Monthly Archives: May 2017

In the growing secularism of contemporary Western culture, Christian believers have to be very intentional in their faith. They have to know the meaning behind feast days and customs. In particular, they should seek to understand the high importance of Easter and the Ascension, which is celebrated today in many places.

Believers have to work to realize and live the truths of faith, especially the Resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, which is the heart of the Christian faith. Summarizing St. Paul to the early body of believers: if Jesus is not risen from the dead, then Christians are the most pitiable of all people.

And so, the Resurrection matters. Easter has a depth that has to be known, cherished, and actualized by believers. The Christian knows that darkness and death have been destroyed and the assurance of eternal life gives a providential perspective to evil, suffering, and other tragedies in life. The Ascension of the Lord has a part in this perspective.

Of course, many different levels of people and believers in the West still like celebrating the customs of Easter. Decorated baskets, colored eggs, and chocolate bunnies all indicate to society that something important is going on. And so, even if the Resurrection and the symbolism of these various customs are forgotten, they can still help people to know that Easter is a proper time for festivity and joy.

But why would the customs of Easter be mentioned now? Wasnt Easter several weeks ago?

Case in point: We have to work to understand Easter. Certainly, Easter is the holy day that commemorates the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, but since that event is so radical in human history and so fundamental to the Christian way of life, Easter is also by extension a fifty-day season in the calendar of the church.

Believers need time to appreciate and assimilate the truths of the Resurrection every year, and so the Easter Season is a time for renewal and deeper formation in their faith.

In particular, the believer has to rediscover the importance and the lessons of the Lords Ascension into heaven.

The Easter season begins to conclude with the Ascension of the Lord. Unfortunately, in our culture, we dont seem to have any customs for the holy day. Even though in many places the feast day is now moved from its traditional Thursday observance to a Sunday, its easy for it to pass without any notice or attention.

This is a sad situation in terms of the believers discipleship since the Ascension is such an intimate and essential event in Christs earthly ministry and in the churchs observance of the Easter season.

After rising from the dead, Jesus spent forty days with the community of disciples. The closeness of this time is especially shown in the Emmaus story, when two disciples were accompanied by Jesus, taught by him, and broke bread with him. In his time with his disciples, Jesus wanted to confirm the early church in the reality of his Resurrection and in his teachings on love, mercy, and reconciliation.

After this period of time with his disciples, Jesus ascended to the Father.

When Christ ascended into heaven, he did not leave his human nature behind. He brought that nature, our human nature, into heaven with him. The Son of God did not leave us orphans. He still has his human nature, and still bears the wounds of his Passion in the kingdom of heaven.

By bringing his human nature into heaven, Jesus Christ opened paradise for the human family. With a glorified human body and a human soul, the Second Person of the Holy Trinity sits at the right hand of God the Father for all eternity. This incorporation of the human and the divine makes him our presence in eternity and the mediator between God and humanity.

This is the pressing and inspiring lesson of the Ascension. It touches the core of the Christian faith, our own dignity as human beings, and the life available to us after death. It is a strong reminder to us of how greatly we are loved and how intensely God desires fellowship with us.

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Recovering the importance and the lessons of the Ascension - Crux: Covering all things Catholic

The 25 pounds DH/LF Corey Dickerson lost during the winter through diet and exercise are considered the primary reason for his ascension to one of the American League's most productive hitters, going into the weekend leading in hits, multihit games and total bases, and ranked in the top five in average, runs and extra-base hits. But there's more to Corey's story most interestingly his use of a 2x4 in hitting drills as in his second season with the Rays he also has emerged as a strong candidate for the AL All-Star team. Here is some of what's new and some of what got him here:

Laying down the wood

While reducing his overall number of pregame swings, Dickerson has returned to a drill he was first introduced to in 2011 at Class A ball by coach Lenn Sakata to reduce his leg kick standing on a 2x4 piece of wood (which is on the ground the long way) while taking swings at a ball on a tee. With his heels hanging off the back, Dickerson forces himself to be better balanced as he swings, first with his feet still, then by striding. "I'm a firm believer in being really grounded," he said. "When I get off it, I feel really grounded and I'm back on my legs, and I feel like I'm where my swing needs to be." Hitting coach Chad Mottola sees the benefits, as do a couple of other Rays now trying it.

