Since we are travellers and pilgrims in the world, let us ever ponder on the end of the road, that is of our life, for the end of our roadway is our home (St Columban, 8th sermon).
The Ascension is celebrated on Ascension Thursday, 26 May, in England & Wales, Scotland. In the USA it is celebrated on Ascension Thursday in the Ecclesiastical Provinces of Boston, Hartford, New York, Newark, Omaha, Philadelphia, elsewhere on Sunday 29 May. In all of these areas Ascension Thursday is a Holyday of Obligation.
The Ascension is observed on Sunday, 29 May, in Aotearoa-New Zealand, Australia, Canada, Ireland, Philippines.
Readings(Jerusalem Bible: Australia, Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan)
Readings(English
Standard Version, Catholic Edition: England & Wales, India, Scotland)
GospelLuke 24:46-53 (English Standard Version Anglicised)
At that time: Jesus said to his disciples, ‘Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.’
And he led them out as far as Bethany, and lifting up his hands he blessed them. While he blessed them, he parted from them and was carried up into heaven. And they worshipped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and were continually in the Temple blessing God.
Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead,and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.You are witnesses of these things.
These are from the closing words of St Luke's Gospel, read today. The First Reading is the opening words of the Acts of the Apostles, written by St Luke and the continuation of his gospel. It also describes the Ascension and gives us these words of Jesus: You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.
Jesus sends us to the ends of the earth to proclaim his name, to proclaim forgiveness of sins for those who repent when they hear the Good News of the death and resurrection of Jesus. Our mission is not to be 'nice' to everyone, not to be 'good' but to be witnesses to Jesus the Risen Lord by the lives we lead.
The Church celebrated the feast of St Bernardine of Siena (1380 - 1444), a Franciscan friar who promoted devotion to the name of Jesus, on 20 May. There is an extract from one of his homilies in the Office of Readings in the Breviary on his feast day. The saint said, Hence this name must not be hidden. But when it is preached if must not be proclaimed by an impure heart or an unclean mouth, but it must be kept safe and handed on in a chosen vessel.
Further on St Bernardine speaks about St Paul in these words: For he carried the name of Jesus around by his words, his letters, his miracles and his example. He praised Jesus' name without ceasing, and gave glory to it with thanksgiving.
May those words be said of each of us.
Antiphona ad introitum Entrance Antiphon Acts 1:11
Viri Galilaei, quid admiramini aspicientes in caelum? [alleluia].
Men of Galilee, why gaze in wonder at the heavens? [Alleluia].
Quemadmodum vidistis eum ascendentem in caelum, ita veniet, alleluia [alleluia, alleluia].
This Jesus whom you saw ascending into heaven will return as you saw him go, alleluia [alleluia, alleluia].
Traditional Latin Mass
The Ascension of the Lord
The Complete Mass in Latin and English is here. (Adjust the date at the top of that page to 05-22-2025 if necessary).
The Ascension is celebrated on Ascension Thursday, 26 May, in
England & Wales, Scotland. In the USA it is celebrated on Ascension
Thursday in the Ecclesiastical Provinces of Boston, Hartford, New York, Newark,
Omaha, Philadelphia, elsewhere on Sunday 29 May. In all of these areas
Ascension Thursday is a Holyday of Obligation.
The
Ascension is observed on Sunday, 29 May, in Aotearoa-New Zealand, Australia,
Canada, Ireland, Philippines.
Readings, (Jerusalem Bible:
Australia, England & Wales, India [optional], Ireland, New Zealand,
Pakistan, Scotland, South Africa)
Gospel, Luke 24:46-53 (English Standard Version
Anglicised: India)
Jesus said to his disciples:
“Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and
on the third day rise from the dead,and
that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his
name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.You are witnesses of these things.And behold, I am sending the promise of
my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed
with power from on high.”
Then he led them out as far as Bethany, and lifting up
his hands he blessed them.While he blessed them, he parted from
them and was carried up into heaven.And they worshipped him and returned to
Jerusalem with great joy,and were continually in the temple blessing God.
Here is part of the homily Pope Benedict XVI gave in Błonia Park, Kraków, Poland, on Sunday 28 May 2006, the Solemnity of the Ascension. The emphases are added.
'Men of Galilee, why do you stand
looking up to heaven?' (Acts 1:11).
Brothers and
Sisters, today in Błonie Park in Kraków we hear once again this question from
the Acts of the Apostles. This time it is directed to all of us: 'Why do you
stand looking up to heaven?' The answer
to this question involves the fundamental truth about the life and destiny of
every man and woman.
