Jesus ascends beyond the clouds, far above suffering and death; ascends to His throne to be seated at the right hand of His Father, forever in glory. “Far above every principality, authority, power, dominion, and every name that is named not only in this age, but also in the one to come.” (Eph. 1:22) If we come to know Him and to abide in Him, the inheritance is ours. No one can imagine this inheritance. Like someone who stumbles into a robbers’ cave, opens his eyes and sees vast treasure chests filled with sparkling gems and gold pieces, the shock is more than our senses can stand. Jesus ascends to His Father to open up the treasure chests of His merits and of graces that are inestimable. “…the fullness of the one who fills all things in every way.” (Eph. 1:23) Riches upon riches. Grace upon grace. The ascension of Jesus brings us to the threshold of His wondrous and endless treasure trove.
Jesus has gone to prepare a place for us. The way is open to us, but we need to open the eyes of our hearts and to trust that our happiness is not to be found on this small planet, on this short river of time, but in eternity. If we direct our gaze upward, the eyes of our heart can receive the riches of grace at each moment. “…Let us approach with a sincere heart and in absolute trust, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed in pure water.” (Heb. 10:22) If we remain true to our confession of faith, our home will be waiting for us. We can look forward to death. We can accept disappointment and disability, transforming them with trust in God’s merciful love to Divine Savings Bonds – to IRA’s that won’t dissolve.
All this is because God our Father has destined us, from before the world began, to be His heirs, blessed us with every spiritual blessing as His adopted children. All this through Jesus Christ, His only-begotten Son. “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace.” (Eph.1:7) Jesus is the greatest all-time “robber”, for He has robbed Death and the Devil of their prey. But how do we gain entrance to this “Robber’s” cave? The opening is very small. For children this is not much of a problem, but for those who are over the age of eight, it can be very difficult to squeeze through because the opening to the cave is none other than the wound left by the lance in Jesus’ heart. You must leave behind all your gear and gizmos, your travel guides, climbing ropes and back packs: there is no room for them. However, once you have entered this cave, this Sacred Heart of Jesus, it is enormous, mammoth, fantastically large. The whole universe could not fill it.
“Beloved,” Pope St. Clement writes to the Corinthians, “Jesus Christ is our salvation…” Treasures that will not tarnish: eternal life, love, laws that lead to true freedom. Treasures that can be given away: wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, and fear to the Lord. “Through Him our gaze penetrates the heights of heaven and we see… the most holy face of God.” To love and know we are loved. “Think of the dark tomb out of which our Creator brought us into his world where He had his gifts prepared for us even before we we born…” To exist in this time and in this place. To have a purpose for our life. To be given helps to achieve that purpose. To become who we are, the child of God He created us to be.
With the eyes of our heart, we look up to heaven where Jesus has ascended. He will send the Paraclete with these gifts of life and spiritual rebirth, treasures of grace and love – all born from the blood and water which flowed from the wound in His sacred Heart. And so, entering into the cavern of this heart, this treasure trove of love, we discover all.