Catholic Caucus: Sunday Mass Readings, 05-12-13, Seventh Sunday of Easter, Ascension of the Lord

USCCB.org/RNAB ^ | 05-12-13 | Revised New American Bible

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May 12, 2013

Seventh Sunday of Easter

 

Reading 1 Acts 7:55-60

Stephen, filled with the Holy Spirit,
looked up intently to heaven and saw the glory of God
and Jesus standing at the right hand of God,
and Stephen said, “Behold, I see the heavens opened
and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.”
But they cried out in a loud voice,
covered their ears, and rushed upon him together.
They threw him out of the city, and began to stone him.
The witnesses laid down their cloaks
at the feet of a young man named Saul.
As they were stoning Stephen, he called out,
“Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.”
Then he fell to his knees and cried out in a loud voice,
“Lord, do not hold this sin against them;”
and when he said this, he fell asleep.

Responsorial Psalm Ps 97:1-2, 6-7, 9

R. (1a and 9a) The Lord is king, the most high over all the earth.
or:
R. Alleluia.
The LORD is king; let the earth rejoice;
let the many islands be glad.
Justice and judgment are the foundation of his throne.
R. The Lord is king, the most high over all the earth.
or:
R. Alleluia.
The heavens proclaim his justice,
and all peoples see his glory.
All gods are prostrate before him.
R. The Lord is king, the most high over all the earth.
or:
R. Alleluia.
You, O LORD, are the Most High over all the earth,
exalted far above all gods.
R. The Lord is king, the most high over all the earth.
or:
R. Alleluia.

Reading 2 Rev 22:12-14, 16-17, 20

I, John, heard a voice saying to me:
“Behold, I am coming soon.
I bring with me the recompense I will give to each
according to his deeds.
I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last,
the beginning and the end.”

Blessed are they who wash their robes
so as to have the right to the tree of life
and enter the city through its gates.

“I, Jesus, sent my angel to give you this testimony for the churches.
I am the root and offspring of David,
the bright morningstar.”

The Spirit and the bride say, “Come.”
Let the hearer say, “Come.”
Let the one who thirsts come forward,
and the one who wants it receive the gift of life-giving water.

The one who gives this testimony says, “Yes, I am coming soon.”
Amen! Come, Lord Jesus!

Gospel Jn 17:20-26

Lifting up his eyes to heaven, Jesus prayed saying:
“Holy Father, I pray not only for them,
but also for those who will believe in me through their word,
so that they may all be one,
as you, Father, are in me and I in you,
that they also may be in us,
that the world may believe that you sent me.
And I have given them the glory you gave me,
so that they may be one, as we are one,
I in them and you in me,
that they may be brought to perfection as one,
that the world may know that you sent me,
and that you loved them even as you loved me.
Father, they are your gift to me.
I wish that where I am they also may be with me,
that they may see my glory that you gave me,
because you loved me before the foundation of the world.
Righteous Father, the world also does not know you,
but I know you, and they know that you sent me.
I made known to them your name and I will make it known,
that the love with which you loved me
may be in them and I in them.”

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Radio Replies Second Volume - Catholics and "Mother's Day"
Archbishop Naumann, Bishop Finn Lead Mother's Day Rosary at Planned Parenthood
Report: Mother's Day now celebrated by new kinds of mothers

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STS. NEREUS AND ACHILLEUS; ST. PANCRAS, May 12th

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St. Pancras, martyr

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Information: St. Pancras

Feast Day:	May 12
Born:	~289 AD, Synnada, Phrygia
Died:	~304 AD, Via Aurelia, Rome
Major Shrine:	San Pancrazio, Rome
Patron of:	children; invoked against cramp, false witness, headache, and perjury

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Interactive Saints for Kids

St. Nereus, St. Achilleus and St. Pancras

Feast Day: May 12
Died: (around) 304

Nereus and Achilleus were Roman soldiers who worked under Emperor Trajan. In 398, Pope Siricius built a church in their honor in Rome. Pope Damasus wrote a brief tribute to the martyrs.

He explained that Nereus and Achilleus were converted to the Christian faith. They gave up their jobs in the army and left behind their weapons forever. They were true followers of Jesus even at the cost of their own lives.

Around the year 304, Nereus and Achilleus were exiled (sent away) from Rome to the island of Terracina where they were beheaded. These martyrs willingly died for their faith in Jesus.

St. Pancras, a fourteen-year-old orphan, who was not a native of Rome. He was brought there by his uncle who looked after him. He too was converted, became a follower of Jesus and was baptized.

Although just a boy, he was arrested for being a Christian. Pancras refused to give up his faith. For that, he too was killed. Pancras was beheaded but his death which he faced so bravely, won him the admiration of many. Many non-Christians converted and became Catholics.

He became a very popular martyr in the early Church. In 514, a large church was built in Rome to honor him. In 596, the famous missionary, St. Augustine of Canterbury, went to bring the Christian faith to England. He named his first church there after St. Pancras.

Reflection: With the help of the prayers of these three saints, may we understand what it means to be members of the Church of Christ.

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Catholic

Almanac:

Sunday, May 12

Liturgical Color: White

Today is the Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord. We celebrated Christ’s resurrection 40 days ago, and now celebrate His return to heaven. The Paschal Candle, lit during Mass since Easter, is extinguished after the Gospel today.

