For the second consecutive year, our parish is hosting a Ministry Fair during the final weeks of Easter. Last year's fair took place on Pentecost, but we are moving it up one week because Pentecost coincides with Memorial Day weekend. This makes the Ascension of the Lord a fitting alternative, as it marks when the Lord ascended and entrusted His disciples with the Church's mission. Commemorating the 800th anniversary of the death of St. Francis of Assisi, this year's theme is “Channels of His Peace.”

Both the Acts of the Apostles and the Gospel of Matthew record the Lord’s final encounter with His disciples. Here, He gives them the Great Commission: to go forth, preach, and baptize all nations. Acts further details the appearance of two angels, who instruct the disciples to stop gazing up into the sky.

The Ascension of the Lord represents both the culmination of the Lord's saving mission and the definitive beginning of the Church's mission. By leaving this world, He cleared the way for His disciples to begin their ministry. In this light, the words of the two angels at the Ascension serve as an immediate call to action, urging the disciples to embark on the task entrusted to them. 

Throughout the Gospels, whenever the Lord calls someone to follow Him, He does so with the explicit purpose of sending them forth. Prior to the definitive commissioning at the Ascension, the Lord sent His disciples on shorter missions to train them. One of the specific instructions He gave them was: "Without cost you have received; without cost you are to give” (Matthew 10:8). 

Ultimately, when the Lord calls, He equips His disciples for the mission. In the Parable of the Talents, a master entrusts different amounts of money to three individuals—each according to their ability—to put the funds to productive use while he is away on a journey. Upon his return, he calls them to account. While two of the servants return double the original amount, earning praise and a reward, the third returns his amount without having generated any return whatsoever. Consequently, the one who hid the money receives a stern rebuke and punishment.

The gifts God has entrusted to us are intended for the fruitful service of the Church. Indeed, as disciples of the Lord, we are compelled to invest our talents in His service—echoing the words of St. Paul: "If I preach the gospel, this is no reason for me to boast, for an obligation has been imposed on me, and woe to me if I do not preach it!” (1 Corinthians 9:16). 

The Parable of the Unprofitable Servant teaches us another vital aspect of church service. The Lord explains that if a servant returns from working in the fields, his master would not invite him to sit down and immediately eat. Instead, he would tell him to put on his apron and serve dinner first, allowing him to eat only after the master has finished. 

Because a servant receives no special commendation merely for doing his job, the same standard applies to us. When we have obeyed all His commands, we must say: "We are unprofitable servants; we have done what we were obliged to do” (Luke 17:10). Through this, the Lord teaches us that in fulfilling the demanding requirements of discipleship, we are doing nothing more than performing our duty. 

We can thank God for the Church—a community where we can offer the talents He has bestowed upon us. This reality reminds us that we are in far greater need of the church than the Church is of us. I invite you to reflect upon this truth regarding the Church’s mission—the very task the Lord entrusted to His disciples. As modern-day disciples, we bear this solemn responsibility, one for which we must one day render an account. 

Let us humbly ask the Lord for the grace to multiply the talents He has so generously entrusted to us, that they may bear abundant fruit.