Monsignor Enrique Díaz Díaz shares with Exaudi readers his reflection on the  Gospel of this Sunday, May 17, 2026,   entitled:  “I will be with you always, to the very end of the age .”

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Acts of the Apostles 1:1-11 : “You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

Psalm 46:  “Amid shouts of joy, God ascends to his throne. Hallelujah.”

Ephesians 1:17-23:  “He seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms.”

Matthew 28:16-20:  “I will be with you always, to the very end of the age.”

What contrasts! Christ has risen and revealed himself to his apostles, filling them with peace and new hope, but now, as he is about to depart, that secret ambition that still gnaws at their hearts resurfaces:  “Lord, are you now going to restore the kingdom of Israel?”  The apostles hadn’t grasped what this was really about. That’s why they ask about the restoration of Israel, still dreaming of a temporal and political triumph. Jesus perceives their difficulty in understanding, so he redirects their aspirations and first exhorts them to wait for the Holy Spirit. A time of waiting and prayer. When the Holy Spirit arrives, when he descends upon them, when he fills them from within, then they will understand that his Kingdom is not of this world, that it is something much greater and more transcendent, a Kingdom of peace and love, a Kingdom without boundaries of space or time, which will ultimately destroy death itself and achieve a formidable and unending triumph. But a Kingdom that is built from the small spaces and the limited times we live in.

And once filled with the Spirit, he sends them—how different from what they expected!—as his witnesses, filled with strength,  “to Jerusalem”  (yes, to the city where they persecuted him, attacked him, and murdered him by hanging him on the cross);  “to Samaria”  (the region that once closed its doors to him); and  “to the ends of the earth .” We understand very well what “ends” means: what almost no one sees, where the garbage is thrown, what is hidden and forgotten, what remains concealed, the corners… And so, to these fearful and cowardly beings, he entrusts a mission that seems enormous but fills their hearts with enthusiasm and hope: “to be witnesses of Jesus,” not from a position of power, but from one of service. Today there are many places where there is no hope, places of violence and insecurity, places of discrimination and hunger, places we wouldn’t even want to visit. Yet today, Jesus also fills us with his Spirit and makes us his witnesses, precisely in these most remote corners. The disciple of Jesus thus assumes a responsibility before society and history in the face of all these marginalized and border situations. He cannot remain a passive or indifferent spectator, lacking proposals to develop, as if the new world should be built by others or as if we were waiting for illustrious figures to come and illuminate it. Let us not wait to be criticized for our lack of proposals and commitments. Let us not remain merely contemplating Christ ascending to the heavens. The angels, looking at the disciples in rapture, urged them:  “Men of Galilee, why do you stand here gazing into the sky?”  What would they say to us today?

The Book of Acts, in narrating the Ascension of the Lord, does not merely recount an event, but insists on highlighting the central themes that will strengthen the faith of the disciple, Theophilus (“friend of God”), throughout the ages. It shows us Jesus glorified, the goal and end of every Christian, and assures us of his definitive return. As we read in the writings of the first centuries, it was precisely this confidence and certainty that the Lord would soon return that truly kept alive in the disciples the enthusiasm and strength necessary to continue preaching amidst so many difficulties and persecutions. But I believe that while this hope of the Lord’s second coming will encourage and strengthen us, it should not be an alienation or a pipe dream. To strengthen our hope, we have the insistence that Saint Matthew offers us regarding the certainty that the Lord is with us every day until the end of the world. Just as he has drawn near to those “last places” and transformed them into places of privilege and service; Just as He has filled them with light and meaning; just as He has redeemed and dignified them, now in each of His disciples, His witnesses, He makes Himself present to give new hope. And every Christian is a witness of Jesus. For good reason, Saint Paul reminds the Ephesians that each disciple has been called to hope and has received the rich and glorious inheritance that God gives to His own.

This Ascension Sunday, we cannot remain gazing at the sky or beyond the clouds. Christ commands us to go to the farthest corners of the earth and bring hope and joy, to proclaim His Good News. Today we must look to heaven as our goal, but keep our feet firmly planted on the ground, our reality. The Ascension is presented to us on a mountaintop, for we must set our sights high and aspire to the greatest things. But the journey is made step by step, and we need to pay close attention to every corner and every stone in order to advance. Ah! Let us not forget what Christ promises: “ And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age .” The meaning of the cloud, from the Old Testament, is twofold: on the one hand, it signifies transcendence, but on the other, it signifies the presence of God who walks with His people.

How are we living our path? Are we the men who bring hope to the most remote corners of the earth? Are we committed to the fight for justice and equality, while also looking beyond the earthly realm?

Lord Jesus, do not let us become enslaved by our own circumstances, but neither let us forget to fight for justice and truth by ignoring your Kingdom. Grant that with a healthy hope we may build your Kingdom here on earth, always looking towards heaven where you await us. Amen