READING OF THE DAY First reading from the Acts of the Apostles Acts 1:1-11
In the first book, Theophilus, I dealt with all that Jesus did and taught until the day he was taken up, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. He presented himself alive to them by many proofs after he had suffered, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God. While meeting with them, he enjoined them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for “the promise of the Father about which you have heard me speak; for John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”
When they had gathered together they asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” He answered them, “It is not for you to know the times or seasons that the Father has established 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, and to the ends of the earth.” When he had said this, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him from their sight. While they were looking intently at the sky as he was going, suddenly two men dressed in white garments stood beside them. They said, “Men of Galilee, why are you standing there looking at the sky? This Jesus who has been taken up from you into heaven will return in the same way as you have seen him going into heaven.”
Second reading from the Letter to the Ephesians Eph 1:17-23
Brothers and sisters: May the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, give you a Spirit of wisdom and revelation resulting in knowledge of him. May the eyes of your hearts be enlightened, that you may know what is the hope that belongs to his call, what are the riches of glory in his inheritance among the holy ones, and what is the surpassing greatness of his power for us who believe, in accord with the exercise of his great might, which he worked in Christ, raising him from the dead and seating him at his right hand in the heavens, far above every principality, authority, power, and dominion, and every name that is named not only in this age but also in the one to come. And he put all things beneath his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of the one who fills all things in every way.
GOSPEL OF THE DAY From the Gospel according to Mark Mk 16:15-20
Jesus said to his disciples: “Go into the whole world and proclaim the gospel to every creature. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved; whoever does not believe will be condemned. These signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will drive out demons, they will speak new languages. They will pick up serpents with their hands, and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not harm them. They will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”
So then the Lord Jesus, after he spoke to them, was taken up into heaven and took his seat at the right hand of God. But they went forth and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the word through accompanying signs.
1 Clap your hands, all you nations; shout to God with cries of joy.
2 For the Lord Most High is awesome, the great King over all the earth. 3 He subdued nations under us, peoples under our feet. 4 He chose our inheritance for us, the pride of Jacob, whom he loved.[b]
5 God has ascended amid shouts of joy, the Lord amid the sounding of trumpets. 6 Sing praises to God, sing praises; sing praises to our King, sing praises. 7 For God is the King of all the earth; sing to him a psalm of prais e. 8 God reigns over the nations; God is seated on his holy throne. 9 The nobles of the nations assemble as the people of the God of Abraham, for the kings[c] of the earth belong to God;
WORDS OF THE HOLY FATHER Christian joy is breath for the Christian. A Christian whose heart is not joyful is not a good Christian. Joy is breath, the way Christians express themselves. It is not something that can be purchased or that we obtain by force, no: it is a fruit of the Holy Spirit. What makes the heart joyful is the Holy. Spirit. Joy is not going through the day laughing. No, it is not that. Joy is not enjoying oneself. No, that is not it. It is something else. Christian joy is peace – peace that resides deep down, peace in the heart, the peace that only God can give. This is Christian joy. It is not easy to maintain this joy. (Homily, Santa Marta 28 May 2018)
FAUSTI - The Ascension takes place on the endless day of Easter. The return of the Son to the Father constitutes the full meaning of the Paschal Mystery, the point of arrival of the exodus and of creation itself. The exit from the earth, from the tomb, ends with the entrance into heaven: the creature rejoins its Creator. After the Ascension, God has nothing more to say or to give. He has already said and given everything in the flesh of Jesus. There is only the continuous need to receive His Spirit, to make Him known to us and to live. His Ascension - exaltation of His humanity to the dignity of the Son of God - is a certainty of blessing for every man. After a long labor, the Head is born. But where the Head is, the whole Body will be. In Him we see the hope to which we have been called, the treasure of glory that contains our inheritance (Eph 1:18). In Jesus who ascends to heaven we fully know the mystery of man and his body. We know where he comes from because we see where he goes: he comes from the Father of Light, and he returns to Him. Our life is no longer suspended in nothingness; it has found its beginning and its end. Jesus does not leave us orphans and without a country. It is precisely by His Distancing that He indicates to us the Father and His house, where He has gone before us. Our country is in heaven and our life is now hidden with Christ in God. In him we too have already risen, sat in heaven and glorified (Phil 3:20). Where He is our treasure, there is also our heart, and where our heart is, there will be us too. The commandment of love is the way to reach it. Now we finally know who we are looking for and how to find it. The glorification of Jesus with His body is the realization of the deepest longing that the God of life has put in man: to become like Him, overcoming death. It is not a forbidden dream, (Gen 3:4) but the gift He wants to give us. That is why the disciples are filled with joy! The Lord, ascending upwards, has accomplished the greatest wonders for us (Eph 4:8). He has destroyed the slavery that separates us from the homeland of desire, overcoming our death and giving Himself as the meaning of our lives; He has distributed all His gifts, offering us His Spirit and the possibility of living His Life. Now we are free, similar to Him, and we see in Him who we are. Children in the Son, finally made adults and responsible, we can witness and proclaim to our brothers and sisters the Love of the Father, continuing to do and teach to the ends of the earth what He began to teach from Galilee to Jerusalem.