A little bit less of a bat man

Dickerson is loosening up his obsessive compulsion in taking care of his bats, including noting and cleaning foul ball scuff marks with rubbing alcohol and retaping the handles daily. "I'm definitely not as bad as I used to be, not as meticulous," Dickerson said, noting some days he will even hit with no tape on the handles. Also, he's sticking with the same models more often rather than frequently changing, currently favoring a Marucci DD10 (named for his son, Davis) that is 34 inches long, 31 ounces and flat gray with a shiny black handle.

Consistent consistency

Dickerson said the biggest reason for the more consistent production is more consistent preparation. "The consistency of what I'm doing is better than it's ever been," he said. "The consistency of my routine, and the way I go up to the plate and handle when I don't have success I continue to be who I am and I know the way I'm doing the process and what I'm doing throughout the day is what's helping my result. And sticking to it, I think that's been the biggest thing, trusting that." Even on a bad day, Dickerson is satisfied knowing he put in the same work and the same time, arriving 1-1:30 p.m. for a 7:10 game, getting busy around 2, starting his cage routine at 3:50 then going onto the field for batting practice.

Leading man

Dickerson seemed like an unorthodox choice when the Rays absent an obvious option slotted him at leadoff vs. right-handed starters, but he has taken to the role and prospered. Dickerson had past experience in the minors and Colorado and said he doesn't consider it a big adjustment: "It's an opportunity to get up there to hit a few more times maybe in a game. I think I can hit in any spot."

Big swingin'

Dickerson has hit four of the Rays' longest homers of the season, per ESPN's Home Run Tracker:

1. 453 feet, May 16 at Cleveland

2. 447 feet, May 20 vs. Yankees

3. 445 feet, April 21 vs. Astros

5. 437 feet, April 16 at Boston

(Logan Morrison had No. 4 at 444, May 10 vs. Royals)

An impressive perspective

No. 2 hitter Kevin Kiermaier has a good view of Dickerson's work, marveling not only at what he has done, specifically hitting for big power and a high average, but how much time, effort, thought and conversation he puts in: "I've never had a teammate who enjoys hitting, or talking about hitting, more than him. I love it when guys take pride in their job. I know he cares so much he can beat himself up at any time, but that's how competitive he is. He can literally hit any pitch anywhere. It doesn't matter if it's up and in at his face, or down and low bouncing off the ground, he can put a barrel on anything."

And another

Cleanup hitter Logan Morrison said what impresses him most is how Dickerson covers the whole plate, and more, and makes solid contact: "He's always had a special eye-hand coordination that very few have. When you see him take (a 97 mph pitch) up at the eyes and hit it down the leftfield line, that's special. And then a changeup down on the plate he somehow hits and fouls off. It's like he's playing cricket sometimes. I told him I would like to see him swing at more strikes and let more balls go, but he hits balls out of the park, so I don't know why you would tell him to do that."

How the deal has worked out

The Rays got Dickerson and minor-league 3B Kevin Padlo from the Rockies in January 2016 for LHP Jake McGee and RHP prospect German Marquez. Here's how they've done:

Dickerson: .268 BA, 36 HRs, 93 RBIs, .823 OPS in 196 games

Padlo: Broke hamate with Stone Crabs; .229, 16 HRs, 66 RBIs in '16

McGee: 2-3, 3.90, 16 of 21 saves in 77 games, no longer closer

Marquez: Joined rotation late April; 4-3, 4.37 in 12 games total

More on Corey

His walkup song is Take My Life, by Jeremy Camp. With the No. 6 he wore in Colorado taken by bench coach Tom Foley, Dickerson chose 10 with the Rays, in part because he grew up in Mississippi watching Braves star Chipper Jones. Was born in McComb, Miss., as were other hitmakers Bo Diddley and Britney Spears (right). With brother Craig, built a backyard mound and would hit berries with a switch and bottle caps and ping-pong balls with a broom handle.

