Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord (Cycle A, Year II)

Community Word: The Holy Spirit empowers us to make disciples of all nations.

Theme:  We are empowered by the Holy Spirit when we observe all His commandments.

Promise: “… I am with you always…” (Mt 28:30)

Reflection for the Month (Community Word)

Jesus is Emmanuel, God with us. “Lo, I am with you always,” (Mt 28:20).  Jesus may have returned to the Father, but He is with believers in a very real (though not visible) way, not as he was when he lived among us in human form, but in a different way, and for all times and seasons.

The Lord’s presence is the enduring source of strength and comfort in our mission, thus our community word for the month of June is – The Holy Spirit empowers us to make disciples of all nations.  As the Lord was taken from human sight, He becomes ever more present in the human heart, and in the life and the mission of the Church and this community.

We are reminded that we are to go into new directions and make new disciples among the nations.  We are not to limit our horizons as Jesus speaks to us of the many who could be His disciples, people ready to observe all His commandments.  We are all invited to respond to this challenge:  to call upon the whole Church to bravely cross over to the other side and start afresh, thus, keeping in mind Pope Francis’ call for the new evangelization.  Let us, indeed, put out into the deep so that now, as in the past, the Gospel may resound throughout the earth for the glory of God, as reflected on the face of Christ.

WSC Reflection, the Ascension of the Lord

The Ascension is not just about Jesus’ absence, or departure from the earth, but about a different kind of presence.  He leaves in a dramatic way, enveloped by a cloud, to emphasize that from now on He will be with us in a new kind of way, not physically, but in His spiritual presence.  He is with us with the same redeeming power and cleansing love as He was with the Apostles. He is gone from our sight but not from our lives.

Jesus never intended His disciples to keep the truth of His word stored in the pool of knowledge within their own heads or hearts.  Rather, He instructed them to go out into the world to share the teachings He imparted to them.   And He commands us to do the same.  We are exhorted to declare the Gospel to all nations, to go and make disciples of all nations, share the Good News, and pass on the gifts of revelation and wisdom that have been given to us.  We are witnesses to the difference Christ makes in our lives.  The theme this week, underscores the reality that – We are empowered by the Holy Spirit when we observe His commandments.

Let our daily lives speak of Christ’s name and carry the fullness of his message to all people.  It is not an option – but a command to all who call Jesus their Lord.  We have all received gifts that we can use in fulfilling Christ’s Great Commission, and as we obey, we find comfort in the knowledge that Jesus is always with us.

Being modern day apostles and witnesses to Christ does not mean that we have to add more work to our already over-burdened workload, or that we should add another item to our already overcrowded schedule.  We evangelize primarily as we are, with our lives as the living witness, the best message we can bring to the world:  that Christ is present to us in this broken world, present in our hearts and in our lives, and that He is reaching out to the world through our open arms.  This is the Lord’s promise this week: “… I am with you always…” (Mt 28:30).   And anybody on fire is a light to the world, empowered by the Holy Spirit.

Prayer:
Eternal Father, you called us to share with the world the manifold works of your most beloved Son.  Grant us the capacity to carry your revelation to others in ways they can understand.  We are commissioned and sent to live and work as Jesus did. We rely on the Holy Spirit to empower us for greater works, as Jesus promised, and for the fortitude and perseverance to continue to testify to the Good News of God’s love.  We believe that no power in heaven or on earth will conquer what we stand for.  We can go into the world teaching all nations the Christian values we believe in, through the mighty name of Jesus in whose name we can do all things.  Amen.

Reflection Questions:
1. When we learn the truth, how do we conform ourselves to the image of Christ in communicating this truth to others?

2. In what ways can you respond to spread the Gospel to all nations?

This Week’s Daily Mass Reading Guide:
June 1, 2014 (Sun)    Acts 1:1-11/Ps 47:2-3,6-7,8-9/Eph 1:17-23/M28:16-20
June 2, 2014 (Mon)    Acts 19:1-8/Ps 68:2-3,4-5,6-7/Jn 16:29-33
June 3, 2014 (Tues)   Acts 20:17-27/Ps 68:10-11,20-21/Jn 17:1-11
June 4, 2014 (Wed)   Acts 20:28-38/Ps 68:29-30,33-35,35-36/Jn 17:11-19
June 5, 2014 (Thur)   Acts 22:30,23:6-11/Ps 16:1-2,5,7-8,9-10,11/Jn 17:20-26
June 6, 2014 (Fri)      Acts 25:13-21/Ps 103:1-2,11-12,19-20/Jn 21:15-19
June 7, 2014 (Sat)    Acts 28:16-20,30-31/Ps 11:4,5,7/Jn 21:20-25

“Ignorance of the Bible is ignorance of Christ.  Read your Bible daily!”

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