We mourn and are sad, even grief-stricken, when someone who loves us, and whom we love, dies. Even when such a person goes far away, to another city or country, we feel lost. But it's interesting that when Jesus ascended into heaven and disappeared for the last time from the sight of His disciples, they didn't seem to feel lost or abandoned. Why not? No doubt, at that time, they could not clearly explain it. But Jesus, before His passion, had already been preparing them for His 'going away' (Jn. 16). He told them of the Spirit whose presence would comfort and guide them and lead them into understanding what He'd told them about Himself and His Father. They were being introduced into the very life of God's Self. They began to know a divine Father who loves so much that He sent His own divine Son to our earth. In Jesus, they learned that the love between Him and His Father was itself a divine reality. And they began to feel the power of this Spirit in themselves, giving them insight, strength and power that did not come from their qualities or talents.

This power of the Spirit has been given to us. Yes, "God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit" (Rom. 5:5).