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Catholic Culture

Daily Readings for: May 12, 2013
(Readings on USCCB website)

Collect: Gladden us with holy joys, almighty God, and make us rejoice with devout thanksgiving, for the Ascension of Christ your Son is our exaltation, and, where the Head has gone before in glory, the Body is called to follow in hope. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

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Graciously hear our supplications, O Lord, so that we, who believe that the Savior of the human race is with you in your glory, may experience, as he promised, until the end of the world, his abiding presence among us. Who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

RECIPES

• Apple Fritters
• Apple Ring Fritters
• Beignets
• Beignets de Pommes
• Dolmas
• Stuffed Pigeons

ACTIVITIES

• Ascension Day, the Final Message from Jesus
• Ascension Thursday Activities
• Ascension Thursday Picnic and Traditions
• Family and Friends of Jesus Scrapbook Album
• Teaching the Ascension

PRAYERS

• Easter Season II Table Blessing 1
• Ascension and Pentecost Prayer Suggestions
• Prayer Cards for Easter Grace at Meals
• Novena to the Holy Spirit
• Novena to the Holy Spirit (2)
• Novena for the Ascension

Easter: May 12th

Solemnity of the Ascension or the Seventh Sunday of Easter

Old Calendar: Sunday within the Octave of Ascension

At the end of His earthly life Jesus ascends triumphantly into heaven. The Church acclaims Him in His holy humanity, invited to sit on the Father's right hand and to share His glory. But Christ's Ascension is the pledge of our own. Filled with an immense hope, the Church looks up towards her leader, who precedes her into the heavenly home and takes her with Him in His own person: "for the Son of God, after incorporating in Himself those whom the devil's jealousy had banished from the earthly paradise, ascends again to His Father and takes them with Him" (St. Leo).

The ecclesiastical provinces of Boston, Hartford, New York, Newark, Philadelphia, and the State of Nebraska have retained the celebration of the Ascension of the Lord on the proper Thursday, while all other provinces have transferred this solemnity to today, the Seventh Sunday of Easter.

We continue the Novena to the Holy Spirit.

Click here for commentary on the readings in the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite.

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The Ascension
The death of a member of his family or of a loved friend, must be the saddest event imaginable in the life of an atheist. He is one who really is convinced that there is no God, no future life and therefore that the relative or friend is to turn into dust in the grave, never to be met with again. The thought that every day that passes is bringing him too nearer to that same sad fate, death, which will be the end of all his ambitions, all his enjoyments, the end of everything he thought he was or had, must be something hard to live with.

Thank God, we have the good fortune to know, and reason and faith convince us of this truth, that death is not the end of man. It is rather the real beginning. Today's feast—the Ascension of our Lord in his human nature—to his Father's and our Father's home, is the confirmation and the guarantee of this doctrine of our faith. We shall all rise from the grave with new, glorified bodies and ascend to heaven, as Christ did. There we'll begin our true life of eternal happiness.

While it is true that even for good Christians the death of a beloved one is a cause of sorrow and tears, this is natural as we still are of the earth earthly. Yet the certitude that our beloved one has gone to his true life and will be there to meet us when our turn comes, is always at the back of our minds to console and comfort us. What all human beings want is to live on forever with our dear ones. Death breaks that continuity but only for a little while. That break is necessary for the new life to begin.

It is only in heaven that this natural desire of an unending life with all those we love can be realized and death on earth is the door to that eternal life.

Look up to heaven today. See Christ ascending to his Father and our Father. Say : Thank you, God, for creating me, and for giving me, through the Incarnation of your beloved Son, the possibility and the assurance that if I do my part here, when death comes it will not be an enemy but a friend, to speed me on my way to the true, supernatural life which you have, in your love, planned and prepared for me.

It was written, and foretold, that Christ should suffer and so enter into his glory. The servant is not above the Master. I too must suffer. I too must accept the hardships and the trials of this life, if I want, and I do, to enter into the life of glory. Christ, who was sinless, suffered hardship and pain. I have earned many, if not all of my hardships, by my own sins. I should be glad of the opportunity to make some atonement for my past offenses, by willingly accepting the crosses he sends me. These crosses are signs of God's interest in my true welfare. Through him he is giving me a chance to prepare myself for the day of reckoning, for the moment of my death which will decide my eternal future. For every prayer I say for success in life, I should say three for a successful death, a death free from sin and at peace with God.

Excepted from The Sunday Readings, Fr. Kevin O'Sullivan, O.F.M.

Things to Do:

• We continue the novena to the Holy Spirit which is said between the feast of the Ascension and Pentecost Sunday.

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The Word Among Us

Meditation: Acts 1:1-11

7th Sunday of Easter or The Ascension of the Lord

“He was lifted up, and a cloud took him from their sight.” (Acts 1:9)

Today is a marvel of a feast day. Not only do we look back to Easter, when Jesus promised to be with us always. We also look ahead to Pentecost, when he will pour the love of God into our hearts through the power of his Holy Spirit.

But there’s more to the Ascension than this back-and-forth vision. Today we celebrate the day when Jesus took up his throne in heaven. Entrusted with all of creation, seated at the right hand of God, he is now surrounded by an unending cascade of heavenly worship. But what is he doing in heaven? Rather than just soaking in all the praise, he is constantly working for us—primarily by praying for us!

Don’t you find this amazing? You have someone speaking on your behalf—even singing your praises—to almighty God! Jesus is standing with you, his hand on your shoulder, like an advocate, praying not only for you but with you! He takes to himself all of your confusion, your pain, your needs, and transforms them. Miraculously, he even dissipates some of them!

You have the greatest pray-er in all creation on your side. What confidence that should give you! What hope and freedom from anxiety! You don’t have to go through your days feeling overwhelmed or underprepared. Jesus himself is standing with the Father, speaking boldly on your behalf. He is the God who is for you. So who, or what, can ever stand against you?

