Texts taken from the “On Your Word” Missal May-June 2022

Ascension of the Lord (solemnity) (C)
proper

Mass of the Day

FIRST READING

From the Acts of the Apostles (Acts 1:1-11)
In the first account, O Theophilus, I dealt with all that Jesus did and taught from the beginning until the day when he was taken up into heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. He presented himself alive to them after his passion by many proofs, appearing to them over a period of forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God. While he was at table with them, he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the fulfillment of the Father’s promise, “which,” he said, “you heard from me: John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.” So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel?” But he replied, “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 watching, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him from their sight. While they were looking intently at the sky as he was going, behold, two men in white garments stood beside them and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand 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 go into heaven.” The word of God.

Commentary on the first reading

It is clear that the apostles still do not understand much about the person and mission of the Lord, despite his resurrection. They still dream of Israel’s political liberation and are perhaps even more convinced of it after seeing Jesus’ victory over death. But the Lord tells them to set aside their convictions and await the gift of the Spirit. He alone, in fact, will give them the true meaning of Jesus’ story and of their involvement in it. Meanwhile, for the last time they see Christ rising into heaven before he is taken from their sight. The ascension is the final act of Jesus’ earthly life, but it is also his definitive revelation as the Father’s only-begotten Son: he came from him and now returns to him. With Jesus’ ascension, the Church’s mission began. This means that, like the apostles and the first communities, we too are invited to consciously and actively take up the continuation of Jesus’ mission: to carry the Gospel with him, through the power of the Holy Spirit, to the ends of the world and to the end of history.

SECOND READING

From the Letter to the Hebrews (Heb 9:24-28; 10:19-23)
Christ did not enter a sanctuary made by human hands, a figure of the true one, but heaven itself, now to appear before God on our behalf. Nor was it necessary that he offer himself repeatedly, as the high priest enters the sanctuary each year with blood that is not his own; otherwise he would have had to suffer repeatedly from the foundation of the world. But now, once for all, at the end of the ages, he has appeared to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself. And just as it is appointed for human beings to die once, and after this comes judgment, so Christ, after being offered once to take away the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin, but to bring salvation to those who eagerly await him. Brothers and sisters, since we have full confidence to enter the sanctuary by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the veil, that is, through his flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us approach with a sincere heart and in the fullness of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed in pure water. Let us hold unwaveringly to our confession of hope, for he who made the promise is trustworthy. The word of God.

Commentary on the second reading

The passage from the Letter to the Hebrews explicitly says that Jesus, the true and definitive high priest, ascended into heaven to appear before God and intercede on our behalf. No one has ever entered the heavenly sanctuary, into the presence of God, except Jesus Christ. His offering has everlasting value; it does not need to be repeated each year as the priests in Jerusalem had to do. Moreover, Jesus did not present the blood of another, that of sacrificial animals. He offered himself as the true Paschal Lamb. Thanks to Christ’s sacrifice, we too now have the possibility of entering the heavenly sanctuary. In ascending to the Father, he carried our humanity and our flesh into heaven. It is beautiful to think that something of us, in Jesus, is now before the heavenly Father: in some way, we too are already invited to live with awareness of our eternal destiny. What we must do on our earthly pilgrimage is keep the source of our hope alive: this means walking with our eyes always fixed on the heart of God.

GOSPEL OF THE DAY

From the Gospel according to Luke (Lk 24:46-53)
At that time, Jesus said to his disciples: “Thus it is written that the Christ would suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins would be preached 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 was blessing them, he parted from them and was carried up into heaven. They did him homage and then returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and they were continually in the temple praising God. The Gospel of the Lord.

Commentary on the Gospel of the day

Jesus tells his disciples that when he departs, they will be clothed with power so that they can continue his work of salvation; that is, they will receive the Holy Spirit as fire, as energy, as light, as support, as inspiration, and as the permanent revealer of the mysteries of the Lord. The beautiful thing is that the evangelist Luke’s account ends with an image of praise and joy on the part of the disciples who, after witnessing Jesus’ ascension, await the fulfillment of his promise. But they are happy for another reason as well: they have understood that, although he has ascended into heaven, his spiritual presence will always be with them. Soon they will begin a mission that will take them to the ends of the earth. This would not have been possible for twelve simple and unprepared men if he had not been beside them. Therefore, you too are invited to look to heaven while walking along the paths of your personal history, aware that the Master is near you, just as he was near those who came before you in the faith. Do not settle for a mediocre existence.