In my first account, Theophilus, I dealt with all that Jesus did and taught until the day he was taken up to heaven, having first instructed the apostles he had chosen through the Holy Spirit. In the time after his suffering he showed them in many convincing ways that he was alive, appearing to them over the course of forty days and speaking to them about the reign of God. On one occasion when he met with them, he told them not to leave Jerusalem: "Wait, rather, for the fulfillment of my Father's promise, of which you have heard me speak. John baptized with water, but within a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit." While they were with him they asked, "Lord, are you going to restore the rule to Israel now?" His answer was: "The exact time it is not yours to know. The Father has reserved that to himself. You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes down on you; then you are to be my witnesses in Jerusalem, throughout Judea and Samaria, yes, even to the ends of the earth." No sooner had he said this than he was lifted up before their eyes in a cloud which took him from their sight. They were still gazing up into the heavens when two men dressed in white stood beside them. "Men of Galilee," they said, "why do you stand here looking up at the skies? This Jesus who has been taken from you will return, just as you saw him go up into the heavens."
Responsorial Psalm (Psalm 47: 2-3, 6-7, 8-9)
Refrain: God mounts his throne to shouts of joy; a blare of trumpets for the Lord.
1) 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.
2) 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.
3) For king of all the earth is God; sing hymns of praise.
God reigns over the nations, God sits upon his holy throne.
Second Reading (Ephesians 1: 17-23)
May the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, grant you a spirit of wisdom and insight to know him clearly. May he enlighten your innermost vision that you may know the great hope to which he has called you, the wealth of his glorious heritage to be distributed among the members of the church, and the immeasurable scope of his power in us who believe. It is like the strength he showed in raising Christ from the dead and seating him at his right hand in heaven, high above every principality, power, virtue and domination, and every name that can be given in this age or the age to come. He has put all things under Christ's feet and has made him thus exalted, head of the church, which is his body: the fullness of him who fills the universe in all its parts.
Jesus said to the Eleven: "Thus it is written that the Messiah must suffer and rise from the dead on the third day. In his name, penance for the remission of sins is to be preached to the nations, beginning at Jerusalem. You are witnesses of all this. See, I send down upon you the promise of my Father. Remain here in the city until you are clothed with power from on high." He then led them out near Bethany, and with hands upraised, blessed them. As he blessed, he left them, and was taken up to heaven. They fell down to do him reverence, then returned to Jerusalem filled with joy. There they were to be found in the temple constantly, speaking the praises of God.
- Catechism: #'s 668-679 ("He will come again to judge the living and the dead".) Copyright 1994 by the United States Catholic Conference, Washington, DC. [As recommended in A Homily Sourcebook (The Universal Catechism), copyright 1993 by N. Abeyasingha, the Pastoral Press, Washington, DC.]
- Days of the Lord, Volume 3, pp. 203-209 & 221-225. Copyright 1991 by the Order of Saint Benedict. The Liturgical Press, Collegeville, MN.
- On Telling Time With Computers. From Dynamic Preaching, copyright 1998 by Seven Worlds Corporation, 310 Simmons Road, Knoxville, TN, 37922.
- Power to Go On, The Kingdom and Its Witnesses & The Glory of Departure and the Glory of Return, from The Book of Acts. Copyright 1975 by William Barclay. Saint Andrew Press, Edinburgh, Scotland.
- In the Upper Room & The Happy Ending, from The Gospel of Luke. Copyright 1975 by William Barclay. Saint Andrew Press, Edinburgh, Scotland.
- The Marks of the Church, Paul's Prayer for the Church & The Body of Christ from The Letter to the Ephesians. Copyright 1975 by William Barclay. Saint Andrew Press, Edinburgh, Scotland.
-Ascension (C), copyright 1995 by Liam Swords. From Sunday Homilies, pp. 59-61, Twenty-third Publications, Mystic, CT 06355.
-Ascension (C)(Psalm 47). From Sing a New Song, by Irene Nowell, p. 162-163. Copyright 1993 by the Order of St. Benedict. The Liturgical Press, Collegeville, MN.
-Ascension (C) by Reginald H. Fuller. Copyright 1984 by the Order of St. Benedict. From Preaching the Lectionary, pp. 436-438, the Liturgical Press, Collegeville, MN.
-Ascension (C), by Kathe Wilcox and Milton Crum. Copyright 1989 by Pueblo Publishing Company, New York, New York and 1991 by the Order of St. Benedict, Collegeville, MN. From Homilies for the Christian People, pp. 468-470, the Liturgical Press, Collegeville, MN.