Sure, problems and pain may still come. But even in the midst of these, you can be confident that Jesus will obtain for you all the resources you need—even when you are dealing with sickness, poverty, imprisonment, or hunger. What’s more, he will even forgive you when you fall and help you to do better next time.

“Jesus, I praise you for your heavenly glory! I believe that you are my advocate before the throne of the Father. Help me experience your support and encouragement today.”

Psalm 47:2-3, 6-9; Ephesians 1:17-23; Luke 24:46-53

Questions for Reflection or Group Discussion

1. The first reading describes the ascension of the Lord. After Jesus ascends, we hear these words from what are obviously angels: “This Jesus who has been taken up into heaven will return in the same way as you have seen him going into heaven.” This is an obvious reference to Jesus’ Second Coming. How important to you is the Second Coming of the Lord? How important should it be? Why?

2. The responsorial psalm provides a foreshadowing of the joy and celebration that may have occurred in heaven upon Jesus’ ascension and return. Spend a minute or so in quiet reflection and try to imagine your first day in Heaven. What do you think it would be like?

3. In the second reading, St. Paul prays a powerful prayer for the believers in Ephesus, and for us. The resurrection and ascension of Jesus to the right hand of the Father is part of this prayer. Pray this prayer together slowly and meditate on the words as you do. What does this prayer mean to you?

4. The Gospel reading ends with the ascension of Jesus “up to heaven.” It goes on to say that his disciples “returned to Jerusalem with great joy.” The Ascension of Jesus is a day of great rejoicing and hope for us as well, no matter what our current circumstances are—as we look forward to our own ascension. Why is this so? What steps can you take to be more open to our risen and ascended Lord’s presence during the day?

5. The meditation reminds us that the Feast of the Ascension of the Lord is also when we “celebrate the day when Jesus took up his throne in heaven. Entrusted with all of creation, seated at the right hand of God, he is now surrounded by an unending cascade of heavenly worship. But what is he doing in heaven? Rather than just soaking in all the praise, he is constantly working for us—primarily by praying for us! Don’t you find this amazing?” Hebrews 7:25 describes it this way: “Therefore, he is always able to save those who approach God through him, since he lives forever to make intercession for them” Well? Do you find it amazing that Jesus is constantly praying and interceding for you? Why or why not?

6. Take some time now to pray to Jesus, now ascended and exulted at the Father’s right hand. .Ask the Lord to give you a heart of gratitude that he is your advocate before the throne of your heavenly Father. Use the prayer at the end of the meditation as a starting point.

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A Christian Pilgrim

A LOVE THAT NEVER FAILS

(A biblical refection on THE SEVENTH SUNDAY OF EASTER – May 12, 2013) 

Gospel Reading: John 17:20-26 

First Reading: Acts 7:55-60; Psalms: Ps 97:1-2,6-7,9; Second Reading: Rev 22:12-14,16-17,20 

The Scripture Text

“I do not pray for these only, but also for those who believe in Me through their word, that they may all be one; even as Thou, Father, art in Me, and I in Thee, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that Thou hast sent Me. The glory which Thou hast given Me I have given to them, that they may  be one even as We are one, I in them and Thou in Me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that Thou hast sent Me and hast loved them even as Thou hast loved Me. Father, I desire that they also, whom Thou hast has given Me, may be with Me where I am, to behold My glory which Thou hast given Me in Thy love for Me before the foundation of the world. O righteous Father, the world has not known Thee, but I have known Thee; and these know that Thou hast Me. I made known to them Thy name, and I will make it known, that the love with which Thou hast loved Me may be in them, and I in them.” (Jn 17:20-26 RSV) 

Who could have imagined such love? Knowing He must soon die a terrible death, Jesus asked His Father to pour out on us the love of the Holy Spirit, the very love God Himself had for Jesus from all eternity. “I made known to them Thy name, and I will make it known, that the love with which Thou hast loved Me may be in them, and I in them” (Jn 17:26). It is both astounding and humbling, to think that there is no distinction at all in God’s love.

Think for a moment about how deeply God loves His Son. It was out of love for Him that God determined to present all creation to Jesus: “… all things were created through Him and for Him” (Col 1:16). God so loved Him that at Jesus’ baptism He joyfully declared before all, “This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased” (Mt 3:17).

Jesus knew His Father’s love intimately, and it was this love that motivated His every action while He was with us: “… the Son can do nothing of His own accord, but only what He sees the Father doing; for whatever He does, that the Son does likewise. For the Father loves the Son, and shows Him all that He Himself is doing” (Jn 5:19-20). Jesus was so filled with the Father’s love that He was able to embrace all the cruelty and agony of the cross to win our salvation.

By the power of this cross, Jesus has crucified our fallen nature and freed us to be filled with the same love of God that He Himself experiences. This is a passionate love, powerful enough to soften the hardest of hearts and transform all of us into a people who love as deeply as God loves. This is an all-inclusive love, capable of breaking down every barrier of suspicion, resentment, and fear that keeps us separated from each other. This is a love that never fails, for the Father is always looking upon us in love, wanting only to bless and strengthen us as we turn to Him.

Prayer: Holy Spirit, in these days before Pentecost, fill everyone with an experience of God’s great love. Free us from fear and selfishness and replace it with the love of the Trinity, so that we can be one with God and one with all our sisters and brothers. Raise us up as witnesses to the world, inviting everyone to discover God’s transforming love available through Christ our Savior. Amen. 

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A Christian Pilgrim

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Should have been posted in 50.

