Introduction: May the Lord continue to open your life to the promptings of the Holy Spirit so that you may fulfill your on-going mission of spreading the Good News.
We recall Jesus’ return to His Abba-Father and His commissioning of His disciples to carry on His ministry and mission of proclaiming the Gospel to all people, with the promise of the further outpouring of the Holy Spirit. We all have a share in this mission of spreading the Good News and we also can look forward to a further empowerment of the Holy Spirit in our lives.
Jesus remained with His disciples only a relatively short period of time after His resurrection. In the passage from the Acts of the Apostles, St. Luke says it was forty days. The other gospels accounts relate that Jesus only was with His followers on some occasions during those forty days, not consistently day after day. Today, we have a couple accounts of Jesus’ last words to His disciples before He returned to His Abba-Father in heaven.
The question for us, is what is the meaning of the Ascension? Or more practically, how are we going to live our life differently because of the Lord’s Ascension? To be able to answer that, we need to look more closely at the readings for today.
First Reading: Acts 1:1-11; ‘As they were looking on, he was lifted up.’
Commentary: How are we to envisage what happened at the Ascension? Two feet disappearing into a cloud? It is mentioned only in the Acts. Luke, the author, is putting across several messages. Firstly, the 40 days since Easter should not be carefully counted. In biblical language ‘40’ makes just ‘a fairly long period’, often a period of preparation, like Jesus’ 40 days being tested in the desert, or Israel’s 40 years of the Exodus. For all that time Jesus has been preparing his apostles. Secondly, it is the definitive parting of the physical Jesus, after which the Risen Christ is no longer with his disciples. It is now the Spirit of Christ which is at the heart of the Church, inspiring all its activity. Thirdly, Luke represents Jesus as a prophet (and more than a prophet), so he leaves his disciples in the same way as the prophet Elijah, who was taken to heaven in a fiery chariot, leaving his disciple Elisha to carry on his work, filled with a double share of his spirit.
Responsorial Psalm: 47: 2-3. 6-7. 8-9. God has gone up with shouts of joy. The LORD goes up with trumpet blast.
Psalm 47 is a jubilant proclamation that God is not a tribal deity but the universal King whose reign embraces all nations. “Clap your hands, all you peoples” is a summons to recognize that true worship flows from awe before God’s sovereignty and saving power. God’s ascension with shouts of joy foreshadows both His divine kingship and, in Christian understanding, the glory of Christ exalted to the Father. The repeated call to sing praise reveals that worship is not mere ritual, but the soul’s response to the One who governs history with justice and mercy. This psalm invites believers to move from fear to confidence, because the God who rules over all creation is also the God.
Second Reading: Ephesians 1:16-23: ‘God seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places.’
Commentary: The blessing which forms the core of this reading gives the sense of the Ascension for the Church. It is not the manner of Christ’s departure which is important, but the exalted position of Christ, and the power of God which raised Christ from the dead. This same power has called us to be believers, made us rich in the glory of his heritage, and has given us the strength to follow Christ. As Christians we believe that Jesus was divine not only from birth but from the moment of his conception. It was then that the Word of God became flesh. And yet something further happened at the glorification of Christ in his resurrection. Paul says he was ‘constituted Son of God in power’ at the resurrection. Is this the same as the claim which the high priest declared blasphemous, ‘You will see the son of man seated at the right hand of the Power and coming on the clouds of heaven’? In the final scene of the gospel of Matthew Jesus declares, ‘All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me’, and the Book of Revelation shows the Risen Christ sharing the throne of God.
Gospel: Matthew 28:16-20: ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.’
Commentary: For Matthew this is a momentous climax. Jesus is on the holy mountain, Where is this mountain? We do not know; nor does it matter. The importance is that Jesus is commissioning his followers as the Second Moses. Just so he taught the Sermon on the Mount on the holy mountain, as Moses had given the Old Law on the mount of Sinai. He is the glorious Son of Man of the prophecy of Daniel, to whom all authority on earth was given; but to him is given all authority in heaven and on earth. As Jesus sends them out, he promises that his divine presence will be always with them. It is in the strength of that presence that they will pursue their task. This promise provides the final bracket of the Gospel, as the name given to Jesus by the angel provided the opening bracket: ‘They will call him “Emmanuel”, a name which means “God is with us”.’ The divine presence of God in Jesus and in his community is the clue to the whole Gospel of Matthew. In the centre of the Gospel it is again stressed, ‘Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.’
