HOMILY FOR THE FEAST OF THE ASCENSION

Fr Billy Swan

Dear friends. ‘Alpha’ is an organisation that I have long admired. It is a Christian missionary movement that seeks to attract new members to the Christian faith and to revive the faith in those who are already part of the Church. Earlier this month, the “Alpha Leadership Tour UK” took place in London. From that meeting, a number of key points emerged that make essential reading for every parish, community and diocese who take its own life and future seriously. These key points also correspond perfectly to the readings for this Ascension Sunday when Jesus ascended to the Father, but not in a way that distanced himself from us.

One of the main take aways from the Alpha Conference was the importance of encounter – that our Church communities be renewed as spaces where people can encounter the Lord Jesus in his word, in the sacraments and in prayer; but also encounter him in the loving faces of those who are his disciples. The Church is meant to be a community of people who long to share the friendship of the One who has changed their lives. We can build better nights, better talks, better small groups… but if we haven’t personally encountered the Lord, it all stays at the surface-level. Ministry isn’t ultimately about delivering content well—it’s about introducing people to a Person. And if that Person isn’t real in the life of the leader, it won’t translate with any depth to the student. The Church is a space where we let ourselves be known, be loved, be accepted and be embraced by the loving God who is waiting for us and who never turns us away.

And that is why in the Second Reading at Mass this Sunday, St Paul prays that ‘the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know him, so that, with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may know what is the hope to which he has called you’. Notice friends that Paul didn’t pray that the first Christians be strong, perfect, clever and recruitment savvy. No. He prayed that they would come to know God, have their hearts touched and have new hope.

And then comes the Gospel for today that is crystal clear. Jesus asks us, explicitly, not to just be content with being a disciple but to make disciples too. Our vocation is one of mission, through and through. The Lord’s unambiguous words to ‘Go make disciples of all nations’ cuts through any fuzzy or lukewarm thinking that the Christian vocation is merely to be nice people. Nor is it a license to be passive and leave the question of the future of the Church, something for others to think about. It is a clarion call to all of us to take responsibility for that future. And this means a shift in mentality for all of us – from thinking how can we hold on to who we have to ‘who’s not here yet?’ We care deeply about those who do not walk with us yet in faith and those who have drifted away, for whatever reason. Mission forces clarity. It forces intentionality. And honestly, it forces us out of our comfort zone—which is probably why we avoid it.

Here is where all of us are called to leadership. It can’t be left to priest and bishops alone. If our ministry depends on one person carrying the weight, it will always stay limited. But when leadership becomes the focus—when you’re raising up leaders who can lead others—you move from addition to multiplication. And that’s the only way the faith actually grows. And here is the next stage in the history of the Irish Church – to move from maintenance to mission to multiplication. Maintenance cares for who’s here. Mission reaches who’s not. Multiplication raises up others to do both. That’s the shift.

Multiplication isn’t about doing more—it’s about sending more. Jesus didn’t ask us to gather crowds. He commanded us to make disciples. And not just disciples… but disciples who make disciples. That’s how the Church grows. That’s how movements last. That’s how your ministry outlives you.

So, let’s not just build something that works. Let’s build something that multiplies. Only that way can we be faithful to the Lord’s command to make disciples of all nations. By bringing someone else along that path of faith and walking with them, is the place where this journey starts.

And when we walk with them in faith, the Holy Spirit doesn’t just draw them in, it lifts them up. It lifts them up from darkness into light, up from guilt to forgiveness and up from sadness to joy. Here is what faith can do when it is shared joyfully with others.