May 26, 2022Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord

2022년 5월 26일 주님 승천 대축일 

오늘의 복음 : http://info.catholic.or.kr/missa/default.asp 

제1독서

사도행전 .1,1-11
첫 번째 책에서 저는 예수님의 행적과 가르침을 처음부터 다 다루었습니다.
2 예수님께서 당신이 뽑으신 사도들에게 성령을 통하여 분부를 내리시고 나서
승천하신 날까지의 일을 다 다루었습니다.
3 그분께서는 수난을 받으신 뒤,
당신이 살아 계신 분이심을 여러 가지 증거로 사도들에게 드러내셨습니다.
그러면서 사십 일 동안 그들에게 여러 번 나타나시어,
하느님 나라에 관한 말씀을 해 주셨습니다.
4 예수님께서는 사도들과 함께 계실 때에 그들에게 명령하셨습니다.
“예루살렘을 떠나지 말고,
나에게서 들은 대로 아버지께서 약속하신 분을 기다려라.
5 요한은 물로 세례를 주었지만 너희는 며칠 뒤에 성령으로 세례를 받을 것이다.”
6 사도들이 함께 모여 있을 때에 예수님께 물었다.
“주님, 지금이 주님께서 이스라엘에 다시 나라를 일으키실 때입니까?”
7 그러자 예수님께서 그들에게 이르셨다.
“그 때와 시기는 아버지께서 당신의 권한으로 정하셨으니 너희가 알 바 아니다.
8 그러나 성령께서 너희에게 내리시면 너희는 힘을 받아,
예루살렘과 온 유다와 사마리아,
그리고 땅끝에 이르기까지 나의 증인이 될 것이다.”
9 예수님께서는 이렇게 이르신 다음 그들이 보는 앞에서 하늘로 오르셨는데,
구름에 감싸여 그들의 시야에서 사라지셨다.
10 예수님께서 올라가시는 동안 그들이 하늘을 유심히 바라보는데,
갑자기 흰옷을 입은 두 사람이 그들 곁에 서서, 11 이렇게 말하였다.
“갈릴래아 사람들아, 왜 하늘을 쳐다보며 서 있느냐?
너희를 떠나 승천하신 저 예수님께서는,
너희가 보는 앞에서 하늘로 올라가신 모습 그대로 다시 오실 것이다.”

 

제2독서 

에페소서 .1,17-23<또는 히브 9,24-28; 10,19-23>
형제 여러분, 17 우리 주 예수 그리스도의 하느님, 영광의 아버지께서
여러분에게 지혜와 계시의 영을 주시어 여러분이 그분을 알게 되고,
18 여러분 마음의 눈을 밝혀 주시어,
그분의 부르심으로 여러분이 지니게 된 희망이 어떠한 것인지,
성도들 사이에서 받게 될 그분 상속의 영광이 얼마나 풍성한지
여러분이 알게 되기를 빕니다.
19 또 우리 믿는 이들을 위한 그분의 힘이 얼마나 엄청나게 큰지를
그분의 강한 능력의 활동으로 알게 되기를 빕니다.
20 하느님께서는 그리스도 안에서 그 능력을 펼치시어,
그분을 죽은 이들 가운데에서 일으키시고
하늘에 올리시어 당신 오른쪽에 앉히셨습니다.
21 모든 권세와 권력과 권능과 주권 위에,
그리고 현세만이 아니라 내세에서도 불릴 모든 이름 위에
뛰어나게 하신 것입니다.
22 또한 만물을 그리스도의 발아래 굴복시키시고,
만물 위에 계신 그분을 교회에 머리로 주셨습니다.
23 교회는 그리스도의 몸으로서,
모든 면에서 만물을 충만케 하시는 그리스도로 충만해 있습니다.

 

복음

루카 . 24,46ㄴ-53
 그때에 예수님께서 제자들에게 46 이르셨다.

