May 9, 2024 - Ascension Thursday
May the Lord continue to open your life to the promptings of the Holy Spirit so that you may fulfill your on-going mission of spreading the GOoD News.
In certain dioceses, such as those in California, we will celebrate the Ascension this coming Sunday. Other dioceses celebrate the Ascension today, on the fortieth day after Easter.
As we celebrate Ascension Thursday, we recall Jesus’ return to His Abba-Father and His commissioning of His disciples to carry on His ministry and mission of proclaiming the Gospel to all people, with the promise of the further outpouring of the Holy Spirit. We all have a share in this mission of spreading the GOoD News and we also can look forward to a further empowerment of the Holy Spirit in our lives.
Link to the Reflection for Thursday of the Sixth Week of Easter:
May 9, 2024 - Thursday of the Sixth Week of Easter
May the Lord continue to open your life to the promptings of the Holy Spirit so that you may fulfill your on-going mission of spreading the GOoD News.
In certain dioceses, such as those in California, we will celebrate the Ascension this coming Sunday. Other dioceses celebrate the Ascension today, on the fortieth day after Easter.
As we celebrate Ascension Thursday, we recall Jesus’ return to His Abba-Father and His commissioning of His disciples to carry on His ministry and mission of proclaiming the Gospel to all people, with the promise of the further outpouring of the Holy Spirit. We all have a share in this mission of spreading the GOoD News and we also can look forward to a further empowerment of the Holy Spirit in our lives.
Link to the Reflection for Thursday of the Sixth Week of Easter:
May 9, 2024 - Thursday of the Sixth Week of Easter
Readings can be obtained from: http://cms.usccb.org/bible/readings/050924-ascension.cfm
Saint John of Avila: https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-of-the-day/saint-john-of-avila -
[Liturgical Day is May 10.]
Readings: Acts 1: 1-11; Psalm 47: 2-3, 6-7, 8-9;
Ephesians 1: 17-23 or Ephesians 4: 1-13 Mark 16: 15-20
Just a note: In Acts 1: 1-11, it says that Jesus remained with His disciples for forty days after His resurrection. On the fortieth day, Jesus ascended into heaven. Some communities celebrate Jesus’ ascension today (on the fortieth day after Easter - replacing Thursday of the Sixth Week of Easter). Others celebrated His ascension this coming Sunday (as many dioceses in the United States). If you are in a community that celebrates the Solemnity of Ascension on Sunday, you will use the Thursday of the Sixth Week of Easter today. The link to Thursday of Sixth Week of Easter is above.
Jesus remained with His disciples only a relatively short period of time after His resurrection. In the passage from the Acts of the Apostles, St. Luke says it was forty days. The other gospels accounts relate that Jesus only was with His followers on some occasions during those forty days, not consistently day after day. Today, we have a couple accounts of Jesus’ last words to His disciples before He returned to His Abba-Father in heaven.
The question for us, is what is the meaning of the Ascension? Or more practically, how am I going to live my life differently because of the Lord’s Ascension? To be able to answer that, we need to look more closely at the readings for today.
In the beginning of the Acts of the Apostles, St. Luke remarks that after Jesus had spent forty days presenting Himself to the disciples, He promised them that they would be “baptized with the Holy Spirit” and be His witnesses starting in Jerusalem and spreading throughout the world. As Jesus ascends into heaven, the disciples stare into the skies, shocked and perplexed until two white-clothed individuals ask them the questions, “Why are you standing there looking into the sky?”
The first choice of passages from St. Paul’s letter to the Ephesians proclaims that GOD is giving a Spirit of wisdom and revelation to believers so that they can have fuller knowledge of Jesus and they can realize the hope to which they are called – a hope in the inheritance with Jesus, a share in His glory in heaven, and a part in His Body, which is the Church.
The other choice for the Second Reading remarks that we are called to live out the one faith we have in Jesus, Who descended to earth to save us and has ascended back to His rightful place in heaven. But Jesus has commissioned (“shared the mission with”) His followers to carry on His work.
