Ascension of the LordActs 1:1-11 Ephesians 1:17-23 Matthew 28:16-20 The Gospel this weekend is this:
Matthew 28:16-20 The eleven * disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had ordered them. 17 * When they saw him, they worshiped, but they doubted. 18 * Then Jesus approached and said to them, "All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go, therefore, * and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. * And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age." The First reading is this: Acts 1:1-11 1* In the first book, Theophilus, I dealt with all that Jesus did and taught 2 until the day he was taken up, after giving instructions through the holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. 3 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. 4 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; 5 for John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the holy Spirit." 6 When they had gathered together they asked him, "Lord, are you at this time going * to restore the kingdom to Israel?" 7 * He answered them, "It is not for you to know the times or seasons that the Father has stablished by his own authority. 8 * 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." 9 When he had said this, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him from their sight. 10 While they were looking intently at the sky as he was going, suddenly two men dressed in white garments stood beside them. 11 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." The Second reading is this: Ephesians 1:17-23 I ask that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation resulting in knowledge of him. 18 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, 19 and what is the surpassing greatness of his power for us who believe, in accord with the exercise of his great might, 20 which he worked in Christ, raising him from the dead and seating him at his right hand in the heavens, 21 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. 22 And he put all things beneath his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, 23 which is his body, * the fullness of the one who fills all things in every way. MEDITATION: This Sunday is about the Ascension of Jesus - when he took the bus back home to Heaven!. (Ascension is still celebrated on the Thursday of the 6th week of Easter in Italy, France etc.. In Ireland and Spain it is celebrated on the 7th Sunday of Easter). But, of course, Christ is also still with us - even more-so, because He's within our hearts! We're all called to ascend with him. The Body can follow the head. It'll be our ascension too - if we'll go. The Trinity don't impose, but call, but do we answer the call well or do we try to cling on to things in the world? The Trinity have given many gifts to us, and they want us to put them to good use, but let's not become dependant and have to keep clinging on. The most challenging thing for me is to be humble… humble enough to love and forgive and love more, even if it brings 'crosses'. It's a central Christian truth: We go up when we're willing to go down! The apostles are criticized for staring up at the sky when Jesus had just asked them to go and tell others the Good News (Mt 28:11). There is a time for personal meditation and reading as Jesus says: "Go into your private room to pray" (Mt 6:6), but there's also a time for being out doing something useful for others (like talking!). According to Pope John-Paul II in 2004, Ascension is also 'world day of moral communication'. Our patroness of missionaries (Therése of Lisieux) was a faithful contemplative nun (Carmelite), yet she has communicated well to us through her writing. I'm a priest preparing a homily, someone else is plowing a field and a mother may be preparing the dinner for her kids. We all have a role to play. We all have different roles, but the great thing about Christ is that we all go together in him. Where the head goes, the body follows! The Church has many different communities with different jobs to do, but we all go together in Christ. It's as if the Spirit were like a glue holding a model work of art together! Consecrated people (Priests and Nuns etc.) have certain jobs to do, but the