Dear Friends:
Today we celebrate the feast of the Ascension. This feast used to be celebrated on the Thursday after the 6th Sunday of Easter. It was decided to move it “So that it may be celebrated on Sunday, ‘the foremost holy day of obligation in the universal Church’ [Canon 1246], the Holy See has allowed the feast to be moved to the following Sunday. In the United States, approval to transfer the feast was obtained in 1999.” This is a wonderful gift from the Holy See that will allow many more people to celebrate and enjoy this feast.
The Gospel today is from Matthew 28:16-20. It’s a short Gospel but really has a tremendous message. The disciples go to Galilee where Jesus had ordered them. When they saw him they worshiped but doubted. Jesus approached and said to them, “All power in heaven and 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.”
The message of Jesus today is quite clear. He has all the power of the Father. Then he commissions the disciples and us to make disciples of all nations and teach people to observe all he has commanded. Jesus is telling us in this short reading that he will never leave us even to the end of the world. But he asks us to do something while we are here, to make disciples of other people and to share the good news he gave us.
Do not be afraid to make disciples of other people. Share with others what you know about Jesus and what he did while he was here. Then we too will have fulfilled what he’s asked the disciples and us to do.
Well we are finally coming to the end of the Corona Virus. Please be especially careful as sometimes we tend to rush into things that are not ready to be or should be rushed into. Continue to pray daily that the Lord will guide us along our way to full healing.
Peace and All Good!
Deacon Jim
Comments are closed