On a superficial level this gospel reading seems chosen because of the Trinitarian baptismal formula. It is the only time this formula comes in the scripture, and it is remarkable that the Trinitarian liturgical formula was already developed while the New Testament was being written. At a deeper level this reading of the final five verses of Matthew gives a wonderful Trinitarian view of the work of salvation. The words of the Risen Christ, ‘all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me’ are reminiscent of the vision of the exalted Son of Man in Daniel, who comes to the One of Great Age, seated on his throne, and receives from him all power on earth. Only Christ receives all power in heaven too, as ‘the Son of God in power’. In this power he sends out his disciples, promising his divine presence always. The promise of Christ’s divine presence in his Church now, at the end of the gospel, balances the promise at the beginning in the name Emmanuel, given by the angel for the child. Emmanuel means ‘God with us’. So the permanent presence of Christ is the message of the whole gospel.
Reflection: Why did Jesus leave his disciples forty days after his resurrection? Forty is a significant number in the Scriptures. Moses went to the mountain to seek the face of God for forty days in prayer and fasting. The people of Israel were in the wilderness for forty years in preparation for their entry into the promised land. Elijah fasted for forty days as he journeyed in the wilderness to the mountain of God. For forty days after his resurrection Jesus appeared numerous times to his disciples to assure them that he had risen indeed and to prepare them for the task of carrying on the work which he began during his earthy ministry.
The Risen Lord is with us always to the end of time: Jesus' departure and ascension into heaven was both an end and a beginning for his disciples. While it was the end of Jesus' physical presence with his beloved disciples, it marked the beginning of Jesus' presence with them in a new way. Jesus promised that he would be with them always to the end of time (Matthew 28:20). Now as the glorified and risen Lord and Savior, ascended to the right hand of the Father in heaven, Jesus promised to send them the Holy Spirit who would anoint them with power from on high on the Feast of Pentecost, just as Jesus was anointed for his ministry at the River Jordan (Luke 3:21-22, 4:1,18). When the Lord Jesus departed physically from the apostles, they were not left in sorrow or grief. Instead, they were filled with joy and with great anticipation for the coming of the Holy Spirit.
The Risen Lord empowers us to carry on his work: Why did the Risen Lord ascend into heaven? The Father raised the glorified body of his Son and enthroned him in glory at his right hand in heaven. The Lord Jesus in his glorified body now reigns as Lord over the heavens and the earth - over all that he has created. The Risen Lord reigns from the throne in heaven as our Merciful Redeemer and Gracious King. He intercedes for us and he empowers us through the outpouring of his Holy Spirit. The Lord Jesus gives us new life in his Spirit and he strengthens us in faith, hope and love so we can serve him and carry on his work as citizens of his kingdom here on earth.
You will be my witnesses to the ends of the earth: Jesus' last words to his disciples point to the key mission and task he has entrusted to his followers on earth - to be his witnesses and ambassadors to the ends of the earth so that all peoples, tribes, and nations may hear the good news that Jesus Christ has come to set us free from sin, Satan, and death and has won for us a kingdom of peace, joy, and righteousness that will last forever.
How can we be effective witnesses for Christ? Jesus told his disciples, "You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you - and you shall be my witnesses... to the end of the earth" (Acts 1:8). Jesus gives his followers the same power he received when the Holy Spirit came upon him and anointed him at the beginning of his mission (John 1:32-33). The Gospel is the power of God, the power to release people from their burden of sin, guilt, and oppression, and the power to heal, restore, and make us whole. Do you believe in the power of the Gospel to change and transform your life?
