El Salvador created in 1965. It became a prestigious university in Latin America not only because of the quality of its research and learning, but also due to its innovative pedagogical methods that prepare students to become deeply committed to social change. Ignacio Ellacuría was the rector of this university during the 1980s. 

For Ellacuría, the university is inevitably a social force and should use its power “to transform and enlighten the society in which it lives” (Commencement Address Santa Clara University). This critical and creative social consciousness, which called to a solidarity with the poor and the oppressed in El Salvador, became the central mission and unambiguous criterion of the university’s decision process. This can be seen in their research work, publications, public initiatives, programs, teaching, development of public policies, etc. In fact, the university played an important contribution to the peace accords that were celebrated after the Salvadoran civil war. The UCA has set an example of a university opened to its reality and called to respond directly to the social and political challenges, always in solidarity with the poor.

Christ of Saint John of the Cross, Salvador Dali, 1951.

Image description: Against a dark background, we look down at Jesus hanging on the cross. Below him is earth and sky.