As I think of that moment in the lives of the apostles when they had to say good-bye to Jesus and see Him ascend to Heaven, I cannot help but think that they must have been filled with a sense of loss. They realized that they would not be able to see their Lord in the same way anymore, hear His words, see His concern for others, see Him kneeling and praying to God the Father. They must have experienced a very human emotion of grief which comes when we have to say good-bye. But they knew that this had to be, that there was no other way. This life on earth involves ongoing changes that are not easy.
And yet, we read in today’s Gospel reading that the apostles return to Jerusalem with great joy, and they were continually in the temple praising God. How is this joy possible in the face of having to say good-bye to the Lord? They understood what Jesus was all about. They understood that everything that Jesus did was pointing toward a greater reality than this early life, that there is Heaven which is awaiting all who believe, and that they will be reunited with Christ once again in Heaven. It was their faith in eternal life and gratitude for God’s love that filled them with such great joy.
As many of you have heard by now, I will be leaving St. Mary’s and the Missions Parish at the end of June. My 7 years at this parish have been nothing but a blessing to me, and I leave with mixed feelings: sadness for what I must leave, but also gratitude for time spent here, and excitement about the future. My hope as a priest has always been to lead people to Jesus, not just to myself, and to leave the parish better than what I found it. I hope that my ministry at this wonderful parish has succeeded in these goals, at least in some small part. Bishop Crosby has blessed me by sending me to Owen Sound, and now the same Bishop is sending me to undergo further studies. I will be moving to Hamilton where I will pursue studies in Spiritual Care and Psychotherapy, acquiring further tools to help people. May we continue our journey of faith as the apostles did: with great joy. I love you all.
Fr. Wojtek Kuzma