The question has to
do with our attitude to two basic realities which shape every human life: earth
and heaven. First, the earth: 'Why do you stand?' - Why are you here on earth? Our answer is that we are here on earth
because our Maker has put us here as the crowning work of his creation.
Almighty God, in his ineffable plan of love, created the universe, bringing it
forth from nothing. Then, at the completion of this work, he bestowed life on men and women, creating them in his own image and
likeness (cf. Gen 1:26-27). He gave them the dignity of being children of God and the gift of
immortality. We know that man went astray, misused the gift of freedom and
said 'No' to God, thus condemning himself to a life marked by evil, sin,
suffering and death. But we also know
that God was not resigned to this situation, but entered directly into
humanity’s history, which then became a history of salvation. 'We stand' on
the earth, we are rooted in the earth and we grow from it. Here we do good in
the many areas of everyday life, in the material and spiritual realms, in our
relationships with other people, in our efforts to build up the human community
and in culture. Here too we experience the weariness of those who make their
way towards a goal by long and winding paths, amid hesitations, tensions,
uncertainties, in the conviction that the journey will one day come to an end. That is when the question arises: Is this
all there is? Is this earth on which 'we stand' our final destiny?
And so we need to turn to the second
part of the biblical question: 'Why do you stand looking up to heaven?' We have read that, just as the
Apostles were asking the Risen Lord about the restoration of Israel’s earthly
kingdom, 'He was lifted up and a cloud took him out of their sight.”'And 'they
looked up to heaven as he went' (cf. Acts 1:9-10). They looked up to heaven because they
looked to Jesus Christ, the Crucified and Risen One, raised up on high. We
do not know whether at that precise moment they realized that a magnificent,
infinite horizon was opening up before their eyes: the ultimate goal of our
earthly pilgrimage. Perhaps they only realized this at Pentecost, in the light
of the Holy Spirit. But for us, at a distance of two thousand years, the
meaning of that event is quite clear. Here
on earth, we are called to look up to heaven, to turn our minds and hearts to
the inexpressible mystery of God. We are called to look towards this divine
reality, to which we have been directed from our creation. For there we find
life’s ultimate meaning.
Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead,and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.You are witnesses of these things.
These are from the closing words of St Luke's Gospel, read today. The First Reading is the opening words of the Acts of the Apostles, written by St Luke and the continuation of his gospel. It also describes the Ascension and gives us these words of Jesus: You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.
Jesus sends us to the ends of the earth to proclaim his name, to proclaim forgiveness of sins for those who repent when they hear the Good News of the death and resurrection of Jesus. Our mission is not to be 'nice' to everyone, not to be 'good' but to be witnesses to Jesus the Risen Lord by the lives we lead.
I am preparing this early, on 20 May, the feast of St Bernardine of Siena (1380 - 1444) a Franciscan friar who promoted devotion to the name of Jesus. There is an extract from one of his homilies in the Office of Readings in the Breviary on his feast day. The saint said, Hence this name must not be hidden. But when it is preached if must not be proclaimed by an impure heart or an unclean mouth, but it must be kept safe and handed on in a chosen vessel.
Further on St Bernardine speaks about St Paul in these words: For he carried the name of Jesus around by his words, his letters, his miracles and his example. He praised Jesus' name without ceasing, and gave glory to it with thanksgiving.
May those words be said of each of us.
Antiphona ad introitum Entrance Antiphon Acts 1:11
Viri Galilaei, quid admiramini aspicientes in
caelum? [alleluia].
Men of Galilee, why gaze in wonder at the heavens?
[Alleluia].
Quemadmodum vidistis eum ascendentem in caelum, ita
veniet, alleluia [alleluia, alleluia].
This Jesus whom you saw ascending inot heaven will
return as you saw him go, alleluia [alleluia, alleluia].
Traditional Latin Mass
The Ascension of the Lord
The Complete Mass in Latin and English is here. (Adjust the date at the top of that page to 05-26-2022 if necessary).
The Ascension is celebrated on
Ascension Thursday, 13 May, in England & Wales and in Scotland. In the USA it is
celebrated on Ascension Thursday in the Ecclesiastical Provinces of Boston,
Hartford, New York, Newark, Omaha, Philadelphia, elsewhere on Sunday 2 June. In
all of these areas Ascension Thursday is a Holyday of Obligation.
The Ascension is
observed on Sunday, 16 May, in Aotearoa-New Zealand, Australia, Canada,
Ireland, Philippines.
Readings(Jerusalem Bible: Australia,
England & Wales, Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, Scotland)
Gospel Mark 16:15-20(English Standard Version, Anglicised)
Jesus said to his disciples:
“Go into all the world
and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation. Whoever believes and
is baptized will be saved, but whoever 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 with their hands; and if they drink
any deadly poison, 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 out and preached
everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the message by
accompanying signs.
