R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Go and teach all nations, says the Lord;
I am with you always, until the end of the world.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

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.

Those who are of my generation or slightly older may vividly remember the era of space exploration of the 1960’s and 70’s. Cape Canaveral, the Kennedy Space Center, and Huston became household words associated with NASA. Thousands would gather at various Florida locations to witness the live take-off of the Mercury, Gemini, Saturn, or Apollo rockets.

Millions more were glued to their television screens watching the rockets climb higher and higher into the sky, growing smaller as their altitude increased until they were out of sight; out of this world so to speak.

But today’s feast day is far different from the launch of a rocket. Unlike those rockets, Jesus’ Ascension isn’t from the ground up into the clouds, but from the human place where we live on earth to the divine place we call Heaven.

In one respect, Jesus left this world to take His seat at the Right Hand of the Father. Yet, in another way, even though He ascended bodily in to Heaven, He remains present on earth in His Church in more profound and intimate ways.

He is with us when we gather at Mass, with others at prayer, and within our families. He is present in the Church for Jesus says, “where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them” (Mt 18:20). He is with us in the proclamation of His word and in the sacraments; most especially in Sacrament of the Most Holy Eucharist, the sacramental presence of the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Jesus.

It is significant that today’s Gospel account is the conclusion of the Gospel according to Mark and our first reading is the beginning of the Acts of the Apostles. The end of Jesus’ public life on earth is the beginning of the life of the Church; the Church that intimately involves both you and me and every baptized Christian.

Our commemoration of Jesus’ Ascension is a call to active service in spreading the Good News as each of us are called to “Go into the whole world and proclaim the gospel to every creature” (Mk 16:15). As St. John Chrysostom said, “There is nothing colder than a Christian who does not care for the salvation of others”.

Christ gives us the mandate to “live in a manner worthy of the call [we] have received” (Eph 4:1). But neither we nor the apostles can do this on our own. Jesus explicitly instructs us to “wait for the promise of the Father” (Acts 1:4) for it is then that “you will receive the power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you; and you will be my witnesses…to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8).

And that power overshadowed the apostles and us too at our Confirmation.

Then “a cloud took Him from their sight” (Acts 1:9). This cloud is not the same type that obscures our vision of the rockets as they fly through the atmosphere. This is a very special cloud.

It is the same cloud that led the people of God out of Egypt and through the desert as they traveled to the Promised Land. It is the same cloud that covered Mount Sinai for six days then on the seventh day from the midst of that cloud the Glory of the LORD called to Moses. It is the same cloud that filled Solomon’s Temple where God made His dwelling place. This is no ordinary cloud. This cloud signifies the presence of God.

And Christ was brought up into that cloud. He has gone to prepare a dwelling place for us; a very divine dwelling place. The tragedy of death has been turned into the triumph of life. For just as Jesus died and rose from the dead, we too will be raised on the Last Day. We are destined for eternal life.

The Ascension is a feast of hope for us; for where Christ has gone He has promised that we who live as He taught us will certainly follow Him. And He gives us the recipe; live with “humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another through love, striving to preserve the unity through the bond of peace” (Eph 4:2-3).

As we reflect upon today’s feast and its accompanying readings, it is incumbent for us to ask ourselves two questions: One; “Am I doing anything to further God’s Kingdom in the world; places like my home, workplace, school, parish, and the community at large”? Number two; “Do my actions support my hope to be raised up on the Last Day to dwell in the House of the Lord forever?

We pray that with God’s Grace we may “live in a manner worthy of the call we have received” (Eph 4:1). Then with exuberance, we can echo today’s psalmist and with shouts of joy and gladness be His witnesses to the ends of the earth.

Deacon Mark Izzo, Permanent Deacon, Our Lady of Mount Carmel Basilica – Saint Anthony Parish

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.”

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.

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.

It has long been a Catholic understanding that when circumstances prevent one from receiving Holy Communion, it is possible to make an Act of Spiritual Communion, which is a source of grace. Spiritual Communion is an ardent desire to receive Jesus in the Most Holy Sacrament and lovingly embrace him at a time or in circumstances when one cannot receive Him in sacramental Communion. The most common reason for making an Act of Spiritual Communion is when a person cannot attend Mass. Acts of Spiritual Communion increase our desire to receive sacramental Communion and help us avoid the sins that would make us unable to receive Holy Communion worthily.

Spiritual Communion Prayer

My Jesus, I believe that you are present in the Most Holy Sacrament.

I love you above all things and I desire to receive you in my soul.

Since I cannot at this moment receive you sacramentally,

Come at least spiritually into my heart.

I embrace you as if you were already there

And unite myself wholly to you.

Never permit me to be separated from you.

Amen.