THE LORD'S ASCENSION


A. Absent, Yet Present
B. I Go; Now I Send You


Acts 1:1-11; Ps 47:2-3, 6-7, 8-9
Eph 1:17-23; Mt 28:16-20
Daily Gospel • Sundays Into Silence
Preaching the Word • A Certain Jesus



Greeting (see the readings)

Be my witnesses to the ends of the earth,
says the Lord.
Know that I am with you always,
till the end of time.
May the Lord Jesus be always with you

Introduction by the Celebrant

A. Absent, Yet Present

Today we celebrate the Solemnity of the Ascension: the Lord Jesus returns to the glory of the Father. There is an apparent contradiction in this leaving of Jesus:
while leaving, he assures us that he is staying with us. These are his last words in Matthew's gospel, just as Matthew had assured us in his first chapter that Jesus is our God-with-us. Jesus' going to heaven is really no farewell: He was God-with-us in his life on earth, close to people, especially the poor and the weak. He is now with us, but in another way, through his Spirit, in the Church, for we are his body, in the signs of bread and wine, wherever people meet in his name, as we are doing at this moment, in the poor and the weak of our day too. Our prayer today is: Stay with us, Lord.

B. I Go; Now I Send You

This day of the Lord's Ascension is for us a feast of joy for we celebrate the Lord Jesus in his glory. He had to leave this earth so as not to be any longer the privileged companion of just a small group of apostles and disciples. Once he was glorified in heaven, he would belong to everyone willing to accept him as their Lord. From now on we, his people, have to be his shape and face, his heartbeat, his helping hand, his smile, his strength that often looks powerless. Don't be afraid: He has promised to be with us until the end of time, as he is here with us now in this eucharist.

Penitential Act

Jesus has given us a task to do.
Let us ask forgiveness
that we have not measured up to his expectations
and not relied on his presence.
(PAUSE)
Lord Jesus, you lived among people
and have gone away to the Father's glory.

You will return,
for your love is without end:
Lord, have mercy. R/ Lord, have mercy.

Jesus Christ, you still live among us
through your Spirit of strength and love,
for your love is without end:
Christ, have mercy. R/ Christ, have mercy.

Lord Jesus, we do not see you,
but you have given us people
and a mission of truth and goodness,
for your love is without end:
Lord, have mercy. R/ Lord, have mercy.

Have mercy on us, Lord,
forgive us our sadness and our sins.
Help us to seek the will of the Father
and lead us to everlasting life. R/ Amen.


Opening Prayer

Let us pray
that the Spirit of the risen Lord
may guide us
(PAUSE)
God our Father,
our risen Lord Jesus Christ
lives now in your presence.
When we keep looking for him in the clouds,
make us turn to the task
he has given us to do here on earth
and learn to recognize his face
in our brothers and sisters.
And when we are too attached to this earth,
remind us that in your own good time
you will complete Jesus' works in us
and take us to your joy and glory
for ever and ever. R/ Amen.


Liturgy of the Word

First Reading Introduction: Why Are You Looking into the Sky?
           At his ascension, Jesus entrusts his work to the apostles. The Holy Spirit will give them the strength to bear witness to Christ the Lord to the whole world.

First Reading: 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.”

Responsorial Psalm: Ps 47:2-3, 6-7, 8-9

R. (6) God mounts his throne to shouts of joy:
         a blare of trumpets for the Lord.

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. (6) God mounts his throne to shouts of joy:
         a blare of trumpets for the Lord.

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. (6) God mounts his throne to shouts of joy:
         a blare of trumpets for the Lord.

For king of all the earth is God;
sing hymns of praise.
God reigns over the nations,
God sits upon his holy throne.
 R. (6) God mounts his throne to shouts of joy:
         a blare of trumpets for the Lord.


Second Reading Introduction: Christ Went Ahead of Us to Heaven
            Christ saved us once and for all and he leads us into the sanctuary of heaven. This is our firm hope.

Second Reading: 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 Introduction: Jesus Leaves Us A Mission
            Jesus is gone physically, but he has left us a task: to bring his message of Good News to all. He stays with us in this mission.

Gospel Reading: Mt 28:16-20

As for the Eleven disciples, they went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw Jesus, they bowed before him, although some doubted.

Then Jesus approached them and said, "I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Go, therefore, and make disciples from all nations. Baptize them in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teach them to fulfill all that I have commanded you. I am with you always until the end of this world."


Commentary


How seemingly strange that the Lord would make a solemn promise to remain with His Church forever, only to then ascend into the heavens. Yet the Lord knew that the Holy Spirit would soon come and make it possible for Him to keep that promise in a magnanimous way.

The Lord does not leave us orphaned, but remains with us most especially in the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist. He keeps His promise and allows us to find Him exactly where He said He could be found, in the breaking of the bread that is His Body, and in the sharing of the chalice that is His Blood.

General Intercessions

Jesus our Risen Lord, lives for ever to pray for us and with us to the Father. Through him, let us pray then for the needs of the Church and of the world. Let us say: R/ Lord, your kingdom come.
- For the leaders and members of the Church, that they may accept and carry out their mission to live the Good News and to proclaim it to all peoples and cultures, let us pray: R/ Lord, your kingdom come.
- For people who stare to heaven and hope in God's help, that their prayers may be heard: but that they also look to people and commit themselves to them in goodness and compassion, let us pray: R/ Lord, your kingdom come.
- For those engaged in social action, that they may work untiringly to bring genuine justice even to the least in a spirit of reconciliation and love, let us pray: R/ Lord, your kingdom come.
- For the dying, that they may join Jesus our Lord into the home of the Father and share in his glory, Let us pray: R/ Lord, your kingdom come.
- For our Chritian communities, that Christ may be alive among us and give us his Spirit to build up and confirm one another in hope and a spirit of service, let us pray: R/ Lord, your kingdom come.
God of hope and life, you have not abandoned your Son in death but given him life and glory. In you we trust through Jesus Christ our Lord. R/ Amen.

Prayer over the Gifts

God our Father,
here in these signs of bread and wine
your Son Jesus keeps his promise
to be with us always, even to the end of time.
May he live and grow in us,
and animate us by the power of the Holy Spirit
to be his body to the world
and to make disciples of all nations.
Let Jesus bring our prayer before you
and hear us, for he lives with you for ever. R/ Amen.

Introduction to the Eucharistic Prayer

Let us with joy give thanks to the Father that Jesus, though raised up to heaven, is still with us through his Holy Spirit here in this eucharist, in the Church, and in the people around us.

Introduction to the Lord's Prayer

The Lord Jesus is now living
in the glory of the Father in heaven;
there he pleads for us.
Through him, and in his words,
we pray to God.
R/ Our Father...

Invitation to Communion