-Ascension (C), copyright 1991 by Desmond Knowles. From Homilies and Prayers of the Faithful, pp. 304-305. Twenty-third Publications, Mystic, CT.
- Ascension (C), copyright 1996 by Tom Clancy. From Living the Word, p.175. The Columba Press, Dublin, Ireland. Distributed in the US by Twenty-third Publications, Mystic, CT.
In the first reading today, we hear Luke's account of the ascension at the beginning of Acts, which picks up from the end of his gospel, which we also just heard. This account is similar to the transfiguration when Peter said that he should put up three tents for Jesus, Moses and Elijah because he really didn't know what to say. Here also, the disciples are standing around, unsure of what to do, until the angels snap them out of their reverie and remind them that they have a job to do.
Earlier in the first reading, the disciples ask Jesus about restoring the rule to Israel. Even to the end, they did not grasp that his message was not about an earthly kingdom. But this is understandable because Jesus had still not ascended and had not sent the Spirit upon them. Only then would they come to understand all that he had taught them and only then would they be able to take his message even to the ends of the earth.
So even though our Lord is no longer physically present among us, he is actually more present among us now than he was 2000 years ago. First of all, he is present among us through his Word. In the beginning of the second reading from his letter to the Ephesians, Paul says: "May the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, grant you a spirit of wisdom and the insight to know him clearly." There are three important words here: "insight to know" or knowledge, wisdom and spirit. First of all, Paul prays that they will acquire knowledge. Webster defines knowledge as "acquaintance with facts, truths or principles; familiarity, as by study or experience". He defines wisdom as the power to discern and judge properly as to what is true or right. In other words, having knowledge is one thing, but being able to properly apply that knowledge demands wisdom. And where do we get knowledge and wisdom? As we all know, they are two of the gifts of the Spirit.
For example, when I first open the lectionary to review the upcoming selections, my first thought is a usually a panic: "what am I ever going to say about these texts?" But of course, the problem here lies in the fact that it is not "I" who will ever say anything about them. Only when I have changed that sentence to the prayer "Lord, tell me what you want to tell your people" does any inspiration come. And then, more often than not, after reflection, meditation and reading, I not only have something to say, but something that I can believe in with all my heart. Only when I have realized that I am but the instrument of the Spirit will anything happen.
It is the same for all of you. You too have the power to get to know the Lord if you just spend some time with the Word of God, because, as John said at the beginning of his gospel: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." To come to know the Word of God is to come to know Jesus.
So Jesus is present in the Word, some of which we hear at every liturgy. But he is also present in the sacraments, and most especially in what forms the second part of every liturgy: the Eucharist. He takes our gifts of bread and wine and transforms them into his own Body and Blood for our nourishment. We will be looking at this more deeply in a few weeks when we celebrate the Feast of the Body and Blood of Christ. Suffice to say for now that this is one of the most important things that we have missed during the recent pandemic: namely, being able to share regularly in reception of the Eucharist.
Thirdly, Christ is present in our assembly, the church, which is the Body of Christ and in us, the members of his Body, as Paul also points out in the second reading. I think that this is the other thing that we most missed during the pandemic, that is, gathering as a community in worship. I remember once meeting with a young couple preparing for marriage. One of them shared with me that they believed that attending church wasn't necessary, that one could lead a good life without it which reminded me of this story:
- A pastor heard that one of his parishioners was going about announcing to one and all that he would no longer attend church services. This rebellious parishioner was advancing the familiar argument that he could communicate with God just as easily out in the fields with nature as his setting for worship. One winter evening, the pastor called on this reluctant member of his flock for a friendly visit. The two men sat before the fireplace making small talk, but studiously avoiding the issue of church attendance. After a while, the pastor took the tongs from the rack next to the fireplace and pulled a single coal from the fire. He placed the glowing ember on the hearth. As the two watched in silence, the coal quickly ceased burning and turned an ashen gray, while the other coals in the fire continued to burn brightly. The pastor's silent message was not lost on the parishioner. After a long pause, he turned to the pastor and said "I'll be back at services next Sunday." (1)
The sign in front of our church speaks volumes about what we should be: "the Catholic Community of Our Lady of Guadalupe". We should be a community of love, people who are willing and able to support and nourish one another in our mutual need. And if we are nourished and fed in our own community, then we can go forth and take Christ's message out to the wider community, a community which reaches to the ends of the earth. And what was Christ's message? Christ's message was a message of love, of God's love for us and our love for one another. This is the City of God which we help to build on earth. I would like to close with the story of what it meant to one woman to be a part of the Body of Christ on earth.
- In 1921, Lewis Lawes became the warden at Sing Sing Prison. No prison was tougher than Sing Sing during that time. But when Warden Lawes retired some 20 years later, that prison had become a humanitarian institution. Those who studied the system said credit for the change belonged to Lawes. But when he was asked about the transformation, he said: "I owe it all to my wonderful wife, Catherine, who is buried outside the prison walls."
Catherine Lawes was a young mother with three small children when her husband became the warden. Everybody warned her from the beginning that she should never set foot inside the prison walls, but that didn't stop Catherine! When the first prison basketball game was held, she went ... walking into the gym with her three beautiful kids, and she sat in the stands with the inmates. Her attitude was: "My husband and I are going to take care of these men and I believe they will take care of me! I don't have to worry!"
She insisted on getting acquainted with them and their records. She discovered that one convicted murderer was blind so she paid him a visit. Holding his hand in hers she said, "Do you read Braille?"
"What's Braille?' he asked. Then she taught him how to read. Years later he would weep in love for her.
Later, Catherine found a deaf-mute in prison. She went to school to learn how to use sign language. Many said that Catherine Lawes was the body of Jesus that came alive again in Sing Sing from 1921 to 1937. Then, one day, she was killed in a car accident. The next morning, Lewis Lawes didn't come to work, so the acting warden took his place. It seemed almost instantly that the prison knew something was wrong. The following day, her body was resting in a casket in her home, three-quarters of a mile from the prison. As the acting warden took his early morning walk, he was shocked to see a large crowd of the toughest, hardest-looking criminals gathered like a herd of animals at the main gate. He came closer and noted tears of grief and sadness. He knew how much they loved Catherine. He turned and faced the men, "All right, men, you can go. Just be sure and check in tonight!" Then he opened the gate and a parade of criminals walked, without a guard, the three-quarters of a mile to stand in line to pay their final respects to Catherine Lawes. And every one of them checked back in. Every single one! (2)
That is what it meant to one woman to be a part of the Body of Christ on earth. I would like to leave you with two questions for your further consideration: What does being a part of the Body of Christ mean to me? And secondly, how do I share love with some of the least lovable parts of the Body of Christ, people who may be as close to us as our father or mother, our sister or brother, our son or daughter?
1. In Community Is Strength. Reprinted with permission from Sower's Seeds.
2. Changed Lives. From the book Tender Warrior, copyright 1993 by Stu Weber. Multnomah Books, Questor Publishers. Also from A Fourth Course of Chicken Soup for the Soul, pp. 60-61, copyright 1997 by Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen, Hanoch McCarty and Meladee McCarty. Health Communications, Inc., Deerfield Beach, FL. Used with permission.
May 9 or 12, 2024
Lord Jesus, you have ascended to the Father. Lord, have mercy.
Christ Jesus, you reign in glory at his right hand. Christ, have mercy.
Lord Jesus, you will come again to judge the living and the dead. Lord, have mercy.
May 9 or 12, 2024
Celebrant: God the Father has put all things under Christ's feet and has made him head of the Church, which is his body on earth. As members of his church, we bring our needs before him, confident that he will hear us.
Deacon/Lector: Our response is "Lord, help us in our need".
That the leaders of the Church will continue the mission which Christ gave to his disciples, we pray to the Lord.
That the leaders of the nations of the world will do all in their power to bring peace on earth and end the wars in Ukraine and Israel, we pray to the Lord.
That missionaries, priests, deacons and all who preach the gospel will be encouraged and inspired by the Spirit, we pray to the Lord.
That the poor, the sick and those in need will come to know God's love through our caring attention, we pray to the Lord.
That all mothers will be strengthened in their faith as they love and care for their families, we pray to the Lord.
That the members of our parish family will be witnesses of the Risen Christ in our local community, we pray to the Lord.
That all of our brothers and sisters will be treated as our equals in the sight of God regardless of their race, color, sex, nationality or religion, we pray to the Lord.
For all of the intentions which we hold in our hearts and which we now recall in silence. (Pause) For all of these intentions, we pray to the Lord.
Celebrant: Heavenly Father, by raising your Son from the dead, you have given hope to all who live in the shadow of death. Send us your Spirit to teach us the ways that are right so that one day, we too may join him in your everlasting home. We ask this through Christ, your Son. Amen.