“성경에 기록된 대로, 그리스도는 고난을 겪고
사흘 만에 죽은 이들 가운데에서 다시 살아나야 한다.
47 그리고 예루살렘에서부터 시작하여,
죄의 용서를 위한 회개가 그의 이름으로 모든 민족들에게 선포되어야 한다.
48 너희는 이 일의 증인이다.
49 그리고 보라, 내 아버지께서 약속하신 분을 내가 너희에게 보내 주겠다.
그러니 너희는 높은 데에서 오는 힘을 입을 때까지
예루살렘에 머물러 있어라.”
50 예수님께서는 그들을 베타니아 근처까지 데리고 나가신 다음,
손을 드시어 그들에게 강복하셨다.
51 이렇게 강복하시며 그들을 떠나 하늘로 올라가셨다.
52 그들은 예수님께 경배하고 나서 크게 기뻐하며 예루살렘으로 돌아갔다.
53 그리고 줄곧 성전에서 하느님을 찬미하며 지냈다.

May 26, 2022

Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord

Daily Readings — Audio

Daily Reflections — Video

http://www.usccb.org/bible/ 

Daily Mass : http://www.catholictv.com/shows/daily-mass 

Reading 1

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.”

 

Responsorial Psalm

 Ps 47:2-3, 6-7, 8-9

R.  (6) God mounts his throne to shouts of joy: a blare of trumpets for the Lord.

or:

R. Alleluia.

All you peoples, clap your hands,

shout to God with cries of gladness,

For the LORD, the Most High, the awesome,

is the great king over all the earth.

R. God mounts his throne to shouts of joy:  a blare of trumpets for the Lord.

or:

R. Alleluia.

God mounts his throne amid shouts of joy;

the LORD, amid trumpet blasts.

Sing praise to God, sing praise;

sing praise to our king, sing praise.

R. God mounts his throne to shouts of joy:  a blare of trumpets for the Lord.

or:

R. Alleluia.

For king of all the earth is God;

sing hymns of praise.

God reigns over the nations,

God sits upon his holy throne.

R. God mounts his throne to shouts of joy:  a blare of trumpets for the Lord.

or:

R. Alleluia.

 

Reading 2

Eph 1:17-23 or Heb 9:24-28; 10:19-23

Brothers and sisters:

May the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory,

give you a Spirit of wisdom and revelation

resulting in knowledge of him.

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,

and what is the surpassing greatness of his power

for us who believe,

in accord with the exercise of his great might:

which he worked in Christ,

raising him from the dead

and seating him at his right hand in the heavens,

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.

And he put all things beneath his feet

and gave him as head over all things to the church,

which is his body,

the fullness of the one who fills all things in every way.

 

or

Heb 9:24-28; 10:19-23 

Christ did not enter into a sanctuary made by hands,

a copy of the true one, but heaven itself,

that he might now appear before God on our behalf.

Not that he might offer himself repeatedly,

as the high priest enters each year into the sanctuary

with blood that is not his own;

if that were so, he would have had to suffer repeatedly

from the foundation of the world.

But now once for all he has appeared at the end of the ages

to take away sin by his sacrifice.

Just as it is appointed that men and women die once,

and after this the judgment, so also Christ,

offered once to take away the sins of many,

will appear a second time, not to take away sin

but to bring salvation to those who eagerly await him.

 

Therefore, brothers and sisters, since through the blood of Jesus

we have confidence of entrance into the sanctuary

by the new and living way he opened for us through the veil,

that is, his flesh,

and since we have Aa great priest over the house of God, “

let us approach with a sincere heart and in absolute trust,

with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience

and our bodies washed in pure water.

Let us hold unwaveringly to our confession that gives us hope,

for he who made the promise is trustworthy.

 

Gospel

Lk 24:46-53

Jesus said to his disciples:

“Thus it is written that the Christ would suffer

and rise from the dead on the third day

and that repentance, for the forgiveness of sins,

would be preached in his name

to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem.

You are witnesses of these things.

And behold I am sending the promise of my Father upon you;

but stay in the city

until you are clothed with power from on high.”

 

Then he led them out as far as Bethany,

raised his hands, and blessed them.

As he blessed them he parted from them

and was taken up to heaven.

They did him homage

and then returned to Jerusalem with great joy,

and they were continually in the temple praising God. 

http://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/daily.html

 

Back in the early sixties, in the Jesuit Novitiate, each Spring, a Gilbert and Sullivan operetta was performed by the good singers of the class. The less-blest of us were given the opportunity to practice and sing, humilified, the Proper of the Ascension Mass. The first words of the Entrance Antiphone are the same for the Mass today, except they were in Latin and in Gregorian Chant. “Men of Galilee” or “Viri Galileei.”   I could actually sing all the parts even today.  We practice so hard and wanted to go up into heaven with Jesus rather than sing in chapel, assisting to pray those smirking members of the cast of "The H.M.S. Pinafore."  Some of us are known even today as the Viri Galileei Choir, with pride now I’d say, after sixty years.