many jobs done by the laity, are just as important (if not more so!). It's not for us to judge anyone, and it's not for anyone of you to judge me either! But it's good to give advice and to make propositions to each other. We can help each other grow. Also that's not so that one copy another. It's Jesus and Mary that each one tries in some way to copy, and there's a unity in our diversity. We're all parts of the Body of Christ. What I've got to do is to seek what God wants Dara to do, and seek it anew every day - because the Trinity are very active! And we're all affected by doubts as it says before the Ascension in the Gospel of Mathew: 'The eleven disciples went to the mountain and when they saw him, they worshiped, but they doubted.' (Mt 28:16-17). But God can overcome man's doubts! A healthy spiritual life will guide us well through our few years of physical life. At least let's 'go to the mountain' (Mt 28:16). Eternal Life is a gift that the Trinity long to give us, but they need our acceptance, and there is opposition to overcome. The main opposition is our own mundane selfishness! I want to be free of the world's ambition for riches, prestige, power and selfish pleasures. It sounds challenging, but Jesus says "Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the road broad that leads to destruction, and those who enter through it are many. How narrow the gate and constricted the road that leads to life. And those who find it are few" (Mt 7:13-14). If we're carrying our fifty big luggage bags of worldly riches, then the narrow door isn't for us! Mankind puts so much effort into things with a 'sell-by date'. It makes me think of the elderly rich American woman who wanted to be buried in her 'Chevrolet'! The scroll known as the 'letter of Diognetius' written in the ancient world was about that 'new' group called 'Christians': 'Their behavior is like that of transients. They take their full part as citicens but they submit to abuse as if they were aliens. They obey the prescribed laws but in their own private lives they transcend the laws. They show love to all men even though men persecute them. They are misunderstood and condemned yet by suffering death they are quickened into Life. They are poor yet making many rich... lacking all things yet 'having all things in abundance'! They are dis-honoured yet made glorious in their very dis-honour. They repay calumny with a blessing and repay abuse with courtesy. For the good they do they are given strikes as evildoers. Of all their ill-wishers there is not one who can produce good 'grounds' for their hostility. The Christians inhabit the world but they're not 'part' of the world.'. I think that the Ascension of Jesus has led the way for many to follow! With regard to following Jesus on a trip to Heaven, remember that the reason for our Eucharistic hosts at mass being made of unleavened bread, is because that was the kind of bread made by the Jews that could be made quickly enough to bring with them on their flight from slavery in Egypt (Exodus). Thereafter they had what they called a 'feast of unleavened bread' every year during which it was eaten with the sacrificed lamb (wich now for us is Jesus himself). The Book of Deuteronomy says this: 'You shall not eat leavened bread with the lamb. For seven days you shall eat with it only unleavened bread, the bread of affliction, that you may remember as long as you live the day of your departure from the land of Egypt; for in frightened haste you left the land of Egypt' (Dt 16:3). The Exodus of the Old Testament is just a prologue of the supreme flight to the supreme promised land - which is described as the physical Ascension of Jesus this Sunday. Therefore, as we now eat (comulgate) at mass the comunion (Eucharist) of the Last Supper, we can remind ourselves of the fact that we're on a journey passing through these few years on Earth. Reminding ourselves of that, may influence our plans to make good use of our brief lifetime and to avoid mundane riches, honours and pleasures that would hold us back. As we think of the Ascension of Jesus, let's remember the advice of St Paul: 'If then you were raised with Christ, seek what is above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Think