Gospel John 17:11b-19(English Standard Version, Anglicised)
Jesus raised his eyes to heaven
and said:
Holy
Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that
they may be one, even as we are one.While I was with them, I kept them in your
name, which you have given me. I have guarded them, and not one of
them has been lost except the son of destruction, that the Scripture
might be fulfilled.But now I am coming to you, and these things I
speak in the world, that they may have my joy fulfilled in themselves.I have given them your word, and the
world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am
not of the world.I do not ask that you take them out of the
world, but that you keep them from the evil one.They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.Sanctify them[ in
the truth; your word is truth.As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into
the world.And for their sake I consecrate myself, that
they also may be sanctified in truth.
Fr Giuseppe Raviolo SJ (1923 - 1998) was a Pope St John XXIII-like
figure, physically and spiritually, from Italy who spent most of his priestly
life in Mindanao, Philippines, where I came to know him. He was the first
rector of St John Vianney Major Seminary in Cagayan de Oro City. But he also
spent nine years in Vietnam and was rector of the major seminary in Saigon, now
Ho Chi Minh City, during the Vietnam War. He once told me an extraordinary
story from that period.
The North Vietnamese Army was advancing on Saigon. The
soldiers were divided into groups of three. The standing order was that if one
tried to surrender the other two were to shoot him. One particular group found
themselves surrounded by American soldiers and one of them surrendered. The
other two did not shoot their companion and were captured along with him. Later
they asked their companion why he had taken such a risk. He answered, I
knew you were Christians and that you would not shoot me. The two were in
fact Catholics and had discussed the matter and had decided that, as
Christians, they could not shoot their companion if that particular situation
arose.
These were soldiers in the army of a Communist country, an
army without any chaplains, and their companion, who was not a Christian, took
it for granted that they would not take his life because he knew that they were
Christians.
In the First Reading today, the opening verses of the Acts of
the Apostles, Jesus says to his disciples, You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will
be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the
earth.
Those two Catholic soldiers in the North Vietnamese
army were powerful witnesses of Jesus to their companion. They chose to live
their faith in Jesus. And he entrusted his life to them because he knew they were Christians.
How many strangers would entrust their life to us simply because they knew we were Christians?
Rejoice always,pray without ceasing,give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of
God in Christ Jesus for you (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18).
This is really a postscript. The other day I came across the following quotation in This Tremendous Lover by Dom Eugene Boylan OCSO. It made me smile and it also highlighted for me that prayer is essentially being in a relationship with God, knowing that God loves us.
A saint should be a very easy person to live with. Unfortunately, those who try to be saints are often the opposite. Might we refer them to the example of St Jane Frances de Chantal? While she was still living in the world, St Francis de Sales became her director. The result of his influence may be gathered from the comment of one of her servants. 'The first director that Madame had made her pray three times a day. and we were all put out; but the Monsignor of Geneva (St Francis de Sales) makes her pray all day long and no one is troubled.'
Antiphona ad introitum Entrance Antiphon Acts 1:11
Viri Galilaei
Setting
by William Byrd
Sung
by Cardinall’s Musick
Viri Galilaei, quid admiramini aspicientes in
caelum? Men of Galilee, why gaze in wonder at the heavens?Quemadmodum vidisti eum ascendentem in caelum, ita
veniet, alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.This Jesus whom you saw ascending into heaven will return as you saw him go, alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.
Omnes gentes plaudit manibusL iubilate Deo in voce
exultationis.
Clap your hands all peoples! Shout
to God with loud sounds of joy!
Gloria Patri, et Filio, et Spiritui Sancto, sicut
erat in principio, et nunc et semper, et in saecula saeculorum. Amen.
Glory be to the Father, and to the
Son and to the Holy Spirit; as it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall
be, world without end. Amen.
Viri Galilaei, quid admiramini
aspicientes in caelum? Men of Galilee, why gaze in wonder at the heavens?Quemadmodum vidisti eum
ascendentem in caelum, ita veniet, alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.
This Jesus whom you saw ascending into heaven will return as you saw him go, alleluia, alleluia,
alleluia.
In the Extraordinary Form of the Mass the whole text above is sung or recited. In the Ordinary Form the text in bold is recited or sung unless it is replaced by a suitable hymn.
Extraordinary Form of the Mass
Traditional Latin Mass (TLM)
Ascension Thursday
The complete Mass in Latin and English is here. (Adjust the date at the top of that page to 5-13-2021 if necessary).
Authentic beauty, however, unlocks the yearning of the human heart, the profound desire to know, to love, to go towards the Other, to reach for the Beyond.
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Ascension Cupola
