ASCENSION SUNDAY
Psalter: Proper / (White)
Ps 47:2-3, 6-7, 8-9
God mounts his throne to shouts of joy:
a blare of trumpets for the Lord.
1st Reading: Acts 1:1-11
In the first part of my work, Theophilus, I wrote of all that Jesus did and taught, from the beginning until the day when he ascended to heaven.
But first he had instructed, through the Holy Spirit, the apostles he had chosen. After his passion, he presented himself to them, giving many signs, that he was alive; over a period of forty days he appeared to them and taught them concerning the kingdom of God. Once, when he had been eating with them, he told them, “Do not leave Jerusalem but wait for the fulfillment of the Father’s promise about which I have spoken to you: John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit within a few days.”
When they had come together, they asked him, “Is it now that you will restore the kingdom of Israel?” And he answered, “It is not for you to know the time and the steps that the Father has fixed by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, throughout Judea and Samaria, even to the ends of the earth.”
After Jesus said this, he was taken up before their eyes and a cloud hid him from their sight. While they were still looking up to heaven, where he went, suddenly, two men dressed in white stood beside them and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand here looking up at the sky? This Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will return in the same way as you have seen him go there.”
2nd Reading: Eph 4:1-13
Therefore, I, the prisoner of Christ, invite you, to live the vocation you have received. Be humble, kind, patient, and bear with one another in love.
Make every effort to keep, among you, the unity of spirit, through bonds of peace. Let there be one body, and one Spirit, just as one hope is the goal of your calling by God. One Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God, the Father of all, who is above all, and works through all, and is in all.
But to each of us, divine grace is given, according to the measure of Christ’s gift. Therefore, it is said: When he ascended to the heights, he brought captives and gave his gifts to people.
He ascended, what does it mean, but, that he had also descended to the lower parts of the world? He, himself, who went down, then ascended far above all the heavens, to fill all things. As for his gifts, to some, he gave to be apostles; to others, prophets, or even evangelists; or pastors and teachers. So, he prepared those who belong to him, for the ministry, in order to build up the Body of Christ, until we are all united, in the same faith and knowledge of the Son of God. Thus, we shall become the perfect Man, upon reaching maturity, and sharing the fullness of Christ.
Then, no longer shall we be like children, tossed about by any wave, or wind of doctrine; and deceived by the cunning of people, who drag them along into error.
Gospel: Mk 16:15-20
Then he told them, “Go out to the whole world and proclaim the Good News to all creation. The one who believes and is baptized will be saved; the one who refuses to believe will be condemned. Signs like these will accompany those who have believed: in my name they will cast out demons and speak new languages; they will pick up snakes, and if they drink anything poisonous, they will be unharmed; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will be healed.”
So then, after speaking to them, the Lord Jesus was taken up into heaven and took his place at the right hand of God. The Eleven went forth and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the message by the signs that accompanied it.
Lectio Divina
Read: Luke narrates the event of the ascension of the Lord. Mark informs us of the Lord’s command to be his missionaries to the ends of the world. Paul invites us to embrace this vocation that coopts our many God-given gifts so as to complete God’s dream of uniting the entire universe in the one body of Christ.
Reflect: To the disciples who stood looking wide-eyed at the sky to which Christ ascended - some believing, some rejoicing, and most of them confused – the angels throw a reprimand: “Men of Galilee, why do you stand here looking up at the sky?” Indeed, they are not meant to be standing there looking up; they are meant to go out to everywhere, to all the Galilees of the world, and get down to serious work that Jesus entrusted to them: preach the Good News of God’s love and forgiveness, His redemption and grace, and thus build up the body of Christ. The reprimand continues today: As Pope Francis reminds us, we are not merely to be an adoring, cozy Church, but are to be a serving Church that smells of the sheep on the margins and is bruised by its journey on the peripheries.
Pray:Pray for the missionaries serving in the margins of the world.
Act: Identify three practical ways you can be a missionary in the margins of your world.
Daily Reflection 2018
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Biblical Texts are taken from Christian Community Bible, Catholic Pastoral Edition (57th Edition) The New English Translation for the ROMAN MISSAL
With permission from the EPISCOPAL COMMISION ON LITURGY of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines
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