Draft rumblings

MLB.com's latest mock draft has the Rays taking Louisville 1B/LHP Brendan McKay as the No. 4 pick on June 12, with the Twins taking Vanderbilt RHP Kyle Wright No. 1, RHP Hunter Greene going second to the Reds and N.C. prep LHP Mackenzie Gore third to the Padres. Baseball America predicts the Rays take California prep SS/CF Royce Lewis, with Wright first, McKay second and Greene third to the Padres. ESPN's Keith Law has the Rays taking Wright, after McKay, Greene and Lewis. Minorleagueball.com has the Rays taking Gore.

Rays rumblings

With all the grief Indians manager Terry Francona gives buddy Kevin Cash, a just reward would be naming him to the AL All-Star Game coaching staff. One popular question is what the Rays will do with INFs Tim Beckham, Michael Martinez and Daniel Robertson when Matt Duffy and Brad Miller return from the DL; another is whether to keep Derek Norris or Jesus Sucre when C Wilson Ramos is ready next month. With the Yankees adding a Judge's Chambers seating section, what could the Rays do? Kiermaier's Korner? Longoria's Lads? The SouzaPalooza? The Rays are not just last in attendance, but their 14,719 average is barely half the MLB mark of 28,974, with six gatherings under 10,000 despite some weekday ticket bargains. A new stadium will be a big issue in the St. Petersburg mayoral election; the Times' Charlie Frago reports Rays principal owner Stuart Sternberg contributed $10,000 to Rick Kriseman's re-election campaign and other Rays folks another $25,000. It seemed an odd question given their recent improved play and pending return of injured players, but baseball operations president Matt Silverman told MLB Network Radio they are "not even thinking" about selling off. No surprise to those of us watching, but Rays games through last Sunday averaged 3:15:23, behind only the Red Sox and Tigers. FanRag Sports Jon Heyman had RHPs Chris Archer (8), Jake Odorizzi (13), Alex Colome (15), Alex Cobb (25) and Brad Boxberger (54) and 1B Logan Morrison (48) on his list of 70 players who could be traded. The mystery of why Cash ditched his pink hat midway through the Mothee Mother's Day game is solved: He held it in front of a heater to dry it out and it got burned.

Rays Tales: The stories behind Corey Dickerson's ascension 05/27/17 [Last modified: Saturday, May 27, 2017 11:05pm] Photo reprints | Article reprints

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Rays Tales: The stories behind Corey Dickerson's ascension ... - Tampabay.com

The former Dana College campus in Blair came alive one evening last week for an event filled with prayers and music.

The Washington County Ministerial Association sponsored the Ascension Community Celebration on Wednesday.

The organization Angels Share has plans to develop the vacant campus to be named the "Frank and Jane Krejci Learning and Life Community" into residential housing, offices and for the relocation of Grace University from Omaha.

The Grace move is planned first. The target date is May 2018.

The Ascension Celebration began with a flag ceremony by Blair scouts from troops and packs 143 and 232. Hillside Church's praise band and the Ascension Choir provided music.

The Grace Praise Band was scheduled to perform, but members couldn't attend because the Grace University Chambers Choir is embarking on a two-week mission trip to Germany and the Czech Republic. Mike Harvat, a leader for the Grace Praise Band, represented the group by playing a song.

Scouts from troops 143 and 232 in Blair raise a flag during a ceremony at the Ascension Celebration on Wednesday, from left: Alex Luttig, Ty Evangelisti, Robert Hemmingsen and Jason Preister.

Pastor Mark Denger of Christ Lutheran Church, which may establish its first permanent physical home on the campus, said the Ascension Celebration had a few purposes: to "praise the ascended Lord Jesus;" to "thank God for the new thing he is doing at the Dana campus;" and to "pray for the Lord's blessing and power over everything that happens here."

"We believe we achieved those targets," Denger said.

The pastor told the crowd gathered on the Viking Field bleachers that they were there to "celebrate the resurrection of this campus for a godly purpose."

"We are celebrating the fact that God is in this place tonight, and that he will be in this place in the years that are to come," Denger said.

Among projects for the campus, Angels Share founder Ed Shada has developed a plan for 150 residential units to house behavioral health, post-care foster care youth and senior citizens.

"We are not simply celebrating the fact that Grace University is going to occupy this place," Denger said. "We are celebrating the fact there are people who are going to be coming and going from this campus who are going to need encouragement that only Jesus Christ can bring."

