Thursday – Ascension Day

Jesus Christ ascended to God, his Father in heaven

Invitation

May I take this opportunity to draw your attention to
the daily reading of the Gospel?

This invitation aims to share with you the joy of the Gospel.
Everyone, without exception,
can experience that joy by opening their heart
to the healing power of God’s word.

Available every day

Introduction
On this great feast day, heaven once again bends down towards the earth.
The Risen One can no longer remain among us as before.
He now returns home to the Father in heaven.
Yet He does not abandon us.
He promises us His Spirit and His abiding presence.
Wherever love is at work, we can meet Him.
Let us entrust ourselves to Him in this celebration.

FIRST READING               Acts 1, 1-11
In their sight, the Lord was taken up.

My first book, Theophilus, I wrote
about everything Jesus did and taught right up to the day,
when He gave His commission to the apostles
whom He had chosen through the Holy Spirit,
and when He was taken up into heaven.
After His death, He showed them by many proofs
that He was alive.
He appeared to them over a period of forty days
and spoke to them about the Kingdom of God.
Whilst He was eating with them,
He commanded them not to leave Jerusalem,
but in a few days you will be baptised
with the Holy Spirit.”
Once, whilst they were gathered together,
they asked Him:
“Lord, are You at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”
But He replied to them:
“It is not for you to know the day or the hour
which the Father has fixed by His own authority.
But you will receive power
from the Holy Spirit who is to come upon you,
to be my witnesses in Jerusalem,
throughout Judea and Samaria,
and to the ends of the earth.”
After these words,
He was lifted up before their eyes,
and a cloud took Him out of their sight.
Whilst they were gazing intently at His ascension,
suddenly two men in white robes stood by them and said:
“Men of Galilee,
why do you stand looking up towards heaven?
This Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven,
will return in the same way
as you have seen Him go into heaven.”

Responsorial      Ps. 47(46), 2-3, 6-7, 8-9

Refrain
God ascends the throne amidst loud shouts of joy,
the Lord with the sound of trumpets.

All nations, clap your hands,
shout for joy to God with glad cries.
For great is the Lord and greatly to be feared,
so sing a psalm to Him.
God is King over all nations,
seated on His holy throne.

SECOND READING                      Eph. 1, 17-23
God seated Him at His right hand in the heavens.

From the letter of Saint Paul the Apostle to the Christians of
Ephesus

Brothers and sisters,

I pray to the God of our Lord Jesus Christ,
the Father of glory,
that He may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation,
how rich is the glory of his inheritance
among the saints,
and how immeasurably great is his power in us who believe.
He demonstrated this very power in Christ,
when he raised him from the dead
and seated him at his right hand in the heavens,
far above all principalities,
powers, authorities and principalities,
and above every name that is named,
not only in this age but also in the age to come.

God has put all things under His feet,
and He Himself, exalted above all things,
He has given as Head to the Church,
which is His body,
the fullness of Him who fills all in all.

Gospel Acclamation                   Mt  28, 19a, 20

Alleluia.
Go and make disciples of all nations,
says the Lord;
I am with you always, even to the end of the age.
Alleluia.                           

GOSPEL                Mt  28, 16-20

Baptise them in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

From the Holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to
Matthew

The eleven disciples went to Galilee,
to the mountain which Jesus had appointed for them.
When they saw Him,
they fell down and worshipped Him;
but some doubted.

Jesus came near and spoke to them:
“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
“Go therefore,
and make disciples of all nations, baptising them
in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
and teaching them
to observe all that I have commanded you.
“Behold, I am with you,
always,
even to the end of the age.”

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Laudato Si
Encyclical of
Pope Francis
On Care for Our Common Home

Crisis and consequences of modern anthropocentrism

115. Modern anthropocentrism has ultimately, paradoxically, placed technical reason above reality,
for “this person no longer accepts nature as a valid norm, nor as a living refuge.
He regards it objectively, without hypothesis, as space and matter within which a task
must be accomplished to which one must devote oneself entirely,
and it does not matter what the result of this will be”.
Thus the intrinsic value of the world is trivialised. But if man does not rediscover his
true place, he does not understand himself adequately and ultimately contradicts his own reality.
“Not only has the earth been given to humankind, who must use it with respect
for the original intention, according to which it was bestowed upon them as a good,
but humankind has also been given to themselves by God and must therefore
respect the natural and moral structure with which they have been endowed”.

To be continued
Every day at 1 am