SOLEMNITY OF THE ASCENSION OF THE LORD - (Mark 16: 15 – 20) - THE WORD OF GOD FOR EVERYONE

"As he blessed them he parted from them and was taken up to heaven." (Luke 24:51)

READING OF THE DAY

First reading from the Acts of the Apostles

Acts 1:1-11

In the first book, Theophilus,

I dealt with all that Jesus did and taught

until the day he was taken up,

after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit

to the apostles whom he had chosen.

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.

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;

for John baptized with water,

but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”

When they had gathered together they asked him,

“Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”

He answered them, “It is not for you to know the times or seasons

that the Father has established by his own authority.

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.”

When he had said this, as they were looking on,

he was lifted up, and a cloud took him from their sight.

While they were looking intently at the sky as he was going,

suddenly two men dressed in white garments stood beside them.

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.”

Second reading from the Letter to the Ephesians

Eph 4:1-13

Brothers and sisters,

I, a prisoner for the Lord,

urge you to live in a manner worthy of the call you have received,

with all humility and gentleness, with patience,

bearing with one another through love,

striving to preserve the unity of the spirit

through the bond of peace:

one body and one Spirit,

as you were also called to the one hope of your call;

one Lord, one faith, one baptism;

one God and Father of all,

who is over all and through all and in all.

But grace was given to each of us

according to the measure of Christ’s gift.

Therefore, it says:

He ascended on high and took prisoners captive;

he gave gifts to men.

What does “he ascended” mean except that he also descended

into the lower regions of the earth?

The one who descended is also the one who ascended

far above all the heavens,

that he might fill all things.

And he gave some as apostles, others as prophets,

others as evangelists, others as pastors and teachers,

to equip the holy ones for the work of ministry,

for building up the body of Christ,

until we all attain to the unity of faith

and knowledge of the Son of God, to mature to manhood,

to the extent of the full stature of Christ.

GOSPEL OF THE DAY

From the Gospel according to Mark

Mk 16:15-20

Jesus said to his disciples:

“Go into the whole world

and proclaim the gospel to every creature.

Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved;

whoever does not believe will be condemned.

These signs will accompany those who believe:

in my name they will drive out demons,

they will speak new languages.

They will pick up serpents with their hands,

and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not harm them.

They will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”

So then the Lord Jesus, after he spoke to them,

was taken up into heaven

and took his seat at the right hand of God.

But they went forth and preached everywhere,

while the Lord worked with them

and confirmed the word through accompanying signs.

SOLEMNITY OF THE ASCENSION OF THE LORD - (Mark 16, 15 – 20)

THE WORD OF GOD FOR EVERYONE

Dear People of God,

In God's Word today, God the Father tells all those who believe in Him: Faith is a gift from God the Father to those who have simple, pure souls and loving hearts. On the other hand, faith is not for egotistical people who believe themselves to be smart and brilliant, and marginalize God the Father. God the Father lets people know: that the belief in One God the Father today has been greatly stolen by Satan. That is why God the Father calls all of His children:

-  To live meekly, simply and lovingly, then the strength and love of God the Father will come into our souls.

- To know how to worship God the Father as the only God, fear Him above all things, and believe that God the Father is the Creator of all creatures, including mankind. Thanks to that, Man has a loving heart to always be grateful to God, the Creator of all humanity; having fear of God the Father, who is the only one because He has complete authority over all creatures, total authority over human life and death: If He allows life then one can live, if He allows death then one must die. If He allows whoever is born to exist in this world, then they shall be able to exist.

God the Father calls all of His children: to return to God the Father, because He is love, is true, is omnipotent and perfect, and is absolutely infinite. There is no other god who loves humanity as much as God the Father. God the Father calls His children to be alert to the lulling temptations of Satan, because they will find ways to lead humans away from the love of God the Father through pride, not knowing who they are.

This is exactly what God the Father teaches His children: to have childlike simplicity at heart, to know how to trust and rely on the power of the Supreme God the Father. As God’s love has taught humanity through His word today: Before Jesus ascended to heaven, He had bestowed all blessings on His children. These are the graces that God the Father leaves for those who have faith in Him, who have faith in His only begotten Son. Therefore, God the Father calls everyone to abandon sin and return to God the Father. He will give more strength to resist Satan's temptations to live peacefully and happily in the love and providence of God the Father.

God the Father calls all creatures in this world to believe that: Jesus Christ is the Only Son of God the Father, he obeyed the Will of God the Father and came down to earth to sacrifice, die, and rise again to save all humanity. When the time came, He completed and accomplished what God the Father taught on earth, then He returned to God the Father. The mark that Jesus left is the image of Him ascending to heaven in front of all the Apostles. But He not only remained silent in heaven in front of the Apostles and those who believed, He also taught and gave graces to the Apostles so that they could follow the holy commandments that God commanded, that is: to go throughout this world, to lead our brothers and sisters to come back to God the Father.