UNITY

(A biblical reflection on the 7^th Sunday of Easter [Year C] – May 12, 2013) 

First Reading: Acts 7:55-60; Psalms: Ps 97:1-2,6-7,9; Second Reading: Rev 22:12-14,16-17,20; Gospel Reading: Jn 17:20-26 

The setting for today’s Gospel is the Last Supper before Jesus died. We come to the closing words of Jesus’ prayer. His final words are a prayer for all believers in every age. It is a plea that all these believers be one with the oneness of the Father and the Son.

Evidently Jesus with a measure of divine foresight looks into the centuries to come and sees many believing in Him. Through the work and preaching of those apostles sitting there at His side the Good News would be spread far and wide. Others would follow them and carry the message to the ends of the earth.

Yet He sees the disagreements, the turmoil, the divisions, sometimes even the hatreds that occur among His believers. He is sad about that and prays to the Father for unity among all His followers.

This unity, this oneness and love among Christians is to be a sign to the world. It is to prove that Jesus was sent by the Father, who loves us as He loves His Son.

In the early Church we hear that there was such great love, such oneness, that even the Pagans said, “See how these Christians love one another.” As if to say that there is something special about them. It is more than a mere human love and friendship. It bears witness to God’s work among them. It is a sign of something genuine and true.

We know our divisions today. We know that only through sincere love and by God’s power through prayer can we become one. As Jesus prayed that all might be one as He and the Father are one, we, too, should implore the Father for mercy, forgiveness and unity.

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Marriage = One Man and One Woman

Til' Death Do Us Part

Daily Marriage Tip for May 12, 2013:

(Mother’s Day)  “When a woman is in labor, she has pain, because her hour has come. But when her child is born, she no longer remembers the anguish because of the joy of having brought a human being into the world.” (John 16.21) What a difference a day makes.

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First Holy Communion Day

Pastor’s Column

May 12, 2013

         

 

          This week I have some guest writers for this column….our First Holy Communion Children! Most of these responses are very inspiring. Remember that Jesus said that “whoever does not receive me as a little child shall not enter in.” (Mark 10:15). “Lord, help us all to receive you with a child-like faith!”

                                                                                      Father Gary

 

When asked, “I want to receive First Communion because” the children answered:

 

• I want to eat Jesus's Body and Blood.
• It is my third sacrament.
• I want to be with God.
• It will get me closer to God. Also, it will make me more a part of His family.
• I get to meet Jesus.
• I want Jesus inside of me because that is the closest I can get to Him.
• We get to eat the Body and Blood of Jesus.
• When receiving my First Holy Communion, I am receiving Jesus and He will be inside of me and I will be happy.
• I want to receive Jesus and love others and get closer to Jesus.
• I will receive the Body and Blood.
• I love Jesus. I want to receive Jesus. I want to come closer to Jesus and God.
• I want to be closer to Jesus Christ, Mary, and God. He will be in my heart.
• I've been waiting a long time. I think it will be fun, but the wine tastes bitter. I love my First Communion.
• I want to be closer to Jesus.
• I never did it and we are having a party. I will be receiving the Body and Blood.
• That's how Jesus is the closest. He is also in us and trying to tell us to do the right thing. Jesus can't get any closer to us. If we don't eat Jesus then He is not close to us; if we can, He is. Jesus died and He wanted us to love Him.
• Because I want to be more Catholic.

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St. Paul Center Blog

Hearing the Call: Scott Hahn Reflects on the Ascension of the Lord

Posted by Dr. Scott Hahn on 05.08.13 |

Acts 1:1-11
Psalm 47:2-3. 6-9
Hebrews 9:24-28; 10:19-23
Luke 24:46-53

In today’s first reading, St. Luke gives the surprising news that there is more of the story to be told. The story did not end with the empty tomb, or with Jesus’ appearances to the Apostles over the course of forty days. Jesus’ saving work will have a liturgical consummation. He is the great high priest, and he has still to ascend to the heavenly Jerusalem, there to celebrate the feast in the true Holy of Holies.

The truth of this feast shines forth from the Letter to the Hebrews, where we read of the great high priest’s passing through the heavens, the sinless intercessor’s sacrifice on our behalf (see Hebrews 4:14-15).

Indeed, his intercession will lead to the Holy Spirit’s descent in fire upon the Church. Luke spells out that promise in the first reading for the feast of the Ascension: “in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit” (Acts 1:5). Ascension is the preliminary feast that directs the Church’s attention forward to Pentecost. On that day, salvation will be complete; for salvation is not simply expiation for sins (that would be wonder enough), but it is something even greater than that. Expiation is itself a necessary precondition of our adoption as God’s children. To live that divine life we must receive the Holy Spirit. To receive the Holy Spirit we must be purified through baptism.

The Responsorial Psalm presents the Ascension in terms familiar from the worship of the Jerusalem Temple in the days of King Solomon: “God mounts his throne to shouts of joy: a blare of trumpets for the Lord” (Psalm 47). The priest-king takes his place at the head
of the people, ruling over the nations, establishing peace.

The Epistle strikes a distinctively Paschal note. In the early Church, as today, Easter was the normal time for the baptism of adult converts. The sacrament was often called “illumination” or “enlightenment” (see, for example, Hebrews 10:32) because of the light that came with God’s saving grace. Saint Paul, in his letter to the Ephesians, speaks in terms of glory that leads to greater glories still, as Ascension leads to Pentecost: “May the eyes of your hearts be enlightened,” he writes, as he looks to the divinization of the believers. Their “hope” is “his inheritance among the holy ones,” the saints who have been adopted into God’s family and now rule with him at the Father’s right hand.

This is the “good news” the Apostles are commissioned to spread—to the whole world, to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem—at the first Ascension. It’s the good news we must spread today.