We have kind of two Gospels in today’s sacred liturgy. In the First Reading from the Gospel of the Holy Spirit which we know as Acts of the Apostles we hear of the beginning or birth of the Church. The second Gospel in this celebration is from Luke’s account of the birth, life and death and rising and the ascending of Jesus. In Luke’s Gospel, Jesus is ascending through His journeying up to Jerusalem. In Luke’s Gospel of the Holy Spirit Jesus asends, and as we will see, the Holy Spirit descends.   So it is that the story of God has its downs and ups.

In the first Chapter of Luke’s Gospel, the Holy Spirit descends to Mary of Nazareth to initiate the Incarnation of the Second Person of the Trinity. Luke has Jesus making His way up to Jerusalem. After His cruel downfall there, He rises and appears in proof of His Divinity and fidelity to His identity and to the world. What we hear in Luke’s account today, is that Jesus is lifted up after assuring his little group that they now have the mission to descend from Jerusalem to embrace all peoples with the Good News.

At the end of our First Reading from the Acts up the Apostles, we hear of the two, who were dressed in white, asking the Apostles why they are looking up, gazing off into the blue. We can join them, if we wish, gazing into the blue of mysteries or insufficiencies. What these two messengers are saying to the Apostles is, “get on with it!” "You have seen enough, heard enough, now be enough for the Body of Christ to take flesh in you individually and corporally as The Church."

The “men of Galilee” went back up to Jerusalem.   As with the "Viri Galille choir," they sang at times humilified with the more than scoffing listeners. They sang and their song continues when we are His Body revealing His Presence. We can be tempted that we are not ever enough. The Holy Spirit, Who inspired and guided that early Galilean band continues creating life in the Church and the world through such singers as ourselves. Don’t forget the words!!!      

 http://www.presentationministries.com/obob/obob.asp

POWER-PACK

“May He enlighten your innermost vision that you may know...the immeasurable scope of His power in us who believe. It is like the strength He showed in raising Christ from the dead and seating Him at His right hand in heaven.” —Ephesians 1:18-20

Jesus tried to tell us we had power to overcome all demons and to cure diseases (Lk 9:1). He told us we could “cure the sick, raise the dead, heal the leprous, expel demons” (Mt 10:8). He even promised we would do greater by far than He ever did, if we only believed in Him (Jn 14:12).

However, Jesus saved the best till last. Before His Ascension, the risen Jesus, with nail-scarred hands and a hole in His side, was speaking to the apostles concerning the signs that would accompany those who had professed their faith (Mk 16:17). Jesus mentioned five signs: expelling demons, speaking new languages, handling serpents, drinking poison without suffering harm, and healing the sick (Mk 16:17-18). “No sooner had He said this than He was lifted up before their eyes in a cloud which took Him from their sight” (Acts 1:9). Jesus ascended “into heaven and took His seat at God’s right hand” (Mk 16:19).

When a Man has split the clouds and left planet earth behind, He’s certainly proven Himself to be an expert on signs. When Jesus says to us: “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes down on you” (Acts 1:8), He knows what He’s talking about.

Prayer:  Ascended, glorified Jesus, may I believe in You, Your promises, and Your power now at work in me (Eph 3:20).

Promise:  “I send down upon you the promise of My Father.” —Lk 24:49

Praise:  “Thus you find Scripture saying: ‘When He ascended on high, He took a host of captives and gave gifts to men’ ” (Eph 4:8). Risen Jesus, we honor Your Ascension.

 http://dailyscripture.servantsoftheword.org/readings/

 

  When you pray what do you ask for - God's help, blessing, guidance, and wisdom? One of the greatest privileges and responsibilities we have been given by God is to pray not only for ourselves, but for others as well. The Lord Jesus lived a life full of prayer, blessing, and gratitude to his Father in heaven. He prayed for his disciples, especially when they were in great need or danger. Mark tells us in his Gospel account (see chapter 6:46-51) that when Jesus was praying alone on the mountain he saw that his disciples were in great distress due to a life-threatening storm that was beating against their boat. Jesus immediately came to their rescue - walking on the waves of the rough waters before he calmed their fears and calmed the raging waters as well! Luke records in his Gospel account the words of Jesus to Simon Peter shortly before Jesus' arrest and Peter's denial of the Lord three times. "Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat, but I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers" (Luke 22:32). Jesus' prayers were personal, direct, and focused on the welfare and well-being of others - especially that they might find peace and unity with God and with one another.