of what is above, not of what is on earth... When Christ your life appears, then you too will appear with him in glory.' (Col 3:1-4). We can all be born to Eternal Life! The lads are asked today not to stay with their heads staring up, and I think that I'm also asked not to stay with my head stuck up! If only we would be humble, then we would ascend with Christ! We remember the way that Jesus ascended back to heaven but also the fact that he left us all a job to do. A leader who gets up and leaves doesn't sound like much of a leader, but the marvel of our faith is that in ascending, Christ didn't leave, but rather entered deeper into us. He took the place for which He longs: a place in our minds and hearts. That's our 'spiritual life'. Christ remains all around us. We are all now parts of Him. We are present within Him. This is what we call the 'mystical body of Christ'. But will we open the door for him? We're all called to be his dwelling places. But He won't impose and He's not like a visitor who stays for too long. He humbly puts it in our hands. Would you invite Him to stay with you? He will if you want. When people meet you from now on, they can feel that they've come across something of God's love. They may come across 'smelly socks' too, but Christ has committed himself to keep cleaning and cleaning, untill we all 'rise' in Love, and rise to heaven with Him. Success for us is a matter of obeying the mission that God gives. The first Christian community certainly did, fortunately for us. Jesus asks for the mission as he begins the Gospel this Sunday. It's not a universal instruction about exactly how all of us are to live, but it's a call to each individual to find out for themselves. That's what prayer is for. Like in the Gospel about the want's to be 'made flesh' in our lives now. There's a job there to be done. That's why the first reading has the two angels asking "Men of Galilee, why are you standing there looking at the sky?" (Acts 1:11). That's a call for us all to get active. That's not to say that 'contemplative' nuns and brothers aren't active in the way that God wants for them, but I think that the vast majority of us Christians, are called to get out and about and get our shoes dirty in the 'big bad world' (and +get our wheelchairs dirty!). Of course, 'contemplation' is part of that. Prayer is necessary in order to find out what God wants us to do every day, but the criticism of the lads 'staring up to the sky' in the Gospel is a criticism of those who see prayer as a kind of 'hiding away'. Let's look up well in order to then look well at the world around us, and then get active in loving! ....... Dara. En ESPAÑOL: Ascensión del Señor: Hechos 1:1-11. Ef 1:17-23. Mt 28:16-20. Este domingo trata sobre la Ascensión de Jesús (¡cuando tomó el bus al Cielo!). Pero también Él está todavía con nosotros - aún más que encarnado, porque ¡está dentro de nuestros corazones! Estamos todos llamados a ascender con él. El Cuerpo puede seguir a la cabeza. Pero eso será si estamos dispuestos a ir. La Trinidad no impone, sino llama, pero ¿respondemos bien a la llamada o intentamos quedarnos agarrados a las cosas del mundo? La Trinidad nos ha dado muchos regalos, y quieren que los pongamos al buen-uso, pero no quieren vernos agarrados a las cosas mundanas como adictos o dependientes. Lo desafiante para mí es ser humilde… bastante humilde para amar y perdonar y amar más, aun si trae 'cruces'. Es una verdad cristiana central: ¡Subimos cuando estamos dispuestos a bajar! + Los apóstoles son criticados por quedarse mirando al cielo ya que Jesús les había pedido simplemente ir y decir la Buena Nueva a otros (Mt 28:11). Hay un tiempo para la meditación personal y Jesús dijo esto: "Entra en tu cuarto privado para orar" (Mt 6:6), pero hay también un tiempo para estar fuera haciendo algo útil por los demás (¡como hablar con ellos!). Según Juan Pablo II en 2004, la Solemnidad de la Ascensión también es 'Día Mundial de la Comunicación Moral'. Nuestra patrona de misiones (Therése de Lisieux) era una monja contemplativa fiel (Carmelita), pero también nos ha comunicado muy bien a través de su escritura. Yo soy un sacerdote que prepara una homilía, alguien más está