[Salvation]

Ascension of the Lord: Begin at the end

(Garofolo)

"This Jesus who has been taken up . . . will return . . ."

 



Word for Ascension: http://usccb.org/bible/readings/051213-ascension.cfm

Acts 1: 1-11
Eph 1:17 - 23
Lk 24: 46-53

Have you ever picked up a magazine, maybe casually waiting for a haircut or in the doctor’s waiting room, opened it and began at the back, flipping towards the front? I hope I’m not the only one who has done such a thing; I suspect I’m not.  I don’t think we would ever do that with a book or wait until the end of a movie to enter the theatre then remain to see how it all began.  We begin at the beginning and allow the story to unfold. 

However, when we read any of the four Gospels, in order to capture the sense of the early Christians and the Apostles who carried the message of the Lord out to the ancient world, we should actually begin at the end of the narrative.  For the end is really the beginning.  St. Paul preached to the Gentile communities nothing about the baby Jesus in the manger.  There is no reference to shepherds, magi, or singing angels in the preaching of St. Paul. The Gospels as we know them were in the process of being formulated at a later time. Yet, even if Paul had the Gospel of Luke in his hands, his preaching would have remained the same.  

Our second reading from Ephesians for today’s feast is one example of this.  It is typical to the theme of Paul: “. . . 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 . . .” (Eph 1: 20-21).

Paul preached a Christ crucified and raised and now seated at the right hand of God the Father, for this is clearly the essence of our salvation and the core of the message of who Jesus is for humanity. Paul began with the resurrection as he introduced Jesus those who would listen to him. Therefore, for us Christians it all begins with the resurrection, everything else of Jesus Christ is understood in light of that, including his infancy.

While we think in linear terms, as how we experience life moving from birth to death, in the case of the risen and ascended Lord, we must begin at the end of the Gospel narratives, which is really the beginning. In that light, the Ascension offers us quite a perspective.  Pope-Emeritus Benedict XVI, in his book Jesus of Nazareth, Part two, says this about the Ascension: “Because Jesus is with the Father, he has not gone away but remains close to us. Now he is no longer in one particular place in the world as he had been before the ‘Ascension’: now through his power over space, he is present and accessible to all – throughout history and in every place.” (JN, p. 284).

The Apostles, according to Luke today, seemed to understand this.  When Jesus ascended and was no longer visibly present, he was now present to them and all who would come to believe, in a fuller way: “They . . . returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and they were continually in the Temple praising God.” (Lk 24: 53).  No sadness in his leaving them but great joy in his promise to remain in an unlimited way, no longer limited by space and time - a great mystery indeed. Yet, one we encounter consistently.

In the sacraments of our Church, in our prayer, in our charity we find the risen Lord. Still, we who find ourselves living in this in between time from Resurrection to the Second Coming may feel at times overwhelmed. More and more these days, we see what has been called a certain “Christophobia.”  That isn’t some sort of Christian disease but an open rejection of the Christian message and Christian morality, and in some cases of Christ himself from indifference to hostility. Many Catholics and other Christians today have found themselves in physical danger simply because they are Christians. Think of the Middle East for example – Syria, Lebanon, Egypt, China just to name a few.

We hear this rejection of Christian morality in the media, we see it in public policy, and we experience it in a justification of behavior and the choices that people make.  Everything is determined out of what benefits me and the common good is not considered. It’s all about today and the past is forgotten. What is sacred in the Christian message such as human life, marriage, the dignity of the person for example is grabbed and redefined.  What God has given us for our good is minimized for the sake of what “I” think is a better idea. The effect of such decisions on the good of society is minimized in favor of what benefits me today.  

The Ascension of Jesus, his promise to remain among us in his Spirit whose coming we celebrate next week, calls us to witness to a better way – a higher form of moral living in keeping with the Gospel Jesus entrusted to his Apostles and through them to his Church. So, like the Apostles we just don’t stand here, waiting for the next crisis to fall or struck helpless with fear.  As the first reading from Acts today relates at the end of the passage, the Apostles stood staring up into the sky and two men (angels) say to them: “Men of Galilee, why are you standing there looking at the sky? . . .” (Acts 1: 10).

In other words, get on about it!  Jesus had commissioned them to “be my witnesses.” There is a mission to carry out and a Gospel to proclaim.  We, every one of us, due to our baptism, have a mission to carry out.  It may not be to the “ends of the earth,” but to our parish, our family, our neighbors, co-workers, our friends or wherever we may find ourselves.  Living the Gospel in convincing and authentic ways without fear and with great joy is our task.  It is a mission that leads ultimately to union with God beyond this life but this life is where we are now.   

Our weekly celebration of the Mass is a constant reminder of this mission as we leave with hearts renewed by his word and strengthened by the Eucharist. The resurrection and ascension may be the end of the Gospel writings but in faith it is our beginning and our hope.

Gladden us with holy joys, almighty God,
and make us rejoice with devout thanksgiving,
for the Ascension of Christ your Son
is our exaltation, and where the Head has gone before in glory,
the Body is called to follow in hope.