In the passage today from the end of St. Mark’s Gospel, Jesus speaks of Jesus empowering His disciples with signs that they would use in the exercise of their ministry, so that they can go out to all the world and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them, that is “plunging” them into Christ and His mission and ministry. In some of the other accounts of Jesus’ ascension, Jesus also promises that He will be with His followers always, even until the end of time (cf. Matthew 28: 16-20 – The Great Commission).
What this says to me is that we are called and empowered to continue the work of Jesus. This is not just the call of the ordained clergy or pastoral staff. It is the call of each and every follower of Jesus. Each of us, as disciples of the Master, are given the ability, and responsibility, to further the spread of the GOoD News. As members of the Body of Christ (the Church), we are gifted with what we need in order to further the mission of Jesus.
We often ask, “How can I serve in the proclamation of the Gospel?” We think that because we have not been trained, or because we have not dedicated our lives to missionary work, that we are not going to be responsible for the ministry of spreading the faith. In some ways we are like the disciples who today look up in the heaven as Jesus is taken from their sight. We are awestruck by what we have experienced. We often just spend time looking up to the sky with our mouths wide open. Maybe we need beings dressed in white appearing to us saying, “Why are you standing there looking up into the sky?” We need to be challenged to quit standing around, doing nothing, and to get to work spreading the GOoD News.
We can take a little consolation in the fact that it took the disciples at least ten days to get motivated. And it was only after they received the further outpouring of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost that they were able to get moving in their mission of furthering the Gospel. What we need to do is to continue to pray for the coming of the Holy Spirit into our lives. The coming of the Holy Spirit, by the way, is not just a one-time thing. It is a on-going process. The more we are open to the Spirit’s presence in our lives, the more we will be empowered to be Spirit-filled individuals, and we will become the missionaries whom we are called to be.
Being missionaries does not mean we have to sell all our belongings and move to some far away land to spread the faith, although some may be called to do this. Missionaries literally means “those who have been sent” or those “on a mission.” Maybe we are being sent as “far away” as our own home. We may be called to announce the GOoD News to our family members, especially in these days of political unrest, intolerance and acts of hate against others. The way we announce the message is by living lives of GOoD News. Our family members may be the hardest audience to whom we can be sent. We may truly need the indwelling of the Holy Spirit to announce the GOoD News, because our family knows who we really are, with all our failings and all the times we have “missed the mark” (sinned) in living out the Gospel. It can be a real challenge to be evangelists (proclaimers of the GOoD News) to our family, because it is so easy to forget our mission, due to the day-to-day needs and frustrations that they and we face, both alone and together.
That is why we need to keep turning to the Lord and praying, “Send us Your Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of us who are trying to be faithful. Inflame in our hearts the fire of Your love.” What can help us is the realization that we have been given, and are continuing to be given, the Spirit of wisdom and revelation that/Who enlightens us to the hope of the call that Jesus has given us (see the Second Reading). If we strive to live out our missionary call, especially to those whom we encounter each and every day, then Jesus promises us a share in His inheritance, with the other holy ones, and the surpassing greatness of His power. We will share in His ascension at the end of our earthly life and even more so at the end of time when we will be raised up with our transformed and glorified bodies to be with Him in glory.
Blessed are You, LORD GOD, ever desirous of our being with You. Through Your GOoDness, You have called us to share in the mission of Your Son, Jesus, Who has come to announce the GOoD News of Your love for each and every person. We often stand in awe looking at the glory of Jesus. Yet, You call us to not just stand looking up to heaven, but to begin the action of spreading the GOoD News we have received. You promise to enable us and empower us by the continually outpouring of Your Holy Spirit. We come into Your presence today and pray, “Come, Holy Spirit! Come with Your gifts of knowledge and wisdom, discernment and right judgement, with strength and humility.” We need to be inspired (“in Spirited”) and made enthusiastic (“in GOD”) so we can proclaim the values of the Gospel by our living Gospel lives. Give us the ability to be faithful to the GOoD News, especially as we proclaim it to those in our families, in our workplace, and wherever You lead us. As always, we make this prayer in the name of Jesus our Master and Teacher, Who has called us to be His disciples and Who has promised us the Holy Spirit, and Who is living and reigning with You and the Holy Spirit, our one and only GOD, for ever and ever. Amen. Alleluia!
Song of the Day: Glorious Day by Casting Crowns: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wz2CtpK_L94
God Mounts His Throne: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=opz39ER_0Kg
Go and Make Disciples by Troy and Genie Nilsson:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQXM7vHZ-y8
Video of the Day: The Ascension of Jesus Christ:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RD0LNtc1UE4&t=5s
Bishop Barron on Why the Ascension of Jesus Matters:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PxDTY_9w6ws
Saint John of Avila: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0K1V49hMeqw
© rjk, 12-08-21
Saint John of Avila: https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-of-the-day/saint-john-of-avila -
[Liturgical Day is May 10.]
Readings: Acts 1: 1-11; Psalm 47: 2-3, 6-7, 8-9;
Ephesians 1: 17-23 or Ephesians 4: 1-13 Mark 16: 15-20
Just a note: In Acts 1: 1-11, it says that Jesus remained with His disciples for forty days after His resurrection. On the fortieth day, Jesus ascended into heaven. Some communities celebrate Jesus’ ascension today (on the fortieth day after Easter - replacing Thursday of the Sixth Week of Easter). Others celebrated His ascension this coming Sunday (as many dioceses in the United States). If you are in a community that celebrates the Solemnity of Ascension on Sunday, you will use the Thursday of the Sixth Week of Easter today. The link to Thursday of Sixth Week of Easter is above.
Jesus remained with His disciples only a relatively short period of time after His resurrection. In the passage from the Acts of the Apostles, St. Luke says it was forty days. The other gospels accounts relate that Jesus only was with His followers on some occasions during those forty days, not consistently day after day. Today, we have a couple accounts of Jesus’ last words to His disciples before He returned to His Abba-Father in heaven.
The question for us, is what is the meaning of the Ascension? Or more practically, how am I going to live my life differently because of the Lord’s Ascension? To be able to answer that, we need to look more closely at the readings for today.
In the beginning of the Acts of the Apostles, St. Luke remarks that after Jesus had spent forty days presenting Himself to the disciples, He promised them that they would be “baptized with the Holy Spirit” and be His witnesses starting in Jerusalem and spreading throughout the world. As Jesus ascends into heaven, the disciples stare into the skies, shocked and perplexed until two white-clothed individuals ask them the questions, “Why are you standing there looking into the sky?”
The first choice of passages from St. Paul’s letter to the Ephesians proclaims that GOD is giving a Spirit of wisdom and revelation to believers so that they can have fuller knowledge of Jesus and they can realize the hope to which they are called – a hope in the inheritance with Jesus, a share in His glory in heaven, and a part in His Body, which is the Church.
The other choice for the Second Reading remarks that we are called to live out the one faith we have in Jesus, Who descended to earth to save us and has ascended back to His rightful place in heaven. But Jesus has commissioned (“shared the mission with”) His followers to carry on His work.
In the passage today from the end of St. Mark’s Gospel, Jesus speaks of Jesus empowering His disciples with signs that they would use in the exercise of their ministry, so that they can go out to all the world and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them, that is “plunging” them into Christ and His mission and ministry. In some of the other accounts of Jesus’ ascension, Jesus also promises that He will be with His followers always, even until the end of time (cf. Matthew 28: 16-20 – The Great Commission).
What this says to me is that we are called and empowered to continue the work of Jesus. This is not just the call of the ordained clergy or pastoral staff. It is the call of each and every follower of Jesus. Each of us, as disciples of the Master, are given the ability, and responsibility, to further the spread of the GOoD News. As members of the Body of Christ (the Church), we are gifted with what we need in order to further the mission of Jesus.
We often ask, “How can I serve in the proclamation of the Gospel?” We think that because we have not been trained, or because we have not dedicated our lives to missionary work, that we are not going to be responsible for the ministry of spreading the faith. In some ways we are like the disciples who today look up in the heaven as Jesus is taken from their sight. We are awestruck by what we have experienced. We often just spend time looking up to the sky with our mouths wide open. Maybe we need beings dressed in white appearing to us saying, “Why are you standing there looking up into the sky?” We need to be challenged to quit standing around, doing nothing, and to get to work spreading the GOoD News.
We can take a little consolation in the fact that it took the disciples at least ten days to get motivated. And it was only after they received the further outpouring of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost that they were able to get moving in their mission of furthering the Gospel. What we need to do is to continue to pray for the coming of the Holy Spirit into our lives. The coming of the Holy Spirit, by the way, is not just a one-time thing. It is a on-going process. The more we are open to the Spirit’s presence in our lives, the more we will be empowered to be Spirit-filled individuals, and we will become the missionaries whom we are called to be.
Being missionaries does not mean we have to sell all our belongings and move to some far away land to spread the faith, although some may be called to do this. Missionaries literally means “those who have been sent” or those “on a mission.” Maybe we are being sent as “far away” as our own home. We may be called to announce the GOoD News to our family members, especially in these days of political unrest, intolerance and acts of hate against others. The way we announce the message is by living lives of GOoD News. Our family members may be the hardest audience to whom we can be sent. We may truly need the indwelling of the Holy Spirit to announce the GOoD News, because our family knows who we really are, with all our failings and all the times we have “missed the mark” (sinned) in living out the Gospel. It can be a real challenge to be evangelists (proclaimers of the GOoD News) to our family, because it is so easy to forget our mission, due to the day-to-day needs and frustrations that they and we face, both alone and together.
That is why we need to keep turning to the Lord and praying, “Send us Your Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of us who are trying to be faithful. Inflame in our hearts the fire of Your love.” What can help us is the realization that we have been given, and are continuing to be given, the Spirit of wisdom and revelation that/Who enlightens us to the hope of the call that Jesus has given us (see the Second Reading). If we strive to live out our missionary call, especially to those whom we encounter each and every day, then Jesus promises us a share in His inheritance, with the other holy ones, and the surpassing greatness of His power. We will share in His ascension at the end of our earthly life and even more so at the end of time when we will be raised up with our transformed and glorified bodies to be with Him in glory.
- The personal question/action for today: In what ways am I like the apostles in my standing around looking up to heaven, wondering what is happening without my doing anything? To whom in my life is it most difficult to be sent and to minister? Which gift/fruit of the Holy Spirit (knowledge, wisdom, understanding, peace, joy, discernment, hope, faith, love, endurance, being in awe of GOD) do I need the most at this moment in my life? How can I more faithfully proclaim the GOoD News to those to whom I am sent?
Blessed are You, LORD GOD, ever desirous of our being with You. Through Your GOoDness, You have called us to share in the mission of Your Son, Jesus, Who has come to announce the GOoD News of Your love for each and every person. We often stand in awe looking at the glory of Jesus. Yet, You call us to not just stand looking up to heaven, but to begin the action of spreading the GOoD News we have received. You promise to enable us and empower us by the continually outpouring of Your Holy Spirit. We come into Your presence today and pray, “Come, Holy Spirit! Come with Your gifts of knowledge and wisdom, discernment and right judgement, with strength and humility.” We need to be inspired (“in Spirited”) and made enthusiastic (“in GOD”) so we can proclaim the values of the Gospel by our living Gospel lives. Give us the ability to be faithful to the GOoD News, especially as we proclaim it to those in our families, in our workplace, and wherever You lead us. As always, we make this prayer in the name of Jesus our Master and Teacher, Who has called us to be His disciples and Who has promised us the Holy Spirit, and Who is living and reigning with You and the Holy Spirit, our one and only GOD, for ever and ever. Amen. Alleluia!
Song of the Day: Glorious Day by Casting Crowns: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wz2CtpK_L94
God Mounts His Throne: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=opz39ER_0Kg
Go and Make Disciples by Troy and Genie Nilsson:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQXM7vHZ-y8
Video of the Day: The Ascension of Jesus Christ:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RD0LNtc1UE4&t=5s
Bishop Barron on Why the Ascension of Jesus Matters:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PxDTY_9w6ws
Saint John of Avila: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0K1V49hMeqw
© rjk, 12-08-21