A goodwill offering was taken Wednesday for the Washington County Ministerial Association's Good Samaritan Fund, which provides residents with financial support for housing, utility bills, fuel and medicine.

About 190 people attended the Ascension Celebration, including guests.

"It was a beautiful evening," Denger said.

Tim Fischer leads the Ascension Choir during a celebration organized by the Washington County Ministerial Association on Wednesday at the former Dana College campus.

Originally posted here:

Ministerial Association hosts 'Ascension' at Dana - Blair Enterprise Publishing

Posted on 26 May 2017.

Gladden us with holy joys, almighty God, and make us rejoice with devout thanksgiving, for the Ascension of Christ your Son is our exaltation, and, where the Head has gone before in glory, the Body is called to follow in hope. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. (Roman Missal, The Collect of the Mass of the Ascension of our Lord Jesus Christ).

On this Solemnity of the Ascension we give thanks to God for the Ascension of Christ is our exaltation! Why is the Ascension our exaltation? St. Augustine has a wonderful explanation: in the incarnation, the Son of God assumed our humanity so that he could die on the Cross to be in solidarity with the human family who, as a consequence of sin, suffers death. He triumphantly rose from the dead to give us hope and 40 days later returned to God the Father. Jesus brought the human flesh representing our humanity into the mystery of God, something that did not exist prior to the incarnation. God gains nothing from this, but we gain so much. In other words, in the Ascension, we give glory to God because Jesus brought humanity into God. Salvation is not only the forgiveness of sins but brings us into the very mystery of God and the fullness of life.

To truly be the people who believe that the Ascension of the Lord is our Exaltation, one must proclaim this good news of salvation to all men and women. We cannot keep our mouths shut regarding such great news! Jesus has saved the human family not only from sin and death, but has given us the gift of eternal life. We in turn, join the Apostles to be Jesus witnesses to the ends of the earth. Lets begin that witness at our dining room tables with our friends and relatives and share the joy that Christs Ascension is our exaltation. Let everything that we do and say reflect the fact that we are the children of the heavenly kingdom because the Ascension of Christ is our exaltation.

Thanks be to God for our salvation in Christ. Amen.

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The Ascension is our Exaltation - cedarspringspost

Thought for the week: Ascension Day

ON MAY 25, Christians celebrate the fact that Jesus, having risen from the dead, ascended back to his father in heaven.

As I write, Forest Green Rovers Football Club of Nailsworth celebrated their ascension to the Football League by beating Tranmere Rovers at Wembley! What an achievement! Their success brings pride and hope to their supporters.

Jesus ascension brings hope to us all. How come? One of the ultimate realities of life is that we all have to face our own death. For some it may come as a welcome end to a long time of suffering, but it inevitably means separation, pain and loss affecting everyone concerned.

Jesus ascension completes the work of the resurrection by ensuring that there is a man in heaven today who knows what it is to live on this earth and assures us that we have a champion in heaven who understands us and represents our interests. Were that true for us as we face a general election, I for one would be a lot more hopeful about engaging in the political process!

So well done Forest Green Rovers for your ascension, but thank God for your ascension Jesus, it truly inspires me that you are there for me and you really do understand!

REV DAVID AUSTIN Thameshead Benefice, Kemble

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Thought for the week: Ascension Day - Wilts and Gloucestershire Standard

At the urging of Ascension Parish President Kenny Matassa, the Department of Planning and Development has crafted a set of standards that will apply to all subdivision development and construction.

Ascension Parish has never before had our own set of specifications, said Matassa. This will standardize and plainly lay out the requirements for all to see and understand.

Matassa said that a team consisting of Planning personnel and the Parishs engineering review agent CSRS collaborated to write the standards. The team reviewed the standards in use in other parishes and state agencies and solicited input from developers and engineers, while also considering the Parishs needs and concerns.

The standards will provide comprehensive standards for drainage, roads, and utilities, as well as all other regulations as required by ordinance.

After a public hearing and debate, the subdivision standards were approved by the Planning Commission at their May meeting. It will be considered for adoption by the full Council at the June 1 meeting.

These standards will provide a comprehensive path forward for development in Ascension Parish, added Matassa.

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Ascension Parish set to adopt new subdivision standards - Weekly Citizen