(Collect for the Ascension)   

 

Fr. Tim

[Salvation]

Insight Scoop

Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger on what "the feast of the Ascension wants to teach us"

 From Images of Hope: Meditations on Major Feasts, in a chapter titled, "The Beginning of a New Nearness":

You are surely familiar with all those precious, naïve images in which only the feet of Jesus are visible, sticking out of the cloud, at the heads of the apostles. The cloud, for its part, is a dark circle on the perimeter; on the inside, however, blazing light. It occurs to me that precisely in the apparent naïveté of this representation something very deep comes into view. All we see of Christ in the time of history are his feet and the cloud. His feet—what are they? We are reminded, first of all, of a peculiar sentence from the Resurrection account in Matthew's Gospel, where it is said that the women held onto the feet of the Risen Lord and worshipped him. As the Risen One, he towers over earthly proportions. We can still only touch his feet; and we touch them in adoration. Here we could reflect that we come as worshippers, following his trail, close to his footsteps. Praying, we go to him; praying, we touch him, even if in this world, so to speak, always only from below, only from afar, always only on the trail of his earthly steps. At the same time it becomes clear that we do not find the footprints of Christ when we look only below, when we measure only footprints and want to subsume faith in the obvious. The Lord is movement toward above, and only in moving ourselves, in looking up and ascending, do we recognize him. When we read the Church Fathers something important is added. The correct ascent of man occurs precisely where he learns, in humbly turning toward his neighbor, to bow very deeply, down to his feet, down to the gesture of the washing of feet. It is precisely humility, which can bow low, that carries man upward. This is the dynamic of ascent that the feast of the Ascension wants to teach us. 

Read another excerpt from the same book, "Primacy in Love."

[Salvation]

Insight Scoop

The Image of Man Has Been Raised Up: On the Feast of the Ascension of the Lord

The Image of Man Has Been Raised Up: On the Feast of the Ascension of the Lord | Carl E. Olson 

"You ascended into glory, O Christ our God, and You delighted the disciples with the promise of the Holy Spirit. Through this blessing, they were assured that You are the Son of God, the Redeemer of the World."
—Troparion for the Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, Feast of the Ascension of our Lord Jesus Christ

"Christ's Ascension is therefore not a spectacle for the disciples but an event into which they themselves are included. It is a sursum corda, a movement toward the above into which we are all called. It tells us that man can live toward the above, that he is capable of attaining heights. More: the altitude that alone is suited to the dimensions of being human is the altitude of God himself. Man can live at this height, and only from this height do we properly understand him. The image of man has been raised up, but we have the freedom to tear it down or to let ourselves be raised."
— Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, from Images of Hope: Meditations On Major Feasts (Ignatius Press, 2006)

---

Readings:

• Acts 1:1-11
• Psa. 47:2-3, 6-7, 8-9
• Eph. 1:17-23 or Heb. 9:24-28; 10:19-23
• Lk 24:46-53

"As he blessed them he parted from them and was taken up to heaven." (Lk 24:51)

With these simple, matter-of-fact words, Luke describes the Ascension of Jesus, expressed even more concisely in the Creed: "He ascended into heaven." This event is so important for Luke that the Acts of the Apostles opens with a description of the same event. As the disciples looked on, Luke records, Jesus "was lifted up, and a cloud took him from their sight" (Acts 1:9). Mark's account, heard today, is equally direct and succinct: "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" (Mk. 16:19).

This dramatic moment has been celebrated in the Church on the fortieth day after Easter since the earliest centuries. Some of the Church Fathers, including Augustine, said that the feast had been observed since the time of the apostles, although the earliest evidence of its celebration dates to the fifth century. In the Latin Rite in the United States the Feast of the Ascension is one of six solemnities, the others being the solemnities of Mary, Mother of God (January 1); the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary (August 15); All Saints (November 1), the Immaculate Conception (December 8), and the Nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ (December 25).

Despite being a solemnity and a holy day of obligation, the Feast of the Ascension is sometimes completely overlooked or not given much attention. Ask Catholics what is the significance of the Feast and answers aren't always immediate. The rather mysterious nature of the Feast is heightened in some ecclesiastical provinces by its transference from the sixth Thursday of Easter to the following Sunday. In a way, the Solemnity bears a resemblance to the sacrament of Confirmation, the exact meaning of which is not always understood well and suffers for not being more clearly explained and comprehended.

This occasional murkiness is unfortunate because the Ascension is such a joyful event in the work and life of Jesus Christ, as well as being a vital reality in the ongoing life and mission of the Church. To appreciate this joy and vitality we should keep in mind what the Catechism of the Catholic Church states about the liturgical calendar: The Church, "in the course of the year, . . . unfolds the whole mystery of Christ from his Incarnation and Nativity through his Ascension, to Pentecost and the expectation of the blessed hope of the coming of the Lord" (CCC, 1194).

Hinted at here are revealing parallels between the Incarnation and the Ascension and between the Nativity and Pentecost. In the Incarnation the eternal Son of God took on human nature in order to save mankind. By the power of the Holy Spirit, divinity and humanity were united in one Person; the Word became flesh (Jn 1:14) and lowered Himself to the level of dust and death. The Nativity is the physical, outward revelation of this reality: the Christ Child is born and history and the world are never the same.

At the Ascension the crucified, risen Son of God returns to His Father. Having descended to dusty earth, He now returns to heavenly glory. Having conquered death, He ascends to eternal life. But He returns to the right hand of the Father not just as the Word, but as the Incarnate Word. The doors of heaven are now open and humanity can now approach the throne room of God, the way having been paved by the life, death, and resurrection of the God-man. Pentecost, finally, is the manifestation of the God-man's Church, which is both human and divine. The Church was revealed to the world on that day—fifty days after Easter—by the power of the Holy Spirit.

All of this theology is nice enough, but what does it mean for us? It means the Feast of the Ascension is a celebration of salvation won. The Catholic Encyclopedia notes that "in the Eastern Church this feast was known as analepsis, the taking up, and also as the episozomene, the salvation, denoting that by ascending into His glory Christ completed the work of our redemption." The tendency is often to think of the Resurrection as the culmination of Jesus' salvific work, but it is the Ascension that places the final stamp of approval on the sacrificial and victorious work of our Savior. This is beautifully expressed in the first chapter of Paul's epistle to the Ephesians:

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 ... (Eph. 1:17-20).

