May 24, 2020Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord
2020년 5월 24일 주일 주님 승천 대축일(홍보 주일)
오늘의 복음 : http://info.catholic.or.kr/missa/default.asp
제1독서
사도행전. 1,1-11
1 테오필로스 님,
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
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
마태오. 28,16-20
그때에 16 열한 제자는 갈릴래아로 떠나
예수님께서 분부하신 산으로 갔다.
17 그들은 예수님을 뵙고 엎드려 경배하였다. 그러나 더러는 의심하였다.
18 예수님께서는 그들에게 다가가 이르셨다.
“나는 하늘과 땅의 모든 권한을 받았다.
19 그러므로 너희는 가서 모든 민족들을 제자로 삼아,
아버지와 아들과 성령의 이름으로 세례를 주고,
20 내가 너희에게 명령한 모든 것을 가르쳐 지키게 하여라.
보라, 내가 세상 끝 날까지 언제나 너희와 함께 있겠다.”
May 24, 2020
Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord
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 the 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
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 II
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.
Gospel
The eleven disciples went to Galilee,
to the mountain to which Jesus had ordered them.
When they saw him, they worshiped, but they doubted.
Then Jesus approached and said to them,
“All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations,
baptizing them in the name of the Father,
and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit,
teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.
And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.”
http://evangeli.net/gospel/tomorrow
«I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth»
+Dr. Josef ARQUER
(Berlin, Germany)
Today, we are given to contemplate a pair of blessing hands —our Lord's last gesture on earth (cf. Lk 24:51). Or some footprints up on a mount —the very last visible sign of God's steps on our earth. At times, this mount is also represented like a rock, and His footprints remain carved on the rock, not on the earth. As if alluding to that rock He mentioned that, soon, would be sealed by the wind and fire of Whitsunday. Our iconography, since long, is using such suggestive symbols. And also the mysterious cloud —simultaneously, shadow and light— that, already in the Old Testament, accompanied so many theophanies. The Lord's face would simply dazzle and blind us.
St. Leo the Great helps us to go still further in this occurrence: «What was visible in our Savior has passed over into his mysteries». Which mysteries? Those He has entrusted His Church with. The blessing gesture is developed in the liturgy, the footprints on the earth show the path to the sacraments. And they are the way that lead us to the plenitude of our definite meeting with God.
The Apostles had time to get used to that other singularity of their Master throughout that period of forty days, when the Lord —according to exegetes— does not “appears”, but, —faithfully following the literal translation— “lets himself be seen”. Now, in this last encounter, the amazement is renewed. Because they now discover that, in future, they will not only announce the Word, but they will instil life and health, with the visible gesture and the audible word: through the baptism and the other sacraments.
«I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth» (Mt 28:18). All authority... Go to all nations... Teaching them to fulfill all... And He will be with them —with his Church, with us— always (cf. Mt 28:19-20). And this “always” reverberates through space and time, while reaffirming us in our hopefulness.
http://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/daily.html
“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.”
If we were in the place of the disciples, I am sure that we would have been standing there looking at the sky for perhaps even longer than they were. It surely must have been a mesmerizing sight, much like watching a satellite being launched into space. But the disciples were reminded, as we are, that Jesus will return in the same way as he ascended into heaven. This return, is not necessarily the second coming, but rather a fulfillment of the first coming itself. The feast of the Ascension can appear at first sight to be of Jesus’ return to the Father and of leaving his disciples. But on deeper reflection we see that Jesus never leaves his disciples. He continues to be present with them, now in a more profound way. After the resurrection and before the Ascension, Jesus appears to specific people at specific places and times. Now, with the Ascension, Jesus becomes present to all in a profound and deep way. The Ascension reminds us of our trinitarian baptism, an acknowledgment of God above (Father), with us and by our side (Son) and within us (Holy Spirit).
