Dear Parishioners of Saint Polycarp,
This weekend, we are celebrating the Solemnity of the Ascension of Jesus. Originally, this Solemnity falls on a Thursday of the Sixth Sunday of Easter, which is forty days after the celebration of Easter. However, due to work, most dioceses in the U.S have transferred this Solemnity to Sunday, so that this holy celebration can easily be celebrated and observed by the faithful.
The celebration of the Ascension is principally understood as Jesus being taken up to heaven. Yet, there is a secondary perspective that we rarely pay attention to—that is, this is the final encounter of the Lord and His disciples, which takes place “at a mountain where Jesus has directed them” (Mt 28:16).
Citing scriptures, the late Pope Francis elaborated the significance of the location of this final encounter. He said, “The “mountain” has a strong symbolic and evocative charge. Jesus proclaimed the Beatitudes on the Mount (cf. Mt 5:1-12); He withdrew to the mountains to pray (cf. Mt 14:23). He welcomed the crowds there and healed the sick (cf. Mt 15:29). However, this time on the mountain, [H]e is no longer the Master who acts and teaches, but rather the Risen One who asks the disciples to take action and to proclaim, entrusting to them the mandate to continue his work” (Angelus of May 24, 2020). To the disciples, on this mountain, where the final encounter with their Master takes place, they receive the ultimate assignment to fulfill the mission to all peoples: “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all the 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” (Mt 28: 19-20).
Speaking of the final encounter and ecclesial mission, Sister MaryAnne who oversees the Vietnamese Faith Formation Program will make her final profession or final vows on July 04. She will leave in the middle of May to attend a canonical retreat to prepare her for this special commitment to Christ and the Church.
On a slightly different note, yet still related to ecclesial mission, I want to announce to you that Sister Jessica Corral, who has been with us since 2022 and who has been instrumental in building up the English/Spanish Faith Formation Program at Saint Polycarp, will depart from our parish for a new assignment at the end of June. Her superior informed me of Sister Jessica’s new assignment in March. Please join me in thanking Sister for her dedication, cheerfulness, and ministerial zeal. Pray that her new assignment be filled with the Holy Spirit, and that she always finds joy in her new ministry.
To conclude this pastoral letter, I wish you a blessed and joyful Feast of the Ascension of the Lord. May we continue to live and carry out His mission faithfully.
Fr. Viet Peter Ho
Pastor