Jesus ascending to heaven

by

Friday, 6 May 2016 : Sixth Week of Easter (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we heard the encouragements which God has given His Apostles, all those who dedicated themselves to Him and to His works. In the first reading, God encouraged and reassured St. Paul of His protection and providence, even as the Jews and all the enemies of the Church were plotting up sinister fates and ideas for St. Paul and his evangelising works.

And in the Gospel we heard how Jesus at the Last Supper foretold of His own suffering and Passion on the way of the cross, and how those times would be difficult for the Apostles to bear, as they would be tempted to run away and flee from these challenges, as shown by St. Peter and his thrice denial of knowing Jesus, because he was afraid and uncertain at that time, after his Master had been arrested by the Jewish authorities.

There would be troubles and challenges facing the faithful if they continued to remain faithful in God, and He wanted them to understand that the path forward would not be an easy one. After all, we were all under the thrall of sin, and through sin we have been under bondage and the tyranny of the devil, who wanted to gain as many souls of mankind as possible, to join him in the eternal damnation.

He knew that he could not win or triumph against God, and his final defeat has indeed been sealed, but that did not stop him from trying to lure mankind away from salvation and from their liberation of their sins. He is always busy at work trying to tempt us away from the path of righteousness in God, and offered us many other seemingly better alternatives that in fact leads not to God but to damnation.

And when he is unable to tempt us away or to lure us to the path which he has designed to bring us into our downfall, then he uses other methods, such as pressure, from the society, and even from within the family and from those whom we know, so that hopefully we may give up and conform to the ways of the world which the devil had advocated.

We may find this to be very distressing, and hope may dry up for us, when especially we are faced with opposition from even those who even know us well, and whom we know well. But God is reminding us that He is always with us, and He will never abandon us, and we need to know that we can trust in Him with all of our heart. He shall succour us, comfort us and He shall give us all a new hope.

He is the true Joy of the world, Who came into the world to bring light to a people who have long lived in the darkness. And through Him, a new hope and light has blossomed and grown in our hearts, and in all those who believe in Him, and have witnessed and known His glorious resurrection from even death, we know that there is hope, even amidst all the gloom and the darkness that surrounded us.

We should not be disheartened, brothers and sisters in Christ, but instead we should really be encouraged by what we have received from the Lord, and by what hope and grace we have been given. Had the Apostles been fearful as they were when the Jewish authorities arrested Jesus, and had they been passive and hiding from trouble, then the word of God and the truth of our Lord Jesus Christ would have been hidden from the rest of mankind.

Instead, they persevered onwards, and despite the challenges, they tried their best in order to fulfil the mission which God had entrusted them with. And even though they were arrested, put into prison, made to suffer, and some of them even were martyred, but all these did not dampen their spirit. And as a result, many people came to know of the Lord and became believers, and thus as a result, they were saved.

We should ponder on all these, and reflect on how all of us are also called to do the same as what the Apostles had done. Their work is not yet complete, and there are always many more things to be done. It is now up to us whether we continue their work and help more and more of our brethren to draw closer to God, so that all of us may together receive God’s eternal life. May God help us in our endeavours and bless us, and may He strengthen our faith and guide us so we may always remain in His path. Amen.

by

Friday, 6 May 2016 : Sixth Week of Easter (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

John 16 : 20-23a

At that time, Jesus spoke to His disciples at the Last Supper, “Truly, I say to you, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn to joy. A woman in childbirth is in distress because her time is at hand. But after the child is born, she no longer remembers her suffering because of such great joy : a human being is born into the world.”

“You feel sorrowful now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice; and no one will take your joy from you. When that day comes you will not ask Me anything.”

by

Friday, 6 May 2016 : Sixth Week of Easter (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 46 : 2-3, 4-5, 6-7

Clap your hands, all you peoples; acclaim God with shouts of joy. For the Lord, the Most High, is to be feared; He is a great King all over the earth.

He brings peoples under our dominion and puts nations under our feet. He chose our inheritance for us – the pride of Jacob whom He loves!

God ascends amid joyful shouts, the Lord amid trumpet blasts. Sing praises to God, sing praises! Sing praises to our King, sing praises!

by

Friday, 6 May 2016 : Sixth Week of Easter (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Acts 18 : 9-18

One night, in a vision, the Lord said to Paul, “Do not be afraid, but continue speaking and do not be silent, for many people in this city are Mine. I am with you, so no one will harm you.” So Paul stayed a year and a half in that place, teaching the word of God among them.