arando un campo y una madre puede estar preparando la cena para sus niños. Tenemos todos unos papeles. Hay papeles diferentes, pero lo bueno en Cristo es que todos vamos juntos. ¡Donde va la cabeza, el cuerpo sigue! La Iglesia tiene muchas comunidades diferentes con trabajos diferentes por hacer, pero estamos todos juntos en Cristo. ¡Es como si el Espíritu nos estuviera uniendo como un pegamento une una obra de arte ejemplar! Las personas consagradas (sacerdotes y monjas etc.) tienen ciertos trabajos para hacer, pero los muchos trabajos hechos por los laicos son igualmente importantes (¡y a veces más!). ¡No es para nosotros juzgarle a nadie, y no es para nadie juzgarme a mí! Mi juez es Dios. Pero es bueno dar consejos y hacer proposiciones los unos a los otros. Podemos ayudarnos a crecer. Pero eso no es para que uno copie a otro. Es a Jesús y a María que cada uno debería imitar de alguna manera, y hay una unidad en nuestra diversidad. Somos todas las partes del Cuerpo de Cristo. Lo que tengo que hacer es buscar lo que Dios quiere que haga Dara O'Brien (yo mismo) y buscarlo todos los días nuevamente - ¡porque la Trinidad es muy activa! Y estamos todos afectados por las dudas como dice el Evangelio de Mateo antes de la Ascensión: 'Los once discípulos fueron a la montaña y cuando vieron a Jesús, le adoraron, algunos sin embargo dudaron.' (Mt 28:16-17). ¡Pero Dios puede curar las dudas del hombre! Una vida espiritual saludable nos guiará bien durante nuestros pocos años de vida física. Al menos nos ayudará a 'ir a la montaña' (Mt 28:16). La Vida Eterna es un regalo que la Trinidad anhela darnos, pero necesita nuestra aceptación, y hay oposición que superar. La oposición principal es nuestro propio egoísmo mundano. Quiero estar libre de la ambición del mundo - de las riquezas, los honores, el poder y los placeres egoístas. Suena desafiante, pero Jesús dice "Entra por la puerta estrecha; porque es ancho el camino que lleva a la perdición, y los que entran por allí son muchos. ¡Que estrecha es la puerta que lleva a la vida! Y son pocos los que la encuentran." (Mt 7:13-14). ¡Si estamos llevando equipaje grande de riquezas mundanas, entonces la puerta estrecha no es para nosotros! ¡La humanidad pone tanto esfuerzo en conseguir cosas que caducan! Me hace recordar a la mujer rica de los Estados Unidos que al acercar su muerte, ¡pidió ser enterrada después en su limusina! El pergamino conocido como 'la carta de Diogneto' escrita hace dos mil años, era sobre aquel nuevo grupo llamado 'Cristianos': 'Su conducta es de forasteros. Participan en todo como ciudadanos, pero soportan abusos como si fueran forasteros. Obedecen las leyes prescritas, pero en sus vidas privadas transcienden las leyes. Muestran un amor a todos los hombres, aunque los hombres los persiguen. Actúan como personas que están de paso. Aman a toda la gente, aún a los que les persiguen. Son mal-entendidos y condenados, pero al sufrir la muerte, llegan más rápidamente a la Vida. En su pobreza, enriquecen a muchos… les falta muchas cosas, sin embargo tienen de sobra. Son calumniados, sin embargo glorificados en su calumnia. Responden a las calumnias con bendiciones y a los abusos con amistad. Por el bien que hacen, reciben azotes como malhechores. Entre todos los que les quieren castigar, no hay ninguno que pueda mostrar la razón de su hostilidad. Los cristianos viven en el mundo, pero no son 'del mundo'. ¡Esta carta muestra que la Ascensión de Jesús ha abierto el camino para muchos seguidores! Con respecto al viaje de Jesús al Cielo, recuerda porqué las formas de la Eucaristía están hechas de pan ácimo. Es porque ése era el tipo de pan hecho rápidamente por los judíos para llevar en su salida de la esclavitud en Egipto (el Éxodo). Desde entonces han tenido cada año lo que llaman 'la fiesta del pan ácimo', durante el cual se come con el cordero sacrificado (que es ahora para nosotros el propio Jesús). El Libro del Deuteronomio dice esto: 'No comeréis pan fermentado con el cordero. Durante siete días comeréis con él, sólo pan ácimo, el pan de aflicción que os recordará el día de su salida de Egipto; porque fue apresuradamente que salisteis de allí.' (Dt 16:3). El Éxodo del Antiguo Testamento es simplemente un prólogo del