I watched some of The Song Contest from Dusseldorf in Germany. I was fascinated by the variety of colour, in lighting effects, and in the imaginative presentations of the artists. I wondered ...what is light, or Who is Light. Where does its power come from. How is it refined-transformed. The Father of Light said the word ....’’Let there be Light’’ and that light of God’s expression, is found in billions and billions of ways in mind, heart, and Universe. The Ascension love story, is another aspect of the wonder and love that is God of Light. It is as if the Loving Father wants to find new ways of being present to us, now, through His Spirit. ’’Going away ‘’ is part of everyones life, and Ireland seems always an emigrant ‘’going away people’’. We sing songs of our wanderlust...Danny Boy, and The Fields of Athenry. Yet in ’’ going away’’ there is hidden treasure, and blessing for oneself, and for others. President Obama of The United States, highlighted blessings that ‘’going away Irish people ‘’brought to others, not only in song verse and education, but also in the values they cherished of respect for humanity. The Ascension celebrates new ways of God being with us. Going away is a comma, not a full stop.

Liam Hickey, St.Ciarans, Hartstown, Dublin 15.