When somebody whom we love departs for a faraway place, we cannot avoid sadness. Likewise, when we depart for a distant place and leave behind our loved ones, we also feel sad. This is what happens today in the Gospel, or rather in the first reading, where the apostles appear paralyzed, looking up to heaven.

What is certain is that, after being with the disciples for a time, Jesus entrusts a mission to them: “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.” This is the institution of the sacrament of Baptism, whose formula we continue to use until today. We are Trinitarian: we believe in one God in three Persons — Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

At the same time, this is one of the most consoling Gospel passages for me, though we frequently forget it: the promise of Jesus to remain with us always, until the end of time: “And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.”

Fr. Palau experiences the same reality with the Church when she tells him: “When you are alone, you are with me and I with you; and when you are with your neighbors, I am also with you there, because I am the neighbors united with Christ, my Head.” (MR 7, 3)

There is no reason to think that we are alone: Jesus is with us, the Church is with us, and we are with them. We need to reflect on this truth: we are never alone!

Thank you, Lord, for remaining with us! Thank you, Church, for walking side by side with us. Thank you for allowing us to experience that we are part of this Body, which is the Church.