On this feast of the Ascension it might be helpful to remind ourselves, as Saint Ignatius does in the Spiritual Exercises, of Christ, our Divine Majesty and Eternal King. Using Ignatian imagination we can imagine what our world would be like if Christ were the King. What if Christ were the President, or Governor, or Mayor? What would change? What would be different? And, how can we in our own, small way, work to bring about that change or be that difference. Then, indeed will we be responding to the call of Christ, helping him to realize God’s kingdom here on earth. Yes, even in the midst of the COVID-19 situation that we are in right now.
http://www.presentationministries.com/obob/obob.asp
THE ULTIMATE CALL TO PRAYER
"Within a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit." —Acts 1:5
Jesus tried to give us the Holy Spirit three times. When He died on Calvary He gave over His Spirit (Jn 19:30), although only a few were present to receive the Spirit. Jesus' second attempt to give us the Holy Spirit was on the first resurrection night. He breathed on His apostles and commanded: "Receive the Holy Spirit" (Jn 20:22). It seems that they only partially received the Spirit because they stayed locked up in the upper room. The Church received the fullness of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, after having devoted themselves to nine days of prayer (Acts 1:14).
Prayer is one of the keys to receiving the Holy Spirit. "If [we], with all [our] sins, know how to give [our] children good things, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him" (Lk 11:13). However, Jesus' followers have traditionally had difficulty spending one hour a day with Him in prayer (see Mt 26:40). Like St. Martha, we are sometimes upset with others who pray and with the Lord Who calls them to pray (see Lk 10:40ff). We must honestly admit those times that we are not praying people, praying families, or praying couples. However, prayer is necessary to receive the Spirit.
The Ascension of Jesus is the most powerful and successful call to prayer in the Bible. After the Ascension, apostles who didn't pray an hour in the garden of Gethsemane devoted themselves to constant prayer (Acts 1:14). On this holy day of the Ascension, the Lord offers us a special invitation to pray and a gift to pray. Accept the invitation, pray, and receive the Spirit.
Prayer: Father, may the next week of prayer be the best in my life. Jesus, teach me to pray in the Spirit (see Lk 11:1).
Promise: "Know that I am with you always." —Mt 28:20
Praise: "He went to heaven and is at God's right hand, with angelic rulers and powers subjected to Him" (1 Pt 3:22).
http://dailyscripture.servantsoftheword.org/readings/
"The Lord Jesus was taken up into heaven"
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.”
Psalm 47:1-9
1 Clap your hands, all peoples! Shout to God with loud songs of joy!
2 For the LORD, the Most High, is awesome, a great king over all the earth.
3 He subdued peoples under us, and nations under our feet.
4 He chose our heritage for us, the pride of Jacob whom he loves. [Selah]
5 God has gone up with a shout, the LORD with the sound of a trumpet.
6 Sing praises to God, sing praises! Sing praises to our King, sing praises!
7 For God is the king of all the earth; sing praises with a psalm!
8 God reigns over the nations; God sits on his holy throne.
9 The princes of the peoples gather as the people of the God of Abraham. For the shields of the earth belong to God; he is highly exalted!
Daily Quote from the early church fathers: Jesus ascends to heaven in his body - divine and human nature, by Augustine of Hippo, 354-430 A.D.
"You heard what came to our ears just now from the Gospel: 'Lifting up his hands, he blessed them. And it happened, while he was blessing them he withdrew from them, and was carried up to heaven.' Who was carried up to heaven? The Lord Christ was. Who is the Lord Christ? He is the Lord Jesus. What is this? Are you going to separate the human from the divine and make one person of God, another of the man, so that there is no longer a trinity of three but a quaternary of four? Just as you, a human being, are soul and body, so the Lord Christ is Word, soul and body. The Word did not depart from the Father. He both came to us and did not forsake the Father. He both took flesh in the womb and continued to govern the universe. What was lifted up into heaven, if not what had been taken from earth? That is to say, the very flesh, the very body, about which he was speaking when he said to the disciples, 'Feel, and see that a spirit does not have bones and flesh, as you can see that I have' (Luke 24:39). Let us believe this, brothers and sisters, and if we have difficulty in meeting the arguments of the philosophers, let us hold on to what was demonstrated in the Lord's case without any difficulty of faith. Let them chatter, but let us believe." (excerpt from Sermon 242,6)
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May 28, 2017 Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord
