“The Lord is still with us today; He fulfills His promise, His covenant. Through His grace, His word, and His love, He is within us, among us, and acts among us,” Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia, Archbishop of Mtskheta-Tbilisi, Metropolitan of Bichvinta and Tskhum-Abkhazia Shio III said during his sermon.

According to the Patriarch, if some of us do not notice or feel His presence, it means that the reason lies within us: either we do not love Him enough, or we do not think about Him enough.

“Today we commemorate the event when the Lord Jesus Christ spoke to His apostles for the last time, appeared to them one final time, and commanded them to remain in Jerusalem and await the descent of the Holy Spirit. Then He led them to the Mount of Olives, blessed them, and before their eyes began to ascend into heaven. Witnessing this, they were astonished. Two angels appeared to them and said: ‘Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw Him go into heaven’ (Acts 1:11). The Gospel tells us that they returned to Jerusalem with great joy.

It would seem that they had been separated from the Lord, that their daily happiness of speaking and being with Jesus Christ had come to an end. So what made them rejoice? Why did they have such great joy? And why do we also celebrate this great event?

First of all, the Lord Jesus Christ promised them the coming of the Holy Spirit, the gift of the Holy Spirit. Then, especially after this event, their faith was strengthened and confirmed that Jesus Christ is truly the Son of God, and it became evident that He possesses two natures: divine and human. Also, the Lord promised them that He would always be with them: ‘I am with you always, to the end of the age’ (Matthew 28:20). You remember these words, do you not? But these words were not intended only for the apostles, because they passed away, while the end of the world has not yet come, correct? Therefore, these words are intended for Christians of all times - for everyone.

Indeed, we see that the Lord is still with us today; He fulfills His promise, His covenant. Through His grace, His word, and His love, He is within us and among us, acting in our midst. If some of us do not notice or feel His presence, it means that the reason lies within us: either we do not love Him enough, or we do not think about Him enough, and therefore we lack this grace and cannot feel His presence and closeness. Therefore, we should reflect on what this reason is within us. If we ask the Lord, He will certainly show us what we need to correct in order to feel His closeness and His love more and more deeply.

Another mystery is connected with the Lord’s Ascension into heaven. It is the promise that He will come to earth a second time, that He will return again as Lord and Judge. As you know, His coming will then be in glory. But regarding the day and hour of this event, as the Lord Himself said, no one knows - only the Heavenly Father knows. Only certain signs and prerequisites of His Second Coming are known.

Thus, this great event inspires us, dear brothers and sisters, that, as the Apostle Paul says, ‘our citizenship is in heaven, from which we await our Savior, Jesus Christ’ (Philippians 3:20); and that we should think of heavenly things, not earthly things, and strive toward the heavenly, where our Lord Jesus Christ sits at the right hand of God (Colossians 3:1–2). As the Holy Fathers teach us, we must always remember that our earthly life is a temporary journey. Saint John Chrysostom often says this - that our true and eternal homeland is in heaven.

Once again, I congratulate you on today’s feast day. May God bless you, bring you joy, and strengthen you. May the Lord grant your spiritual elevation, the spiritual elevation of each one of us, and the spiritual elevation, unity, strengthening, and salvation of Georgia. Amen!” the Patriarch said.