Deacon. Giarlotto Eng. Lodovico 1st Reading. With the death of the Master all expectations fall: "We hoped..." the two of Emmaus will say. The resurrection reawakens hopes. But the years go by, the Lord does not return and we start doubting again. St. Luke writes in this situation of crisis referring to the answer of Jesus to the question: "When will the kingdom of God?" (v.6). The Risen One admonishes, "Stop arguing about the timing of the end of the world. Commit yourselves Rather, commit yourselves to carrying out the mission of witness that has been entrusted to you." Psalm. It is a great hymn to Yahweh from the universal triumph of which the people of Israel also enjoy. I The first and second verses are an invitation to all peoples to festively acclaim God, transcendent and lofty in His Royalty. Verse 6 explains the choice of the Psalm for the Ascension liturgy: The acclamations and the sound of the horn celebrate Yahweh (or the Risen Jesus) in His Lordship over all the earth. Jesus, risen and ascended, is honored in His glorious kingship as the Son who sits at the right hand of the Father. 2nd Reading. Paul honors himself with the title "prisoner of the Lord" to give authority to his letter. There are two concrete exhortations: first, the three virtues of humility, meekness and forbearance of one another; then, the effort to preserve the dignity of the Lord. then the effort to preserve the union of the Spirit in brotherly love. Verse 8: "Ascending into heaven ..." refers to the gift of the Law that Moses received on Sinai. For Christians Moses is the Risen Christ and victorious over death, ascending to heaven (today's feast) and communicating the gifts of the Spirit. Gospel. After the Passover, Jesus continued to be present but no longer perceptible with the senses and the disciples felt lonely and hesitant. How to carry on the Master's work? It was difficult to accept the idea that such an undertaking had been entrusted to a group of fishermen from Galilee. Matthew recalls the last words of the Risen Lord: "Behold, I am with you always, to the close of the age" (Mt 28:20). Jesus wanted to Jesus wanted to remain forever beside the disciples, even if he was no longer perceptible to the senses.
In the second part of the passage (vv. 17-18), Mark lists five signs by which the Risen One manifests his presence: "Those who ... cast out demons, speak in new tongues, pick up snakes, and drink poison. They shall take hold of serpents, and if they drink any poison ... they shall lay hands on the sick and they shall be healed ...". The Apostles made them not to compete with magicians but to testify that the Risen One continued to work in the world. The righteous are invited not to fear the snares of serpents and poisons because the strength they have received from Christ makes them invulnerable: "Behold, I have given you power ... nothing can harm you" (Lk 10:19). In v.19 the theme of today's feast is summarized: "The Lord Jesus ... was taken up into heaven and seated at the right hand of God". God's right hand. This is a theological statement; God, in fact, has neither right nor left and in heaven one does not sit at the right hand of God. sitting. The image is reminiscent of the customs of the Eastern courts where the subjects, who had provided evidence of heroic loyalty to their lord, were summoned to the palace and, in front of all the notables, were invited by the sovereign to sit at his right The evangelist wants to tell us that Jesus, the one defeated according to men, was proclaimed by God "His faithful servant". Using the image of the enthronement of the Messiah, the authors of the New Testament repeat: "God to His faithful servant. has made him sit at His right hand" (1 Peter 3:18-22).
->The concluding sentence: "The disciples went out and preached everywhere, while the Lord confirmed the Word with the wonders that accompanied it. testifies to the conviction of the first disciples that they were not alone, , but always had the Lord Jesus at their side Who, together with them, worked wonders of salvation.
READING OF THE DAY
RispondiEliminaFirst reading from the Acts of the Apostles
Acts 1:1-11
In the first book, Theophilus,
I dealt with all that Jesus did and taught
until the day he was taken up,
after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit
to the apostles whom he had chosen.
He presented himself alive to them
by many proofs after he had suffered,
appearing to them during forty days
and speaking about the kingdom of God.
