Seventh Sunday of Easter – Year A (2026)
Sunday, May 17, 2026
The Ascension of the Lord celebrates Jesus Christ’s bodily ascent into heaven forty days after his Resurrection. It marks the completion of His earthly mission and the beginning of a new way that Christ remains present to the Church. This week, we continue our Eastertide journey with joy and place our hope in His Resurrection. In most dioceses across the United States, the Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord is transferred to the following Sunday, May 17, 2026. However, in the ecclesiastical provinces of New York, Boston, Hartford, Omaha, and Philadelphia, the Ascension was celebrated this past Thursday, and this Sunday’s liturgy is the Seventh Sunday of Easter.
Christ’s Passion, death, Resurrection, Ascension, and the sending of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost are not individual, isolated events, feasts, or solemnities; together, they are parts of and the completion of the Paschal Mystery. In the Gospel of John, Jesus tells Mary Magdalene: “Stop holding on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father.” — John 20:17. And to His disciples, Jesus says, “I tell you the truth, it is better for you that I go. For if I do not go, the Advocate will not come to you.” — John 16:7. These words of Jesus foretell these events, revealing that the Resurrection is not the final step. Christ rises, ascends, and then sends the Holy Spirit at Pentecost.
In today’s reading from Acts, we encounter the apostles caught in the days between the Ascension of Jesus and the descent of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. They grieved Jesus’ departure and were confounded about their way forward, yet they did not scatter. They returned to Jerusalem and gathered in the “upper room.” This is their waiting sanctuary. St. Luke emphasizes a detail that can easily be overlooked: they do not immediately go public to spread the Good News of the Resurrection; they “devoted themselves with one accord to prayer, together with some women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers.” — Acts 1:14.
Sometimes waiting is an active part of God’s calling. Prayerful waiting, grounded in Christ’s teaching; seeking unity with members of the Church; and expecting ire and conflict from the world are the patterns that Christian life is modeled on. Do we start all our endeavors with prayer? Do we reflect on and observe Christ’s teachings? Do we aim to be united with the Church in our beliefs and mission? Do we anticipate rejection from the world and pray for perseverance? Christian life is not defined by frantic activity but is shaped by prayer and worship of God, even amid uncertainty or suffering.
The Church teaches, “God put us in the world to know, to love, and to serve him, and so to come to paradise. Beatitude makes us “partakers of the divine nature” and of eternal life. With beatitude, man enters into the glory of Christ and into the joy of the Trinitarian life.” — Catechism §1721. We were created to know, love, and serve God. Eternal life already begins the moment we enter into this relational knowledge.
Go in Peace to Love and Serve the Lord.