We are ambassadors for Jesus Christ: Paul the Apostle reminds us that we are called to be ambassadors for Jesus Christ. Just as ambassadors are appointed to represent their country and to speak on behalf of their nation's ruler, we, too are appointed by the Lord Jesus to speak on his behalf and to bring others into a close and personal encounter with the Lord and Ruler of heaven and earth. This is the great commission which the risen Christ gives to the whole church. All believers have been given a share in this task - to be heralds of the good news and ambassadors for Jesus Christ, the only savior of the world. We have not been left alone in this task, for the risen Lord works in and through us by the power of his Holy Spirit. Today we witness a new Pentecost as the Lord pours out his Holy Spirit upon his people to renew and strengthen the body of Christ and to equip it for effective ministry and mission world-wide. Do you witness to others the joy of the Gospel and the hope of the resurrection?
Lord Jesus, through the gift of your Holy Spirit, you fill us with an indomitable spirit of praise and joy which no earthly trial can subdue. Fill me with your resurrection joy and help me to live a life of praise and thanksgiving for your glory. May I witness to those around me the joy of the Gospel and the reality of your great victory over sin and death.
the eternal fruit of love: “As the Father has loved Me, so I have loved you.” —John 15:9
God is love (1 Jn 4:16). The Persons of the Holy Trinity love each other eternally. The Father and the Son love each other eternally, and the eternal Fruit of this love is the Holy Spirit. Thus, the Holy Spirit not only produces fruit (Gal 5:22) but is Himself the Fruit of the love of the Father and the Son.In receiving the Holy Spirit, we receive the power to obey God’s very first command to the human race: “Be fertile and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it” (Gn 1:28). In the Spirit, we bear abundant (Jn 15:5), lasting fruit (Jn 15:16).
However, we live in a contraceptive, abortifacient society. As Pope St. John Paul II taught, we live in a “culture of death.” This is true both physically and spiritually. For example, many Christians in the Western world would never even entertain the thought of trying to bear fruit by evangelizing. Even those who will share their faith under ideal circumstances abort their attempts to evangelize when they see they will have to die to themselves to bear fruit (see Jn 12:24).
As Pentecost approaches, we must decide whether we want the Holy Spirit, the Fruit of the love of the Father and the Son, or if we want to remain in the “culture of death.” “Choose life” (Dt 30:19) and life in the Spirit.
Prayer: Father, I choose life, love, fruitfulness, and death to self. “He raises up the lowly from the dust; from the dunghill He lifts up the poor.” —Ps 113:7. St. Matthias and the other apostles performed great signs and wonders among the people of Jerusalem. As a result, “more and more believers, men and women in great numbers, were continually added to the Lord” (Acts 5:12-14).
The personal action for today: In what ways am I like the apostles in my standing around looking up to heaven, wondering what is happening without doing anything? To whom in my life is it most difficult to be sent and to minister? Which gift/fruit of the Holy Spirit (knowledge, wisdom, understanding, peace, joy, discernment, hope, faith, love, endurance, being in awe of God, etc.) do I need the most at this moment in my life? How can I more faithfully proclaim the Good News to those to whom I am sent?
The Feast of the Ascension of Our Lord celebrates Jesus Christ’s return to the Father forty days after His Resurrection (Acts 1:1–11). It marks the completion of His earthly mission and the beginning of His heavenly reign in glory. Before ascending, Jesus blessed His disciples and commanded them to preach the Gospel to all nations. The Ascension reminds Christians that Christ did not abandon humanity but remains present through the Holy Spirit. His rising into heaven opens the way for believers to hope in eternal life with God. The feast teaches that Jesus is Lord of heaven and earth, seated at the right hand of the Father. It also prepares the Church for Pentecost, when the promised Holy Spirit descends upon the apostles. The disciples’ sorrow was transformed into joy because Christ’s Ascension was not an ending but a new beginning. This feast calls Christians to lift their hearts heavenward while faithfully carrying out Christ’s mission on earth. The Ascension proclaims that where Christ has gone, His faithful followers are called to hope and one day follow.