Commentary on the Gospel of
Ascension of the Lord
"GO INTO THE WHOLE WORLD AND PROCLAIM THE GOOD NEWS".
On this day of the Lord's Ascension we should reflect in all sincerity whether we have looked up high enough to understand what Christ wants to say to the whole world, in terms of proclaiming his gospel.
A mandate that requires us to get out of ourselves, to leave the indifference, the routine in which we are often immersed. For we are all called by Jesus to evangelise.
Heaven invites us to a great hope; the Ascension of Jesus Christ is already our Victory, and where the one who is ahead of us has preceded us and we also hope to arrive as members of his body.
However, it is from Heaven itself that we are sent back to earth, because He will return as we have seen Him go.
He will return triumphantly, and His triumph will be that of Love. It is necessary that, while He is coming, we continue to travel the roads of our land, that the eyes of our heart be always opened. That we leave behind us old vain and outdated dreams that will never return. May we accept the inevitable conflicts in the proclamation of the Gospel. But with the conviction that we are not alone, because "the Lord cooperates, confirming our word with accompanying signs". May our faith and our works, Lord, make the earth a heaven for our brothers and sisters.
(Psalm 46) God ascends amidst acclamations; the Lord to the sound of trumpets.
HAPPY LORD'S DAY! HAPPY SUNDAY
Victoria Sanchez, teacher
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fr. Roland Chidi, cmf
Witnesses to the resurrection May they be one, even as we are one
The witness is one who (like St. John) can say: we ate with him; talked with him; walked with him; we touched him, etc – one who is able to say: I saw with my own eyes. St. Peter explains that only the person who has this single credential would be elected to replace Judas Iscariot. And so, Matthias was chosen to bear witness to the risen lord!
You and I, how do we qualify as the Lord’s witnesses? The step is the same: we must see, taste, touch, hear and even walk with the Lord! We hear and see the Lord in the Word of God; we taste and touch Him in the Holy Eucharist; we walk with him in charity beside our fellow human being just as on their way to Emmaus! The words of Mother St. Teresa of Kolkata say it all:
“I see Jesus in every human being. I say to myself,
this is hungry Jesus, I must feed him. This is sick Jesus.
This one has leprosy or gangrene; I must wash him
and tend to him. I serve because I love Jesus.”
In what is fondly called his priestly prayer, our Lord severally prays: ‘may they be one, even as we are one.’ In the modern language of ‘ecumenical prayer’, this emotion-packed longing of our Lord expressed while at the verge of his passion and death, speaks volumes to his true witnesses. He wants us to be united, not scattered; He wants us to be in onefold, not in cliques and sects and denominations! He loves to see us in a united family - beginning our day together in prayer. He likes to see us consoling each other together when trials set in. He longs to see us embracing each other in love and charity when poverty strikes. Our Lord wants one sheepfold and one shepherd and that’s it! The entire sheepfold is bound to be in communion – feeding each other. Our Lord’s prayer is a clarion call to embracing large-heartedness, a call to serving our Lord in broad-mindedness, an invitation to worshipping God in spirit and in truth without discrimination. Lord, help us by your grace to love beyond frontiers, amen.