Now that the Incarnate Son of God has ascended into heaven and sits in the throne room of God, mankind can follow. United to the Son through baptism and deepening communion with Him through reception of the Holy Eucharist and the other sacraments, the hope of heaven is ours.

"The ascension of Christ is our elevation," declared Leo the Great in a sermon on the Ascension, "Hope for the body is also invited where the glory of the Head preceded us. Let us exult, dearly beloved, with worthy joy and be glad with a holy thanksgiving. Today we not only are established as possessors of paradise, but we have even penetrated the heights of the heavens in Christ." Where the sin of the first Adam closed the gates of Paradise, the righteousness of the new Adam has opened them wide.

Jesus promised His disciples that He would prepare a place for them (Jn. 14). Because of the Ascension, we know He has prepared a place for those who are His. Because of the Ascension, we have the hope of His return and of our future passage into glory. "The Ascension, then," Pope John Paul II explained in May 2000, "is a Trinitarian epiphany which indicates the goal to which personal and universal history is hastening. Even if our mortal body dissolves into the dust of the earth, our whole redeemed self is directed on high to God, following Christ as our guide."

Our Guide has come, died, rose from the dead, and ascended into heaven. Let us celebrate the Feast!

(This article was originally published in 2004 in Our Sunday Visitor in a slightly different form.)

[Salvation]

Vultus Christi

Take my yoke upon you

By

Dom Mark

 on May 11, 2013 6:01 AM |

 

 

Chapter II. What Kind of Man the Abbot Ought to Be

10 Jan. 11 May. 10 Sept.

Let the Abbot be ever mindful that at the dreadful judgment of God an account will have to be given both of his own teaching and of the obedience of his disciples. And let him know that to the fault of the shepherd shall be imputed any lack of profit which the father of the household may find in his sheep. Only then shall he be acquitted, if he shall have bestowed all pastoral diligence on his unquiet and disobedient flock, and employed all his care to amend their corrupt manner of life: then shall he be absolved in the judgment of the Lord, and may say to the Lord with the Prophet: "I have not hidden Thy justice in my heart, I have declared Thy truth and Thy salvation, but they contemned and despised me." And then at length the punishment of death shall be inflicted on the disobedient sheep.

Wisdom Not Only for Abbots

This is one of the chapters of the Holy Rule that is most helpful to bishops and priests who, like the Father of a monastery, are charged with the care of souls. Parish priests who are Benedictine Oblates will find in this chapter a synthesis of incomparable pastoral wisdom, and matter for an excellent examination of conscience.

The Abbot knows that when he appears before the judgment seat of Christ, it will be as the father of a family, charged with responsibility for the souls of his sons. He will be held accountable for all that he has taught, not only by word, but also by the example of his life, for an Abbot teaches in every word he says, and in his every action.

The Obedience of the Disciple

Saint Benedict says that the Abbot will held accountable not only for his own teaching, but also for the obedience -- or disobedience -- of his disciples. There are some superiors who make obedience sweet and easy; and there are other superiors who make obedience burdensome and difficult. The difference lies in the Abbot's personal response to Our Lord's words: "Come to me, all you that labour, and are burdened, and I will refresh you. Take up my yoke upon you, and learn of me, because I am meek, and humble of heart: and you shall find rest to your souls. For my yoke is sweet and my burden light" (Matthew 11:28-30).

Yoked to Christ

An Abbot who, in his labours and burdens, allows Christ to refresh him, will know the secret of offering refreshment to his sons in the labours and burdens of their obedience. An Abbot who is yoked to Christ will go forward, not in frenzy and stress, but, rather, in meekness and humility; thus will he find rest and refreshment for his soul. An Abbot refreshed by his personal union Christ, and who, at every moment, rests in His Heart, will have the gift of making life restful and refreshing for others. An agitated man, on the other hand, will generate agitation and stress around himself.

Of One Mind

A monk is yoked to his Abbot by the vow of obedience, even as the Abbot is yoked in obedience to Christ. Just as the Abbot finds rest for his soul by abiding in union with the Heart of Jesus, so will a monk find rest for his soul by seeking, at all times, to remain of one mind with his Abbot. This is the constant teaching of the Apostle: "Now the God of patience and of comfort grant you to be of one mind one towards another, according to Jesus Christ" (Romans 15:5); "For the rest, brethren, rejoice, be perfect, take exhortation, be of one mind, have peace; and the God of peace and of love shall be with you." (2 Corinthians 13:11); "Fulfill ye my joy, that you may be of one mind, having the same charity, being of one accord, agreeing in sentiment" (Philippians 2:2). And Saint Peter says likewise: "Be ye all of one mind, having compassion one of another, being lovers of the brotherhood, merciful, modest, humble" (1 Peter 3:8).

Saint Benedict requires the Abbot to bestow all pastoral diligence on his flock, especially when the flock is unquiet and disobedient. There will always be the temptation or an Abbot to indulge in self-pity, or even to seek escape, if not geographically, then mentally and emotionally. The Abbot who runs away from his flock because it contains unruly sheep is like the hireling who "flieth, because he is a hireling: and he hath no care for the sheep" (John 10:13).

