What Really Matters

What Really Matters

From Fr. Brian Soliven Sermons by Rev. Brian J. Soliven

May 18, 2026 · 17 min · Season 2026

About this episode

Fr. Brian Soliven reflects on the significance of the Ascension and the deeper presence of Christ in the lives of believers.

There are moments, I think, when nearly every Christian has envied the Twelve Apostles. We imagine that faith would be simpler if only Christ stood visibly before us as He once stood beside St. Peter and St. Andrew by the sea or walked with the disciples on the road to Emmaus. We think to ourselves: “Surely I should be a braver Christian if I could hear His voice with my own ears. Surely sorrow would lose some of its sting if I could look upon His face and say plainly, ‘Lord, help me.’” And so the Ascension, the great mystery which the Church celebrates this Sunday, can, at first glance, appear a rather melancholy feast. For it speaks of departure. Christ is taken from sight. The disciples remain below, gazing upward like helpless children watching the sun disappear over the horizon.  Yet that is only how it appears from the earth. We are creatures of space and time, and therefore we naturally suppose that if Christ were standing three feet away from us, then He would be more present than He is now. But the story of the Ascension tells us precisely the opposite. For while Christ remained on earth in the flesh, His bodily presence was necessarily limited. He could be in…

People in this episode

Host: Fr. Brian Soliven

Topics covered

  • faith
  • Christianity
  • Ascension
  • spiritual presence
  • discipleship
  • sorrow
  • mystery

Keywords

  • Ascension
  • faith
  • Christ
  • disciples
  • spirituality
  • presence
  • sorrow
  • Christianity

Mentioned in this episode

Places: Galilee, Jerusalem, Heaven, the earth, the road to Emmaus

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