Solemnity of the Ascension

Institution of Readers and Acolytes

1. The Institution of Readers and Acolytes is an important enough moment in the path of a seminarian towards the priesthood. They tell the seminarian that his formation to the priesthood has exhibited such positive signs that those who are responsible for the seminary are prepared to consider him formally as having taken a step closer toward the goal of ordination. The judgement of the college superiors is endorsed by the seminarian’s bishop, and so the seminarian is assured that the Church continues to recognise that God is calling him to the priesthood. The seminarian can take heart that his vocational and ministerial development is as it should be, as he is entrusted in a more formal way with the mysteries which lie at the heart of Christian life and of priestly service: the Word of God and the Eucharist. All of this is a grace of this day for which we give thanks to God.

2. The Ministry of Reader points to the Word of God. During these years, seminarians usually become deeply familiar with the Sacred Scriptures in their studies. Theological method will leave them in no doubt that Sacred Scripture is the soul of theology as they become aware that the mysteries of faith are first revealed in the Scriptures. That theological appreciation of the Word of God needs to become in the lives of seminarians and priests, and indeed of all the faithful, an intimacy with the Scriptures, a spiritual enchantment within which we perceive a real presence of Jesus Christ, who calls us to follow him, who invites us to be like him, and who sustains us in the joys and struggles of our spiritual journey. We need to know the Scriptures, love the Scriptures and pray the Scriptures.

3. The Ministry of Acolyte points to the Eucharist. For seminarians and priests, and for many of the faithful, the Eucharist is our daily bread. It is normal for priests to say Mass daily. It is normal in seminary that the Eucharist is celebrated each day. It was my recent experience in this seminary that Mass was always celebrated with no little devotion. The seminarians were eager to adore the Lord present in the Blessed Sacrament. The Church’s faith recognises the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist, the memorial of Christ’s sacrifice, the banquet of eternal life, and the source and summit of Christian life. It is important that your Eucharistic faith and devotion is full and lively. It is important that our lives are coherent with the holiness of the mystery we celebrate. It is what the people expect of their priests. It is what the Church needs today. It is what the Lord calls us to.

4. The mystery of the Ascension that we are celebrating today closes the phase of God’s design for salvation that is associated with the fullness of time and the visible presence on earth of the Incarnate Son. We will not see him now with our eyes until the Son of Man comes in glory on the clouds of heaven. The Ascension liberates the Lord from the limits of time and space so that wonderfully He can be near each one of us. The Ascension is a feast of glory and transcendence but that glory and transcendence overcomes distance and separation. The Ascension is at its core a feast of the nearness of the risen Saviour to his Church. As such the Ascension is mystery of salvation because the Lord comes near to us only to save us.

5. With that sense of the Lord’s nearness to us, I hope the candidates will step forward today with a joyful heart. I hope all the seminarians will be even more ready to persevere in their vocation. I hope the priests will say their "yes" once more to the Lord. I hope we will all be uplifted, gladdened and made holy by the abiding presence of the Lord to his Church.

Pontifical Scots College, Rome