[Salvation]

Vultus Christi

The Example of Deeds

By

Dom Mark

 on May 12, 2013 7:44 PM |

 

 

Chapter II. What Kind of Man the Abbot Ought to Be

11 Jan. 12 May. 11 Sept.

Therefore, when anyone receiveth the name of Abbot, he ought to govern his disciples by a two-fold teaching: that is, he should shew forth all goodness and holiness by his deeds rather than his words: declaring to the intelligent among his disciples the commandments of the Lord by words: but to the hard-hearted and the simple minded setting forth the divine precepts by the example of his deeds. And let him shew by his own actions that those things ought not to be done which he has taught his disciples to be against the law of God; lest, while preaching to others, he should himself become a castaway, and God should say to him in his sin: "Why dost thou declare My justice, and take My covenant in thy mouth? Thou hast hated discipline, and hast cast My words behind thee." And again: "Thou who sawest the mote in thy brother's eye, didst thou not see the beam in thine own?"

Deeds More than Words

Saint Benedict would have the Abbot radiate good and holiness, not by much speaking, but by the way he lives in the humble circumstances of ordinary daily life. Deeds are more easily understood than discourses. By a consistent goodness of life, an Abbot can break through the crusty resistance of men not easily impressed by fine words, or even hardened by them. Too great a reliance on preaching and teaching to communicate the flame of monastic life can have the opposite effect. It can induce a certain weariness of words, and cause monks to become passive, or disheartened, or simply fed up.

If an Abbot would have his monks be punctual to the choir and refectory, he must consistently demonstrate that such punctuality is, in fact, an expression of charity, of gratitude, and of respect for others. If he would have his monks do cheerfully their share of the humble household tasks, he must show by his deeds that such tasks are an important and valued contribution to life together. If an Abbot would have his monks become lovers of silence and of the enclosure, he must be the first to observe silence and enclosure. If an Abbot would have his monks be quick to forgive and slow to anger, he must model ready forgiveness and patience at every opportunity. If an Abbot would have his monks be assiduous in lectio divina and generous in pure, unprogrammed times of prayer, he must set the example by his personal discipline and willingness to "lose time" in prayer. It has often been observed that a community takes on, over time, the demeanour and distinctive traits of its Abbot.

Compunction

Lest an Abbot be blinded by the beam in his eye, he must wash out his eyes frequently with tears of sorrow for his past sins, and treasure the incomparable grace of compunction. So long as a man lives, even with the grace of monastic consecration, he remains capable of spiritual blindness. Nothing so restores the clarity of one's inward sight as do tears of compunction, and these cannot be forced or otherwise produced. They are a gift of God.

[Salvation]

Regnum Christi

That They May All Be One

| SPIRITUAL LIFE | SPIRITUALITY

Seventh Sunday of Easter

Father Paul Campbell, LC

 

John 17:20-26

Lifting his eyes up to heaven, Jesus prayed, saying: "Holy Father, I pray not only for them, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, so that they may all be one, as you, Father, are in me and I in you, that they also may be in us, that the world may believe that you sent me. And I have given them the glory you gave me, so that they may be one, as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may be brought to perfection as one, that the world may know that you sent me, and that you loved them even as you loved me. Father, they are your gift to me. I wish that where I am they also may be with me, that they may see my glory that you gave me, because you loved me before the foundation of the world. Righteous Father, the world also does not know you, but I know you, and they know that you sent me. I made known to them your name and I will make it known, that the love with which you loved me may be in them and I in them."

Introductory Prayer: Lord, I believe in you and all that you have revealed for our salvation. I hope in you because of your overflowing mercy. Every single act of yours on this earth demonstrated your love for us. Your ascent into heaven before the eyes of the Apostles inspires my hope of one day joining you there. I love you and wish you to be the center of my life.

Petition:Lord, heal the wounds of disunity and disharmony in my life.

1. Unity Among the Disciples: Jesus prays for the unity of all believers. He wants us to be one, united in him and with the Father. Today we find many fractures and divisions within society. When we look around, we see so many different denominations. God does not want this division and fragmentation. He prayed that we may be one so that this oneness would be a witness to the world that Jesus was sent from the Father. If the world remains unconvinced about Christ and the Good News of salvation, the fault begins with us. How present is Christian unity in my prayers and sacrifices?

2. Disunity in the Family: Today we also find an increasing disunity within the family. Divorce has ripped families apart and separated children from their parents. It is a rare child who is not scarred by divorce. The detrimental effect of “no fault” divorce on children is well known, yet few seem ready to challenge the assumption that a marriage should be easier to terminate than a car lease. The unity Christ wills for all families is based on his love. He is the glue to hold us together. It requires us to put others ahead of ourselves and to seek to serve. It requires a constant effort to listen and to communicate, to forgive and to let go. It is not found in the mantra of self-esteem and self-fulfillment. How ready am I to ask for or grant forgiveness? How often do I put my family ahead of my work and my own plans?

3. Interior Disharmony: Sin corrodes love and turns us inward to look toward ourselves. We grow increasingly selfish. With the world tirelessly promoting freedom as license to do whatever we want, we become slaves to our passions. How often do we prefer to indulge our own whims and desires? How free are we to say no to sin in our life? Sin creates an interior disharmony, an interior fracture between what our conscience presents as God’s will and how we are actually living. If we love God, we will obey him. Love apart from such obedience is an illusion – a lie. If my relationship with Christ is not right, then all my other relationships rest on shifting sand.

Conversation with Christ: Jesus, it is hard to forgive others. Sometimes it is hard to forgive myself. I need your strength to move me beyond the pain and struggle. I need the security of your love and your presence in my life. Help me to mend the disharmony in my life that you want me to fix. Heal the brokenness in my heart, in my home, in my family and in my Church.

Resolution:I will ask for forgiveness.