When Gallio was governor of Achaia, the Jews made a united attack on Paul and brought him before the court. And they accused him, “This man tries to persuade us to worship God in ways that are against the Law.”

Paul was about to speak in his own defence when Gallio said to the Jews, “If it were a matter of misdeed or vicious crime, I would have to consider your complaint.” But since this is a quarrel about teachings and divine names that are proper to your own law, see to it yourselves : I refuse to judge such matters.” And he sent them out of the court.

Then the people seized Sosthenes, a leading man of the synagogue, and beat him in front of the tribunal; but Gallio paid no attention to it. Paul stayed on with the disciples in Corinth for many days; he then left them and sailed off with Priscilla and Aquila for Syria. And as he was no longer under a vow he had taken, he shaved his head before sailing from Cenchreae.

by

Thursday, 5 May 2016 : Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today is a day of great rejoicing and great celebrations, for all of us commemorate today the day when our Lord Jesus Christ, our Saviour and our God, rose up into the glory of Heaven, ascending on the clouds of power, returning to the place where He came from, in order to prepare everything for us, for the time when He will come again to bring us all into the eternal glory He has designed for us.

Today’s celebration marks the culmination of the earthly works and ministry of our Lord, Who had been willing to come down from His heavenly glory, and assuming our humble form, and to suffer as we mankind have suffered, and embracing and taking upon Himself all the multitudes of our sins, that by His suffering and death on the cross, He might bring all mankind into the salvation He promised them, and liberate them from the forces of evil and darkness surrounding them.

By His resurrection our Lord had defeated death, showing to us all that if we are faithful to Him, death has no power over us, and no longer shall we despair or fear death, as death is not the end, but instead, the beginning of a new life with God that far exceeds whatever life and whatever joy and happiness that we have in our life currently on this earth.

The Ascension of our Lord Jesus Christ into heaven is therefore the final stage of that truth which our Lord is showing all those who believe in Him. We too shall ascend in glory at the end of time, and when the Lord comes again as He has promised even as He ascended into heaven, He shall bring us all who are faithful to Him, into the everlasting inheritance, the true joy and happiness that is the share of those who keep their faith in God.

After His ascension, indeed, we no longer see Jesus face to face as what the Apostles did. They were blessed indeed to have been able to walk with our Lord, and be in the presence of our Lord Jesus, including those disciples and the people to whom Jesus had ministered to. And those to whom Jesus appeared after His resurrection had witnessed indeed His might and power, the Conqueror of death and the Giver of life.

But that does not mean that we who no longer see Christ our Lord is abandoned by God. We may no longer see Him as the Apostles did, but He is here with us, and He will always be with us, even without us knowing it. He has given us all His Body and Blood in the Eucharist, which He instituted and passed on to His Apostles and disciples, that by the bread and wine changed into the substance of His own Body and Blood, our Lord is truly present in our midst, and indeed, inside each and every one of us who faithfully and worthily received the Lord in the Eucharist.

He has also given us and sent to us the Holy Spirit, to be our Guide and Advocate, to strengthen our faith and keep the commandments which He has given us inside our hearts. He is always with us and He is always guiding us in His own subtle ways, helping us through one another and through His Church to find our way to Him and be saved. He is always active and is always at work, for the salvation of our souls, even if we have not yet noticed it.

And His promise that He will come again a second time? Yes, it is true, and He will indeed come again as He had promised. But that time will be different from His first coming. The events from the Book of the Revelations of St. John would show us that when Jesus our Lord comes again, at the very end of time, and at a time of His choosing, He will come no longer as a simple Man born in a stable amongst animals and shepherds, but instead as a victorious and conquering King.

And therefore, what does this mean to us, brothers and sisters in Christ? Let us ask ourselves then, if the Lord were to suddenly appear and come into this world again tomorrow, or even on this very day, are we ready and worthy to receive Him? Are we prepared to welcome the Lord when He comes at the time He had designated? Or are we too caught up in enjoying the world such that we forgot about Him?

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, as we rejoice and celebrate together the Solemnity of the Ascension, let us therefore keep in mind that we should be upright in our deeds and actions, and be filled with righteousness and justice. We must be prepared for the Lord Who will come again at anytime He desires, so that when He comes, He will not find us wicked and unworthy, and resulting therefore in us losing the promise of eternal life, and instead receive damnation.

