Ascension Sunday | The Great Commission & Backing the Wrong Horse | Fr. Brian Larkin | May 24, 2020

Join us for the Seventh Sunday of Easter Mass livestream from Our Lady of Lourdes in Denver, CO, May 24th Homily at 13:35 Point #1: Matthew 28 "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations." "The Great Commission today is the Gospel." —An important figure in Fr. Brian's life was once asked why he is not Evangelical Christian—to believe simply that Jesus is the son of God, and that is enough. He responded, "Because of one word in The Great Commission: 'Go and teach them ALL that I have commanded you.' That one word, 'all' is the reason why I am Catholic." Although a lot of tremendous goodness exists in Evangelical Christianity, people of Evangelical descent often wonder why it isn't enough to love Jesus. Jesus does not command us only to observe that He is God; Jesus commands us to follow ALL of what he taught us. And, that fulness is found in the Catholic Faith. ---------------------------------- Point #2: There is a great spiritual battle going on. Make sure you are "backing the right horse." Learn from King Herod, in the Battle of Actium, who backed Mark Antony instead of Octavian (Caesar Augustus). Caesar won the battle, and King Herod had to swallow his pride and follow after him, because he was a politician. "The Ascension of Christ is the feast that calls Christ's Church, you and I, to mission." "I don't know who brought the news to Herod the Great, but all three readings today show that the Ascension is our summons to go on mission, to show who the real King is. That king is not Caesar; that king is Christ."—Fr. Brian Larkin The Lord of the world rules in truth and love and goodness, and that calls you and I to mission. "When the Church forgets her mission, she becomes strange." Look at the gorgeous chalices in Spain—their purpose is to house the Blood of Christ. Without that meaning, it becomes a countersign of everything Christianity is about. The Church solely exists for the proclamation of Jesus Christ. "If Christ is all-powerful, why does it seem like we're losing the fight? Why is the world fighting us on every moral issue, and why does it seem like we're losing?" Ephesians is one of St. Paul's prison letters, written about 62 AD. Paul is in chains in Rome, because he understands something that the rest of us don't. Life is not about comfort. Life is about recognizing Christ as King so that we all may be saved. If we forget this, our faith will run dry. Our enemy is not those who believe differently than we do, those who run the abortion industry (though that is a battle we need to win), or even those who imprison us. The real enemy is the devil and his minions. Lord, may we remain on mission so as to defeat the real Enemy.