ARRIVEDERCI

Generally, as I say my good-byes to Spanish-speaking folks as they leave church after Mass, we say to each other, "Hasta Luego". It is a common expression, which literally means, "Until Later", but more commonly is used to say, "See you later." However, there is little expectation of that as my ministry takes me throughout the country and most likely I will not be back. Still, there is more truth in that statement than might at first seem clear.

There is a ritual in the celebration of the Mass that perhaps will help to explain. At the beginning of Mass the priest and some of the servers will process down the main aisle to the altar. The deacon or one of the lectors will carry the Book of the Gospels from which the gospel of the day is proclaimed. After Mass, the book remains at the ambo. It is not carried out because once the Word of God is proclaimed it is hoped that the Word has taken root in the listeners, to be brought to life in their actions during the week. If the book is carried out it would seem to say symbolically that the Word was not received.

Similarly, the salutation of "Hasta Luego" (or "Arrivederci" in Italian) expresses the hope, as a result of our brief encounter in this celebration and the proclamation of the Word, that a seed has been sown which will blossom in the hearers, and the re-encounter will be evident in the daily life of the listeners, as they remember, reflect upon, and bring to life what they heard.

This week we celebrate the Ascension of our Lord. Often upon serious reflection one ponders, "Where did Christ ascend to?" The only logical response is: to the source of His Being. As an angel told the first disciples, there is no need to look at the clouds above. God is everywhere...and so, too, is the Risen Christ. And so, too, are we after our earthly journey is over...we, Holy Dust that we are, return to the Holy Source of all that dust...of all that is.

What, then, are we to make of His return, the "second coming" of Christ? The common view is that perhaps Christ will return in some human form as when He first took flesh in Jesus. But perhaps another view may be that the second coming really refers to Christ taking human form in each of us, as we hear His Word and receive His Body so as to incarnate Him in all that we do and say. Thus, if Jesus had said his good-byes to a Spanish- or Italian-speaking group of faithful he, too, might have said, "Hasta Luego" or "Arrivederci"...see you later...in you...and through you.