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 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. Alleluia MT 28:19A, 20B 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. 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.
FAUSTI - The return of Jesus to the Father is the redemption of the cosmos, the return of everything to Him from Whom it has come out. It is the great Saturday, ending of God's work. He led them to Bethany, and raised His hands, blessed them: In the decisive moments of His Life, Jesus prays. In the final part, He Himself becomes prayer for us; His hands, always raised to the Father, are stretched out for ever over us; this is the last image of Himself that leaves to us, compendium of His past and a guarantee of our future; His full communion with the Father becomes a definitive blessing for us. He said: "It is good for you that I leave": His distance is not absence. It creates in us that emptiness and that desire that He will fill and fulfill with His Spirit. Man desires what of which he is lacking and becomes that which he desires. With Jesus we have learned to know God. His absence makes us desire Him. To the abyss of our desire for Him, He responds with the gift of His Spirit of Love. Mysteriously already now in His Flesh ascending to heaven, all humanity has returned to the source of life. Having rejoined the Heart of the Father, Jesus is near to each brother, so that he may make His own way. That is why the disciples are filled with joy! The Lord, ascending upwards, has accomplished the greatest wonders in our favor. He has destroyed the slavery that separates us from the homeland of desire, overcoming our death and giving Himself as the meaning of our lives; He has distributed all His gifts, offering us His Spirit and the possibility of living His Life. Children in the Son, finally made adults and responsible, we can witness and proclaim to our brothers and sisters the Love of the Father, continuing to do and teach to the extreme ends of the earth what He began to do and teach from Galilee to Jerusalem. At the end of the Gospel Jesus gives us His blessing. He blesses us twice: continuously and forever. When He was with us, He "passed by doing well". Now, glorified, it remains " well-saying " His saying is the creative power of the Word. It is, in fact, the Son, the perfect Word of the Father, whom we worship like Him in holiness and mercy. In Him we can finally praise God. "Blessed be God, Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in heaven, in Christ" (Eph 1:3). We reach the purpose for which we were created: We rejoice in the same joy of God, of God Himself, Who is joy. This joy, which at Pentecost will explode outward over the whole earth, is the beginning of the Church, what moves Her along the way. We rejoice in Him as He rejoices of us. The disciples bless the One who blessed them by filling them with all good. To say well is to praise. And the praise is the strength of creation. His Glory fills the earth. The Temple, God's dwelling place, is now man's stable dwelling place. Both live together. Indeed, God makes Himself man's dwelling place and man makes himself God's dwelling place. This is the full blessing. God wished to place in man a desire: to desire Him as He Himself wished it. Now it is fulfilled. "I have asked the Lord, for one thing, this is the only thing I am looking for. To dwell in the house of the Lord every day of my life, to taste the sweetness of the Lord" (Ps 27:4). And the Lord says : Amen, this is it, this is it!
Reading 1 ACTS 1:1-11
RispondiEliminaIn 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
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.
Alleluia MT 28:19A, 20B
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.
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.
FAUSTI - The return of Jesus to the Father is the redemption of the cosmos, the return of everything to Him from Whom it has come out.
RispondiEliminaIt is the great Saturday, ending of God's work.
He led them to Bethany, and raised His hands, blessed them: In the decisive moments of His Life, Jesus prays. In the final part, He Himself becomes prayer for us; His hands, always raised to the Father, are stretched out for ever over us; this is the last image of Himself that leaves to us, compendium of His past and a guarantee of our future; His full communion with the Father becomes a definitive blessing for us.
He said: "It is good for you that I leave": His distance is not absence. It creates in us that emptiness and that desire that He will fill and fulfill with His Spirit.
Man desires what of which he is lacking and becomes that which he desires.
With Jesus we have learned to know God. His absence makes us desire Him.
To the abyss of our desire for Him, He responds with the gift of His Spirit of Love.
Mysteriously already now in His Flesh ascending to heaven, all humanity has returned to the source of life.
Having rejoined the Heart of the Father, Jesus is near to each brother, so that he may make His own way.
That is why the disciples are filled with joy! The Lord, ascending upwards, has accomplished the greatest wonders in our favor. He has destroyed the slavery that separates us from the homeland of desire, overcoming our death and giving Himself as the meaning of our lives; He has distributed all His gifts, offering us His Spirit and the possibility of living His Life.
Children in the Son, finally made adults and responsible, we can witness and proclaim to our brothers and sisters the Love of the Father, continuing to do and teach to the extreme ends of the earth what He began to do and teach from Galilee to Jerusalem.
At the end of the Gospel Jesus gives us His blessing.
He blesses us twice: continuously and forever. When He was with us, He "passed by doing well". Now, glorified, it remains " well-saying " His saying is the creative power of the Word.
It is, in fact, the Son, the perfect Word of the Father, whom we worship like Him in holiness and mercy.
In Him we can finally praise God.
"Blessed be God, Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in heaven, in Christ" (Eph 1:3).
We reach the purpose for which we were created:
We rejoice in the same joy of God, of God Himself, Who is joy.
This joy, which at Pentecost will explode outward over the whole earth, is the beginning of the Church, what moves Her along the way.
We rejoice in Him as He rejoices of us. The disciples bless the One who blessed them by filling them with all good. To say well is to praise. And the praise is the strength of creation.
His Glory fills the earth. The Temple, God's dwelling place, is now man's stable dwelling place.
Both live together. Indeed, God makes Himself man's dwelling place and man makes himself God's dwelling place.
This is the full blessing. God wished to place in man a desire: to desire Him as He Himself wished it. Now it is fulfilled. "I have asked the Lord, for one thing, this is the only thing I am looking for. To dwell in the house of the Lord every day of my life, to taste the sweetness of the Lord" (Ps 27:4).
And the Lord says : Amen, this is it, this is it!