Jesus prays for all Christians to be united as one
The longest recorded prayer of Jesus is found in the Gospel of John, the "high priestly" prayer which Jesus prayed aloud at his last supper meal with his disciples (John 17). This prayer most clearly reveals the heart and mind of Jesus - who and what he loved most - love for his Father in heaven and love for all who believe in him. His prayer focuses on the love and unity he desires for all who would believe in him and follow him, not only in the present, but in the future as well.

Jesus' prayer concludes with a petition for the unity among all Christians who profess that Jesus Christ is Lord. Jesus prays for all men and women who will come after him and follow him as his disciples (John 17:20). In a special way Jesus prays here for each one of us that as members of his body the church we would be one as he and his Father are one. The unity of Jesus, the only begotten Son of God, with the eternal Father is a unity of mutual love, service, and honor, and a oneness of mind, heart, and spirit. The Lord Jesus calls each and every one of his followers into this unity of mutual love, respect, service, honor, and friendship with all who belong to Christ.

To make him known and loved by all
Jesus' prayer on the eve of his sacrifice shows the great love and trust he had for his beloved disciples. He knew they would abandon him in his hour of trial, yet he entrusted to them the great task of spreading his name throughout the world and to the end of the ages. The Lord Jesus entrusts us today with the same mission - to make him known and loved by all. Jesus died and rose again that all might be one as he and the Father are one. Do you love all who belong to Christ and do you recognize and accept all baptized Christians as your brothers and sisters in Christ? The Lord Jesus, through the power of the Holy Spirit, draws each one of us into the unity which he and the Father have together and into the unity he desires for all who belong to him - we are all brothers and sisters in Christ and sons and daughters of our beloved Father in heaven.

The Lord intercedes for us right now
The Lord Jesus Christ included each one of us in his high priestly prayer at the last supper meal with his disciples on the eve of his sacrifice on the cross (John 17:20). And today the Lord Jesus continues his high priestly office as our intercessor before the throne of God in heaven. Paul the Apostle tells us that it is "Christ Jesus, who died, yes, who was raised from the dead, who is at the right hand of God, who indeed intercedes for us" (Romans 8:34; see also Hebrews 7: 25). Do you join in Jesus' high priestly prayer that all who profess Jesus as Lord may grow in love and unity together as brothers and sisters who have been redeemed through the precious blood that was shed for us on the cross?

Heavenly Father, have mercy on all your people who have been redeemed by the precious blood of your Son who offered up his life for us on the cross. Pardon our sins and heal our divisions that we may grow in love, unity, and holiness together as your sons and daughters. May all Christian people throughout the world attain the unity for which Jesus prayed on the eve of his sacrifice. Renew in us the power of the Holy Spirit that we may be a sign of that unity and a means of its growth. Increase in us a fervent love, respect, and care for all of our brothers and sisters who believe in Jesus Christ.

Psalm 97:1-2, 5-6, 11-12

1 The LORDreigns; let the earth rejoice; let the many coast lands be glad!
2 Clouds and thick darkness are round about him; righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne.
5 The mountains melt like wax before the LORD, before the Lord of all the earth.
6 The heavens proclaim his righteousness; and all the peoples behold his glory.
9 For you, O Lord, are most high over all the earth; you are exalted far above all gods.

Daily Quote from the Early Church Fathers: Prayer of unity for all who believe, by Cyprian of Carthage - first martyr bishop of Africa, 200-258 A.D.

"The Lord's loving-kindness, no less than his mercy, is great in respect of our salvation in that, not content to redeem us with his blood, he in addition prayed for us. See now what the desire of his petition was, that just as the Father and Son are one, so also we should abide in absolute unity. From this, it may be evident how greatly someone sins who divides unity and peace, since even the Lord himself petitioned for this same thing. He no doubt desired that his people should in this way be saved and live in peace since he knew that discord cannot come into the kingdom of God." (excerpt from THE LORD'S PRAYER 30.1)

  

More Homilies

June 2, 2019 Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord