A farmer working in the field came upon a horrible sight. A beautiful horse was stuck in a pit of mud and sinking fast. The farmer called for two friends to bring ropes and a tractor to pull the horse out. “It’s OK. We’re gonna get you out of there.” The herd abandoned the horse now sinking into the mud covering half her lower body. She was abandoned and alone, exhausted from trying to lift herself out of this five feet hole of mud. The rescuers jumped into the hole of thick mud tying ropes around the trapped horse. The filly was exhausted and in dire need of help. She tries to push herself up with her back legs only to fall deeper into the pit. The farmers realize if they don’t get her out of there she will die in this muddy prison.

The rescuers encounter a frustrating problem. They can’t get the ropes low enough under her hips. So they try another way. They place straps under her front legs to pull the horse sideways. Despite this desperate situation, the horse takes a break to eat a little bit of hay located near the hole. She was starving. The farmer ran back to the barn to bring her some hay which she gratefully accepted.

The rescuers jump back into the pit to place the straps around her rear, careful not to injure her tail. The tractor revs its engine to pull her out. “C’mon baby! Jump out of there!” After wallowing in the mud for 45 minutes, the little filly was trapped no more in her muddy hell. The horse fights her way up to stand on all four legs. She staggered away on shaky legs. Before disappearing into the wild, she turns around to nod at her rescuers as if to say “thanks.” She disappeared into the woods to rejoin her herd. This is a beautiful story of what kind-hearted people can achieve.

Jesus came down from Heaven to enter into our pit called Earth. Here he encountered the mud of sickness, suffering, and the hatred of people who rejected His love. The kindness of His pierced heart rescued us from the pit of damnation and death. Instead of using ropes, Jesus used the Cross. Having completed His work of salvation, Jesus arose back to Heaven from whence He came. What does the Ascension of Jesus mean for us today?

The meaning of the Ascension is this: Jesus fulfilled what His Father asked Him to do. Now you have to do your part. What does the Father want you to do? The answer is found at the end of every Mass I celebrate: “The Mass is ended. Go in peace and announce the Gospel by your life.” You show Jesus by living like Jesus. You witness the Good News of Jesus by “being” the Good News Jesus gave us. The Good News is you forgiving. The Good News is you sacrificing to help another. The Good News is you trusting God. The Good News is you loving like Jesus did.

St. Therese of Lisieux discovered what God wants you to do for Him. She wrote in her autobiography about her “Little Way” to God:

“I understood that it was love alone that made the Church’s members act, that if love ever became extinct, apostles would not preach the Gospel and martyrs would not shed their blood. I understood… that love was everything … in a word that it was eternal. Then, in the excess of my delirious joy, I cried out: Oh Jesus, my love … my vocation, at last I have found it: My vocation is love.”

You witness the Good News every time and in every moment you “be” love. Blessings…Fr. Mike