vuelo supremo a la tierra prometida suprema - qué se describe como la Ascensión de Jesús este domingo. Entonces al comulgar la Eucaristía de la Última Cena, conviene recordar que estamos de paso durante estos pocos años en el mundo. Tener presente esto, puede influir en nuestros planes para hacer uso bueno de nuestra vida breve y evitar las riquezas, honores y placeres mundanos que nos detendrían. Al pensar en la Ascensión de Jesús, recordemos el consejo de San Pablo: 'Para seguir a Cristo que asciende, busquemos lo que es de arriba, dónde Cristo está sentado a la derecha de Dios. ¡Piensa en lo que es de arriba, no en lo que está en la tierra!... Cuando aparezca Cristo, que es vuestra Vida, entonces apareceréis vosotros con él en la gloria.' (Col 3:1-4). ¡Podremos nacer todos a la Vida Eterna! Se pide a los muchachos hoy no quedarse mirando fijamente al cielo, y pienso que también se me pide a mí, no tener mi cabeza enaltecida y mirando arriba orgullosamente. ¡Si sólo fuéramos humildes, entonces ascenderíamos con Cristo! Nos recordamos que Jesús ascendió al cielo pero también el hecho de que él nos dejó todos un trabajo para hacer. Un líder que se va no parece buen líder, pero la maravilla de nuestra fe es que ascendiendo, Cristo no salió, sino entró más profundamente en nosotros. Entró en el sitio que anhela: un lugar en nuestras mentes y corazones. Eso es nuestra 'vida espiritual'. Cristo permanece alrededor de nosotros. Somos todos ahora partes de Él. Estamos presentes dentro de Él. Esto es lo que llamamos 'el Cuerpo Místico de Cristo.' ¿Pero abriremos la puerta para Él? Estamos todos llamados a ser sus moradas. Pero Él no impondrá y no es como un visitante que se queda demasiado tiempo. Él lo pone humildemente en nuestras manos. ¿Le invitarías a quedarse contigo? Él lo quiere si tu lo quieres. Cuando las personas te encuentran de hoy en adelante, podrán sentir que han encontrado con algo del amor de Dios. Quiza encontrarán- 'calcetines apestosos' también, pero Cristo se ha comprometido a seguir limpiando hasta que todos resuciten en el Amor y suben al cielo con Él. El éxito para nosotros es una cuestión de cumplir la misión que Dios da. La primera comunidad cristiana hizo ciertamente, afortunadamente para nosotros. Jesús pide la misión cuando él empieza el Evangelio este domingo. No es exactamente una instrucción universal sobre cómo todos deberían vivir, pero es una llamada a cada individuo para averigua-r para si. La oración es para eso. Como en el Evangelio sobre la verdadera vid (Jn 14:15-21), Cristo dice que si nosotros nos conectamos con Él daremos fruto. ¿Pero qué fruto anhelas? E-n la primera lectura, los muchachos, como los judíos decentes, están preguntándole a Jesús si él va a restaurar el reino de Israel ahora, y la contestación es "no es para usted saber el tiempo o el lugar que el Padre ha establecido por su propia autoridad." (Hchos 1:7). en otros términos, nosotros no debemos ser individuos orgullosos que han decidido para ellos lo que ellos quieren y cómo, sino ser oyentes atentos a Dios. Escuchamos a su Palabra heecho carne y ponderamos qué necisita Él para estar 'encarnado' en nuestras vidas ahora. Hay un- trabajo para allí. Por eso la primera lectura tiene a los dos ángeles que les preguntan a los "Hombres de Galilea, ¿por qué estáis de pie, mirando el cielo allí? " (Hchos 1:11). Ésa es una llamada para nosotros todos para ponerse activo. Ése es no decir que 'contemplativo' monjas y hermanos no son activos de la manera que Dios quiere para ellos, pero yo pienso que la inmensa mayoría de nosotros Christians, se llama para conseguir fuera y sobre y consigue nuestros zapatos ensucian en el 'el mundo malo grande' (y consigue nuestras sillas de ruedas ensucian!). claro, 'la contemplación' es parte de eso. ¡La oración es necesaria para averiguar lo que Dios quiere que nosotros hagamos todos los días, pero la crítica de los muchachos 'mirando fijamente a al cielo' en el Evangelio una crítica de aquéllos de que ven la oración como un tipo está 'escondiendo lejos'. busquemos bien para echar una mirada entonces bien al mundo alrededor de nosotros, y entonces se pone activo en amar! Comments are closed.
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