In the first book, O Theophilus,
I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach, until the day when
he was taken up, after he had given commandment through the Holy Spirit
to the apostles whom he had chosen. To them he presented himself
alive after his passion by many proofs, appearing to them during forty
days, and speaking of the kingdom of God.
And while staying with them
he charged them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise
of the Father, which, he said, "you heard from me, for John baptized
with water, but before many days you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit."
So when they had come together,
they asked him, "Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?"
He said to them, "It is not for you to know times or seasons which the
Father has fixed by his own authority. But you shall receive power
when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be my witnesses in
Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the end of the earth."
And when he had said this, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and
a cloud took him out of their sight. And while they were gazing into
heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes,
and said, "Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus,
who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you
saw him go into heaven."
Today's Song of Praise is taken from Psalm 47:
For the LORD, the Most High,
is terrible, a great king over all the earth.
He subdued peoples under
us, and nations under our feet.
God reigns over the nations;
God sits on his holy throne.
The princes of the peoples
gather as the people of the God of Abraham.
For the shields of the earth
belong to God; he is highly exalted!
Today's Epistle is from the Letter of Paul to the Ephesians, beginning at the 1st Chapter, and the 17th Verse:
That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power in us who believe, according to the working of his great might which he accomplished in Christ when he raised him from the dead and made him sit at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come; and he has put all things under his feet and has made him the head over all things for the church, which is his body, the fulness of him who fills all in all.
+ A Reading from the Gospel of Mark, beginning at the 16th Chapter, and the 15th Verse:
And he said to them, "Go
into all the world and preach the gospel to the whole creation. He
who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe
will be condemned. And these signs will accompany those who believe:
in my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues;
they will pick up serpents, and if they drink any deadly thing, it will
not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover."
So then the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken to them, was taken up into
heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God. And they went forth
and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed
the message by the signs that attended it. Amen.
This, despite that fact that the Ascension symbolizes and epitomizes my favorite theme in Catholic thought -- transformation and "theosis". Just as the Father drew Jesus back to heaven with Him, so He seeks to draw us.
Perhaps it is because this idea is so basic with me -- the ground on which I stand, the backdrop of my life -- that I can't seem to get interested. What one takes for granted is seldom exciting any more.
I will just have to hope that the Word of the Lord, in the readings above, will exert its own peculiar magic, and enter into your hearts. I pray this.....
Let us go forth, then, loving, praising and singing . . .
In the Name of The Father + And of the Son And of the Holy Spirit Amen.