Let us all remind one another, that the Lord is always with us, and He ascended into heaven in order to prepare the way for us, by preparing the place for us in the world to come. Let us hope in His promise, for He is forever faithful. Let us never be disheartened or discouraged by the challenges and difficulties that come about in our respective lives, for God Who is ever faithful will bless us always. Amen.

by

Thursday, 5 May 2016 : Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Luke 24 : 46-53

At that time, Jesus spoke to His disciples for the last time, “So it was written : the Messiah had to suffer, and on the third day rise from the dead. Then repentance and forgiveness in His Name would be proclaimed to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. And you are witnesses of these things. And that is why I will send you what My Father promised. So remain in the city until you are clothed with power from above.”

Jesus led them almost as far as Bethany; then He lifted up His hands and blessed them, He withdrew, and was taken to heaven. They worshipped Him, and then returned to Jerusalem full of joy; and they were continually in the Temple, praising God.

by

Thursday, 5 May 2016 : Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord (Second Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Hebrews 9 : 24-28 and Hebrews 10 : 19-23

Christ did not enter some sanctuary made by hands, a copy of the true one, but heaven itself. He is now in the presence of God on our behalf. He had not to offer Himself many times, as the High Priest does : he who may return every year, because the blood is not his own. Otherwise He would have suffered many times from the creation of the world.

But no; He manifested Himself only now at the end of the ages, to take away sin by sacrifice, and, as humans die only once and afterwards are judged, in the same way Christ sacrificed Himself once to take away the sins of the multitude. There will be no further question of sin when He comes again to save those waiting for Him.

So, my friends, we are assured of entering the Sanctuary by the blood of Jesus Who opened for us this new and living way passing through the curtain, that is, His Body. Because we have a High Priest in charge of the House of God, let us approach with a sincere heart, with full faith, interiorly cleansed from a bad conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.

Let us hold fast to our hope without wavering, because He Who promised is faithful.

Alternative reading
Ephesians 1 : 17-23

May the God of Christ Jesus our Lord, the Father of Glory, reveal Himself to you and give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation, that you may know Him. May He enlighten your inner vision, that you may appreciate the things we hope for, since we were called by God.

May you know how great is the inheritance, the glory, God sets apart from His saints; may you understand with what extraordinary power He acts in favour of us who believe. He revealed His almighty power in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and had Him sit at His right hand in heaven, far above all rule, power, authority, dominion, or any other supernatural force that could be named, not only in this world but in the world to come as well.

Thus has God put all things under the feet of Christ and set Him above all things, as Head of the Church which is His Body, the fullness of Him Who fills all in all.

by

Thursday, 5 May 2016 : Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 46 : 2-3, 6-7, 8-9

Clap your hands, all you peoples; acclaim God with shouts of joy. For the Lord, the Most High, is to be feared; He is a great King all over the earth.

God ascends amid joyful shouts, the Lord amid trumpet blasts. Sing praises to God, sing praises! Sing praises to our King, sing praises!

God is King of all the earth; sing to Him a hymn of praise. For God now rules over the nations, God reigns from His holy throne.

by

Thursday, 5 May 2016 : Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Acts 1 : 1-11

In the first part of my work, Theophilus, I wrote of all that Jesus did and taught from the beginning until the day when He ascended to heaven. But first He had instructed through the Holy Spirit the Apostles He had chosen. After His passion, He presented Himself to them, giving many signs that He was alive; over a period of forty days He appeared to them and taught them concerning the kingdom of God.

Once when He had been eating with them, He told them, “Do not leave Jerusalem but wait for the fulfilment of the Father’s promise about which I have spoken to you : John baptised with water, but you will be baptised with the Holy Spirit within a few days.”

When they had come together, they asked Him, “Is it now that You will restore the Kingdom of Israel?” And He answered, “It is not for you to know the time and the steps that the Father has fixed 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, even to the ends of the earth.”

After Jesus said this, He was taken up before their eyes and a cloud hid Him from their sight. While they were still looking up to heaven where He went, suddenly, two men dressed in white stood beside them and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand here looking up at the sky? This Jesus Who has been taken from you into heaven, will return in the same way as you have seen Him go there.”