Taking off our training wheels (The Ascension of the Lord)

One of the big moments in a child's life comes when she trades in her tricycle for a two-wheeler bike with training wheels. Soon enough the day arrives to remove even these. Self-confidence and independence come from experience, from trial and error, and above all from overcoming the fear of falling or failing. An anxious but proud parent's guiding hand helps maintain balance for awhile but then comes the moment of truth when the parent lets go and the child rides all on her own. "Mom! Dad! Look what I can do!" This small step on the road to maturity demands a willingness on the part of the parents to let go.

Among other things, the Ascension of Our Lord marks the removal of our spiritual training wheels. Unless we experience Jesus' absence, we will never grow up. Unless we learn to make our own mistakes and learn from them, we will not develop a sense of balance, compassion and justice. More importantly, unless Jesus leaves us we will never experience much less appreciate the power of God within us: the Holy Spirit.

That awkward time between the Ascension and Pentecost was necessary to remind the apostles---and us--that without God we can do nothing, but with God there is nothing we cannot do.

The Ascension also celebrates the holiness, not just of humanity but of all creation. When Jesus ascended into heaven he took his glorified human body with him. His human, albeit resurrected, body was made from the elements of the world around him. Even after rising from the dead, Jesus is recorded as having eaten bread and fish. In other words, God continues to interact with the material world of nature.

The Ascension of our Lord into heaven completes the mystery of the Incarnation when God became human. When the Holy Spirit descended on the Blessed Virgin Mary and she conceived Jesus, her humanity did not explode. You might say that humanity, created from the beginning in the image and likeness of God, was designed specifically to receive the Holy Spirit. Conversely, from all eternity God was prepared for the ultimate marriage between divinity and humanity which was consummated when Jesus ascended body and soul, humanity and divinity into heaven. The Trinity did not implode when he ascended with his human nature into the Godhead. This says as much about God as it does about us. Christmas celebrates God with us; The Ascension celebrates us with God.

Jesus came to earth to take away our sin, that is, our alienation, not just between humans and God but also between humans with one another and between all creation and our Creator. Through the incarnation and ascension of Jesus, all creation participates in the life of God. As such, we must be as deferential and respectful of creation as we are of the bread and wine that become the body and blood of Christ.

Church law mandates that the bread must be made of pure wheat flour with no yeast, that is, no corruption. The wine, too, must be made from grapes with no preservatives and at least 12 percent alcohol.

If we are so careful to safeguard the purity of the material that, through the words of consecration and the Holy Spirit, will become the Body and Blood of Christ, shouldn't we be equally careful of the elements of the world around us that participate in the reign of God and the new creation?

At the Ascension two angels appeared and asked, "Men of Galilee, why do you stand there staring into the sky?" Yes, Jesus has disappeared from our sight but he has not left us. What's more, we have a lot of work to do here on earth. People deserve to know the Good News of what Jesus has done for us. People are literally dying to know their sins are forgiven. People have a right to hear that Jesus saved the world.

If you truly believe Jesus has saved the world, now is the time for all people of faith and good will to do our part and save the earth.

The oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is only the latest outrage against the environment. Our air is polluted, our rivers contaminated, our oceans dying, our rain forests disappearing. As disciples of Christ who believe God became human on this planet and who consecrated the earth by his presence, we have an obligation to clean up the various messes we humans have made.

We honor God when we take care of the world God made and gave us. We can still save our environment by being mindful of how we live on the earth and of our impact on it. And we can hold individuals as well as companies responsible and accountable for their actions. Let us do our part to clean up our world so one day we, too, as sons and daughters of God, can point with pride to our earth and pray, "Our Father in heaven, look what we can do!"

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Environmental Enforcers

RIVERKEEPER started as the Hudson River Fishermen's Association in 1967 to protect the dwindling fish stock. Robert Kennedy Jr. took an interest and it morphed into Riverkeeper, a law enforcement and patrolling agency, according to Philip Musegasse who spoke to us on Wednesday.

Battling the nuclear power plant at Indian Point (5 miles north of here) has been a 40-year struggle. It uses 2.5 billion gallons of water a day—twice the amount used by NYC. And they use it for free. Heated water is thenreleased back into the river. This destroys millions of fish eggs and small fish: American shad, river herring, striped bass and Atlantic sturgeon, which can grow up to eight feet long. Female stugeon do not reproduce young till they are 20. Though protected, they still are effected by Indian Point.

RK's goal is a swimmable, fishable and drinkable Hudson river. Also of late energy companies have begun leasing land and drilling for natural gas in the Catskills which runs the risk of cataminating the watershed, should there be a spill or accident.

GE had been dumping PCBs in the Hudson for years and finally they started dredging, with EPA monitoring for any "resuspension" of pollutants downstream. PCBs would take thousands of years to breakdown, meanwhile killing wildlife as well as causing cancer or other diseases in humans.

Newtown Creek near NYC had been polluted with sludge (see photo) by Exxon Mobil which RK is suing to clean up.

Musegasse said RK patrols by boat and helicopter and takes water samples from 100 locations several times a month. Test results are posted on their website. www.riverkeepers.org

Pharmaceuticals are showing up in larger amounts in the water and ecosystem. What effect these have on fish and waterfowl remains to be seen.

Riverkeeper collaborates with Clearwater and Scenic Hudson to protect the environment, educate people and help future generations enjoy the mighty Hudson river.

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A Greener (but not Grassy) Knoll

CARE FOR THE EARTH has long been a Maryknoll concern, even before it became fashionable to recycle. Fully 30 years ago, Father John Barth (then still a sem?) actively advocated setting up bins to collect our old newspapers and cans. We planted trees. We installed water-efficient turbo flushers in our toilets. We began using energy-saving light bulbs.

Such is the nature of Maryknoll that many of these were individual initiatives which faded once the missioner returned overseas. What remains lacking is a coordinated, organizational awareness and push to go greener at the Knoll.

More ecologically minded visitors look aghast at our less than eco-friendly use of "disposable" plastic cups, utensils and dishes. We still provide "disposable" plastic bottled water rather than refill water bottles from a cooler or even the tap.

To be sure, some changes have been made "permanently," such as our dining room providing brown paper napkins made without toxic bleaching agents, and recycled/recyclable paper cups replacing styrofoam ones. But other ideas, alas, fell victim to the economy. House residents overwhelming supported a suggestion by Father John Ruessman to use only "Fair Trade" coffee. It was more expensive but deemed worth it. This started in 2008 about a month before the economy tanked. With a stroke of the pen and a dip in the Dow, Fair Trade went out the door.

Do you have any more suggestions how we can reduce Maryknoll's carbon footprint? (I've been told we can radically reduce Maryknoll's carbon buttprint by getting up off our asses and doing something about the environment.)