Only one thing has changed at the altar as we move from Easter to Ascension. The green on the chasuble has become gold. The green of our natural lives becomes permeated with gold.

At Ascension, every human soul is called to turn the green of our normal lives into something golden and Christ permeated. For since the Christ has dispersed His golden power into the depths of our hearts and biographies, now our human task is to find this golden thread and weave it in and through all that we do. This is why we hear, “Let your hearts not be troubled. Have faith in the golden power that is leading you to me and leading you to the father.” (Jn 14)

For in our normal lives we find the gift of joys and the burden of sorrows. The joys and sorrows of life weave through our biographies in various combinations and constellations, always present. Everything we experience contains these two. But the more we can learn to see these two as gifts from God- our joys as a divine blessings and the sorrows as important gifts for our becoming, then the green begins to turn to gold. Feeling more and more truly grateful for both our joys and sorrows turns the green of our normal lives into Christ permeated Gold. Cultivating gratitude is the power that leads us to the Father. And The Father is the reality in which we live.