Daily FeastAfter Jesus' Resurrection from the dead, He continued to appear to His disciples for a period of 40 days. After this time, with His Apostles gathered around Him on the Mount of Olives, Jesus was taken up bodily into heaven, as recorded in the Gospels. To comfort them in His physical absence, He promised to send them a Consoler and Advocate, the Holy Spirit, to be with them and to guide them into all truth until the end of the world. The Solemnity of the Ascension of Our Lord is celebrated on the 40th day after Easter Sunday, also called Ascension Thursday. It is a Holy Day of Obligation, and among the oldest and most solemn feasts on the liturgical calendar. In many dioceses the celebration of the feast is transferred to the following Sunday. †Saint Quote Today:“Today our Lord Jesus Christ ascended into heaven; let our hearts ascend with him.” -St. Augustine Today’s MeditationThere is a symbolic beauty in the circumstance that the tomb of Jesus was only a few paces from His Cross. Suffering and death are but two aspects of the same thing; the one lays us low, and the other completes the work of destruction. Yet through Jesus they both raise us up, and our joint ascension presents the three stages of the Cross, the tomb, and Heaven. - A.G. Sertillanges, p. 197-198
An excerpt from What Jesus Saw from the Cross Daily VerseAnd they prayed and said, 'Lord, who knowest the hearts of all men, show which one of these two thou hast chosen to take the place in this ministry and apostleship from which Judas turned aside, to go to his own place.' And they cast lots for them, and the lot fell on Matthi′as; and he was enrolled with the eleven apostles. -Acts 1:24-26
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St Matthias The ApostleSt. Matthias the Apostle (1st c.) followed Jesus during his entire earthly ministry and was one of his 72 disciples. Matthias was chosen by the 11 Apostles to replace Judas Iscariot after his betrayal of Christ and subsequent suicide. After Christ's Ascension into heaven, St. Matthias devoted himself to preaching Christianity among the pagans, some of them barbarians and cannibals, all over Judea, Cappadocia, and Ethiopia for over 30 years. Many miracles are ascribed to him as the pagans sought to kill him: that he was unharmed after being forced to drink poison, that he once hid by becoming invisible, and that the earth opened up and swallowed his attackers. St. Matthias also preached the need for mortification of the flesh as an aid to growth in holiness. Eventually, at God's appointed time, he was martyred for the cause of Christ, though there are conflicting traditions as to exactly where and how. St. Matthias is the patron saint of carpenters, tailors, and reformed alcoholics. His feast day is May 14th.
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The Ascension of the LordAscension Lectionary: 58 Reading 1Acts 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.” Responsorial PsalmPsalm 47:2-3, 6-7, 8-9 R. (6) God mounts his throne to shouts of joy: a blare of trumpets for the Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.
All you peoples, clap your hands,
shout to God with cries of gladness,
For the LORD, the Most High, the awesome,
is the great king over all the earth.
R. God mounts his throne to shouts of joy: a blare of trumpets for the Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.
God mounts his throne amid shouts of joy;
the LORD, amid trumpet blasts.
Sing praise to God, sing praise;
sing praise to our king, sing praise.
R. God mounts his throne to shouts of joy: a blare of trumpets for the Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.
For king of all the earth is God;
sing hymns of praise.
God reigns over the nations,
God sits upon his holy throne.
R. God mounts his throne to shouts of joy: a blare of trumpets for the Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia. Reading 2Ephesians 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. AlleluiaMatthew 28:19a, 20b R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Go and teach all nations, says the Lord;
I am with you always, until the end of the world.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. GospelMatthew 28:16-20 The eleven disciples went to Galilee,
to the mountain to which Jesus had ordered them.
When they saw him, they worshiped, but they doubted.
Then Jesus approached and said to them,
“All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations,
baptizing them in the name of the Father,
and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit,
teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.
And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.”
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Praise to You Oh Lord Jesus Christ!
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From Word Among Us WAU.org
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Daily Meditation: John 15:9-17It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you. (John 15:16) It was the night before he died, and Jesus knew that his disciples would abandon him in just a few hours. He knew that they might later doubt their calling. And he knew that if they were going to withstand the challenges they would face while building his Church, they needed to be confident that they had been personally chosen, called by God. Jesus himself surely experienced the confidence that this “choosing” brings, especially as he entered into his passion. He likely recalled the conviction he felt in his “Father’s house” when his parents found him in the Temple (Luke 2:49), when he heard his Father’s words of affirmation at his baptism (Matthew 3:16-17), and as he spoke with Moses and Elijah at his transfiguration (Mark 9:3). These events strengthened his trust in God: he knew that his Father had chosen him and would give him everything he needed to respond to his call. St. Matthias, whose feast we celebrate today, also needed to root himself in being “chosen” by the Lord. Scripture tells us little about him except that the apostles sought the Lord to help them discern whether he should take the place of Judas. While Matthias had followed Jesus from the very beginning of his ministry, it wasn’t until years later that he received this deeper calling to become one of the Twelve. Clearly, Matthias’ vocation matured over time—to the point that in the end, he gave his life out of love for the One who had first chosen him. What hope this brings! You may be tempted to think that your life is a matter of chance. Not so: God is too wise and too loving to leave you as a victim of circumstance. Just as he chose Matthias, he has chosen you to follow his Son. He has chosen you to be a disciple in the specific time and place in which you live: as a father or mother, a worker or student—as a disciple who shines the light of Christ into the world. That calling will continue to grow as you follow him, and he will give you all the grace you need to carry it out! “Thank you, Jesus, for choosing me to be your own!” Acts 1:15-17, 20-26
Psalm 113:1-8
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From today's Holy Gospel: "Then Jesus approached and said to them,
“All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations,
baptizing them in the name of the Father,
and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit,
teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.
And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.”.. ”
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From Roberto Juarez: "The apostolic mission did not end with the Twelve. The Church continues that mission today. And each baptized person participates in it. We too are sent.
Today, on the feast of St. Matthias, the Lord invites us to remember that we have been chosen, that we are loved and that we are called to bear fruit.
Let us pray that we may remain faithful like St. Matthias, even if our mission is simple and silent, that we may live as friends of Jesus of Nazareth, and that our lives may bear abundant fruit in love, service and daily fidelity. Because God continues to call today, he continues to send, and he continues to make fruitful the lives of those who remain in his love."
end quote.
We went into great depths in discussing this Gospel last night. A question asked by the study was: " What areas of your witnessing responsibilities do Jerusalem, Judea, and Samaria encompass?"
It is difficult to answer. First of all, we need to know what Jerusalem was all about, as well as Judea and Samaria.
But the questions insisted later on our witness:
"What is the relationship between possessing this wisdom and enlightenment and having a heart to tell
others about Jesus and salvation?"
And the last question:
"This command was given to the Apostles, and thus to the Church. Inasmuch as you are also part of
“Church” how should, or how are you, responding to this command?"
You see, like the ten commandments, the last words of our Lord from Heaven before ascending back to Heaven...His last wish was a command. Not suggestions. He laid on us HIS desire. He has left us on a mission. To finish His mission He started. A fire that will be instilled in our hearts, through the fire of His Holy Spirit.
And for that...we must be availing ourselves daily, at every moment...to do HIS will. What He wants. Why? Because, He is Lord, but most of all, because He is Love...something worth giving our lives for....as He did for us, forever....
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Random Bible Verse 1
Luke 4:18–19 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed,
19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
Word of the Lord!
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