1 June, World Communications Sunday

Liturgy of the Word: Acts 1:1-11; Ps. 47:2-3, 6-7, 8-9; Eph. 1:17-23 or Heb. 9:24-28; 10:19-23; Lk. 24:46-53.

Some notes on the Ascension.

1. After today's Gospel, the Paschal Candle, 1st lit on Easter, is extinguished, as a symbol of Christ leaving the earth.

2. One of the central themes of the Solemnity of the Ascension is the kingship of Christ. He ascends after his resurrection, where he is exalted as Lord and Christ, sitting at the right hand of God. His Ascension is the final redemptive act conferring participation in the divine life on all who are members of Christ.

3. The Solemnity of the Ascension is a major feast day, along with the Passion, Easter, Pentecost, and Christmas. It was originally part of Pentecost and developed as a separate celebration only slowly from the late 4th century onward.

4. 1st Reading, Acts 1:1-11 -- This introductory material of Acts shows that the Apostles were instructed through the Holy Spirit by the Risen Christ, that he appeared and spoke to them about the kingdom of God during 40 days (vv. 2-3), that he enjoined them to wait in Jerusalem for their baptism with the Holy Spirit (vv. 4-5).

5. Jesus told them, "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" (v. 8). And then "he was lifted up and a cloud took him from their sight" (v. 9). Two men [angels] in white garments said to them, "Men of Galilee, why are you standing there looking at the sky? This Jesus who has been taken up to heaven will return in the same way as you have seen him going to heaven" (v. 11). Then they returned to Jerusalem.

6. Only Luke and Acts contain direct accounts of the Ascension, but with different chronologies. The Gospel places it on the same day as the Resurrection, while Acts has it 40 days afterwards. John has 3 references to the Ascension: "No one has ascended into heaven but he who descended from heaven, the Son of Man" (Jn. 3:13); "What if you were to see the Son of Man ascending where he was before?" (Jn. 6:62); to Mary Magdalene after his resurrection, "Do not hold me, for I have not yet ascended to my Father" (Jn. 20:17). The longer ending in Mark describes an Ascension, that is a later addition to the original.

Various epistles (Rom. 8:34; Eph. 1:19-20; Col. 3:1; Phil. 2:9-11; 1 Tm. 3:16; and 1 Pt. 3: 21-22) refer to an ascension without specifying details. Like Luke-Acts and John, they seem to equate the Ascension with the post-resurrection "exaltation" of Jesus to the right hand of God.

7. Resp. Ps. 47:2-3, 6-7, 8-9 -- The Ruler of all the Nations. "All you peoples shout to God with joyful cries. For the Lord, the Most High is the great King over all the earth" (vv. 2-3). He made nations subject to us. He has given our heritage [the land of Israel] to "Jacob whom he loves" (v. 5). "He has gone up with a shout, the Lord, amid trumpet blasts" (v. 6, our liturgical tradition has applied this verse to the Ascension of Christ). "Sing praise to God, our King, sing praise." For God is king over all the earth, over the nations (vv. 8-9).

8. 2nd Reading, Eph. 1:17-23. Our Blessings from God through Christ and Christ's Exaltation --

Be enlightened and know God's "surpassing greatness of his power for us who believe..., 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, dominion, and every name" (vv. 18-21). "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" (vv. 22-23).

9. Gospel, Lk. 24: 46-53 -- The disciples are incredulous about the reports of Christ's rising from the dead. The Risen Christ suddenly appears to them. He says, "Thus it is written that the Messiah 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" (vv. 46- 48). "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" (v. 9).

10. The Death, Resurrection, and Exaltation of Jesus are the foundation of our faith and life. The early followers of Christ believed that God vindicated Jesus after his death, that God raised him as the first of the dead, and exalted him, sitting at his right hand in heaven. He is our Mediator in heaven. For Muslims, Jesus, the penultimate prophet, was not crucified nor resurrected but directly ascended.

11. Prayer -- God, our Father, make us joyful in the Ascension of your Son, Jesus Christ. May we follow him into the new creation, for his ascension is our glory and our hope. We ask this, through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Prayerful Easter greetings and best wishes, God bless!