While meeting with them,
he enjoined them not to depart from Jerusalem,
but to wait for “the promise of the Father
about which you have heard me speak;
for John baptized with water,
but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”
When they had gathered together they asked him,
“Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”
He answered them, “It is not for you to know the times or seasons
that the Father has established 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,
and to the ends of the earth.”
When he had said this, as they were looking on,
he was lifted up, and a cloud took him from their sight.
While they were looking intently at the sky as he was going,
suddenly two men dressed in white garments stood beside them.
They said, “Men of Galilee,
why are you standing there looking at the sky?
This Jesus who has been taken up from you into heaven
will return in the same way as you have seen him going into heaven.”
Second reading from the Letter to the Ephesians
Eph 1:17-23
Brothers and sisters:
May the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory,
give you a Spirit of wisdom and revelation
resulting in knowledge of him.
May the eyes of your hearts be enlightened,
that you may know what is the hope that belongs to his call,
what are the riches of glory
in his inheritance among the holy ones,
and what is the surpassing greatness of his power
for us who believe,
in accord with the exercise of his great might,
which he worked in Christ,
raising him from the dead
and seating him at his right hand in the heavens,
far above every principality, authority, power, and dominion,
and every name that is named
not only in this age but also in the one to come.
And he put all things beneath his feet
and gave him as head over all things to the church,
which is his body,
the fullness of the one who fills all things in every way.
GOSPEL OF THE DAY
From the Gospel according to Mark
Mk 16:15-20
Jesus said to his disciples:
“Go into the whole world
and proclaim the gospel to every creature.
Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved;
whoever does not believe will be condemned.
These signs will accompany those who believe:
in my name they will drive out demons,
they will speak new languages.
They will pick up serpents with their hands,
and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not harm them.
They will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”
So then the Lord Jesus, after he spoke to them,
was taken up into heaven
and took his seat at the right hand of God.
But they went forth and preached everywhere,
while the Lord worked with them
and confirmed the word through accompanying signs.
RispondiEliminaPsalm 47[a]
Sing praises to God, sing praises !
1 Clap your hands, all you nations;
shout to God with cries of joy.
2 For the Lord Most High is awesome,
the great King over all the earth.
3 He subdued nations under us,
peoples under our feet.
4 He chose our inheritance for us,
the pride of Jacob, whom he loved.[b]
5 God has ascended amid shouts of joy,
the Lord amid the sounding of trumpets.
6 Sing praises to God, sing praises;
sing praises to our King, sing praises.
7 For God is the King of all the earth;
sing to him a psalm of prais
e.
8 God reigns over the nations;
God is seated on his holy throne.
9 The nobles of the nations assemble
as the people of the God of Abraham,
for the kings[c] of the earth belong to God;
WORDS OF THE HOLY FATHER
Christian joy is breath for the Christian. A Christian whose heart is not joyful is not a good Christian. Joy is breath, the way Christians express themselves. It is not something that can be purchased or that we obtain by force, no: it is a fruit of the Holy Spirit. What makes the heart joyful is the Holy. Spirit. Joy is not going through the day laughing. No, it is not that. Joy is not enjoying oneself. No, that is not it. It is something else. Christian joy is peace – peace that resides deep down, peace in the heart, the peace that only God can give. This is Christian joy. It is not easy to maintain this joy. (Homily, Santa Marta 28 May 2018)
FAUSTI - The Ascension takes place on the endless day of Easter. The return of the Son to the Father constitutes the full meaning of the Paschal Mystery, the point of arrival of the exodus and of creation itself.
RispondiEliminaThe exit from the earth, from the tomb, ends with the entrance into heaven: the creature rejoins its Creator. After the Ascension, God has nothing more to say or to give.
He has already said and given everything in the flesh of Jesus.
There is only the continuous need to receive His Spirit, to make Him known to us and to live.
His Ascension - exaltation of His humanity to the dignity of the Son of God - is a certainty of blessing for every man. After a long labor, the Head is born.
But where the Head is, the whole Body will be. In Him we see the hope to which we have been called, the treasure of glory that contains our inheritance (Eph 1:18).
In Jesus who ascends to heaven we fully know the mystery of man and his body.
We know where he comes from because we see where he goes: he comes from the Father of Light, and he returns to Him.
Our life is no longer suspended in nothingness; it has found its beginning and its end.
Jesus does not leave us orphans and without a country. It is precisely by His Distancing that He indicates to us the Father and His house, where He has gone before us.
Our country is in heaven and our life is now hidden with Christ in God.
In him we too have already risen, sat in heaven and glorified (Phil 3:20).
Where He is our treasure, there is also our heart, and where our heart is, there will be us too.
The commandment of love is the way to reach it.
Now we finally know who we are looking for and how to find it.
The glorification of Jesus with His body is the realization of the deepest longing that the God of life has put in man: to become like Him, overcoming death.
It is not a forbidden dream, (Gen 3:4) but the gift He wants to give us.
That is why the disciples are filled with joy! The Lord, ascending upwards, has accomplished the greatest wonders for us (Eph 4:8).
He has destroyed the slavery that separates us from the homeland of desire, overcoming our death and giving Himself as the meaning of our lives; He has distributed all His gifts, offering us His Spirit and the possibility of living His Life.
Now we are free, similar to Him, and we see in Him who we are.
Children in the Son, finally made adults and responsible, we can witness and proclaim to our brothers and sisters the Love of the Father, continuing to do and teach to the ends of the earth what He began to teach from Galilee to Jerusalem.
Deacon. Giarlotto Eng. Lodovico 1st Reading. With the death of the Master all expectations fall: "We hoped..." the two of Emmaus will say.
RispondiEliminaThe resurrection reawakens hopes. But the years go by, the Lord does not return and we start doubting again.
St. Luke writes in this situation of crisis referring to the answer of Jesus to the question: "When will the kingdom of God?" (v.6). The Risen One admonishes, "Stop arguing about the timing of the end of the world. Commit yourselves
Rather, commit yourselves to carrying out the mission of witness that has been entrusted to you."
Psalm. It is a great hymn to Yahweh from the universal triumph of which the people of Israel also enjoy.
I
The first and second verses are an invitation to all peoples to festively acclaim God, transcendent and lofty in His Royalty.
Verse 6 explains the choice of the Psalm for the Ascension liturgy:
The acclamations and the sound of the horn celebrate Yahweh (or the Risen Jesus) in His Lordship over all the earth. Jesus, risen and
ascended, is honored in His glorious kingship as the Son who sits at the right hand of the Father.
2nd Reading. Paul honors himself with the title "prisoner of the Lord" to give authority to his letter.
There are two concrete exhortations: first, the three virtues of humility, meekness and forbearance of one another; then, the effort to preserve the dignity of the Lord.
then the effort to preserve the union of the Spirit in brotherly love.
Verse 8: "Ascending into heaven ..." refers to the gift of the Law that Moses received on Sinai. For Christians Moses is the Risen Christ
and victorious over death, ascending to heaven (today's feast) and communicating the gifts of the Spirit.
Gospel. After the Passover, Jesus continued to be present but no longer perceptible with the senses
and the disciples felt lonely and hesitant. How to carry on the Master's work? It was difficult to accept
the idea that such an undertaking had been entrusted to a group of fishermen from Galilee.
Matthew recalls the last words of the Risen Lord: "Behold, I am with you always, to the close of the age" (Mt 28:20). Jesus wanted to
Jesus wanted to remain forever beside the disciples, even if he was no longer perceptible to the senses.
In the second part of the passage (vv. 17-18), Mark lists five signs by which the Risen One manifests his presence: "Those who ... cast out demons, speak in new tongues, pick up snakes, and drink poison.
They shall take hold of serpents, and if they drink any poison ... they shall lay hands on the sick and they shall be healed ...". The Apostles
made them not to compete with magicians but to testify that the Risen One continued to work in the world.
The righteous are invited not to fear the snares of serpents and poisons because the strength they have received
from Christ makes them invulnerable: "Behold, I have given you power ... nothing can harm you" (Lk 10:19).
In v.19 the theme of today's feast is summarized: "The Lord Jesus ... was taken up into heaven and seated at the right hand of God".
God's right hand. This is a theological statement; God, in fact, has neither right nor left and in heaven one does not sit at the right hand of God.
sitting. The image is reminiscent of the customs of the Eastern courts where the subjects, who had provided evidence of
heroic loyalty to their lord, were summoned to the palace and, in front of all the notables, were invited by the sovereign to sit at his right The evangelist wants to tell us that Jesus, the one defeated according to men, was
proclaimed by God "His faithful servant". Using the image of the enthronement of the Messiah, the authors of the New Testament repeat: "God to His faithful servant.
has made him sit at His right hand" (1 Peter 3:18-22).
->The concluding sentence: "The disciples went out and preached everywhere, while the Lord confirmed the Word with the wonders that accompanied it.
RispondiEliminatestifies to the conviction of the first disciples that they were not alone, , but always had the Lord Jesus at their side Who, together with them, worked wonders of salvation.