Although Christ ascended into heaven, he remains present in a new form through the gifts and power of the Holy Spirit in order to accompany and guide people in their daily lives, Pope Francis said. Because, "by ourselves, without Jesus, we can't do anything," he said at his Regina Coeli address to those gathered in St. Peter's Square on June 1, the day the feast of the Ascension was celebrated in Italy and many other countries. The feast day comes 40 days after Easter and commemorates Jesus' ascension into heaven to be seated at the right hand of God. But some countries, like Italy, observe the feast day the following Sunday. Pope Francis said Jesus returns to heaven to open the way and "show us that the destination of our journey is the Father." But Jesus still "remains present and operates in human history with the power and gifts of his Spirit; he is by the side of each one of us; even if we don't see him with our eyes," he said.
Kurt Hilgefort, is a Catholic father of six who publishes his thoughts on his blog Shadows of Augustine . He responded to my seven question survey with the following answers. Kurt is the first layperson to respond to the seven question survey and I think that his experience is extremely relevant to me personally and I hope that you are inspired by his thoughts as well. If you would like to respond, please send an email to fellmananthony@gmail.com with your thoughts and I will be happy to publish them as well. 1. What is the biggest challenge to your faith that you have faced so far? The biggest challenge for me has been the whole dying to self thing. On an intellectual level, there are no barriers. It comes down to a matter of accepting the authority of the Church that Christ founded upon Peter. My challenge is not in the intellect, but rather in the will. The challenge for me has always been to continually seek conversion. I want to be transformed, but I want it to be over all ...
