A few days ago, my 16 year old son called me urgently to come over to a bedroom window — he wanted to show me an amazing sight — one of the most beautiful, spectacular rainbows I had ever seen! It was late in the day, just as the sun was setting and even though the rainbow was in the Eastern sky, it seemed to shimmer with the reflection of the sunset in the West — the hues of red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet were so vivid, it seemed surreal. We urged the rest of the family to come watch as well, calling them to fly to the windows before it disappeared. Alas, moments later, the beautiful, stunning sight was already fading, dispersing, and soon nothing could be seen of it even though we kept straining our eyes to keep it in sight. All we had left was the memory of the beautiful painting in the sky. Today, we celebrate the Ascension of our Lord, when on the 40th day after the Resurrection, Christ left the Apostles to rise to the Heavens. I wonder how long Jesus’ Apostles, stood there, after His Ascension, when “a cloud took him out of their sight,” staring into the sky, trying to hold onto Jesus with their gaze, not wanting to let go of the most beautiful sight in the world — the Risen Savior, who seemed to have become just a memory. But Jesus had no intention of leaving just a memory behind. Of course, his Ascension paved the way for the coming of the Holy Spirit, 10 days later, at the Feast of Pentecost. But Jesus knew that not only would the Apostles have the Third Person of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit, to guide and strengthen them for their missions, they would still have Him, transubstantiated in a truly mystical but real way — in the form of bread and wine, every time that the Last Supper would be celebrated. When the Host and the Chalice are held up to the Heavens at the moments of Consecration during the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, Christ has truly “returned” and oh what a beautiful sight to behold!