The Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord.

The Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord. 

"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." 

(Matthew 28: 11 - 20 20).

Sunday 21st May 2023 in the 7th Week of Easter is the Solemnity of the Ascension. 

 The Feast of the Ascension is celebrated on the Thursday of the 6th Week of Easter or on the 7th Sunday of Easter depending on the Diocese.

Jesus is taken up into heaven in full view of His disciples. 

During the forty days after His Resurrection, Jesus continued teaching, encouraging and comforting His disciples. 

Now the time of Departure has come. He instructed them to wait in Jerusalem for the promised Gift of the Father. He then turned the work of building the Kingdom of God on earth to them with the Great Commission:

"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." 

Every epoch and people respond to the Great Commission with the peculiar gifts and infrastructure provided by God. But the universal and perennial Gift of God is the Holy Spirit. Without the power and gifts of the Holy Spirit we cannot evangelize. Nobody can undertake the onerous missionary work of evangelization without the Holy Spirit.

Two powerful and different examples of evangelization are:

#1. St Therese of the Chlld Jesus (1873 - 1897). She became the Patroness of Missionaries without stepping out of her Carmelite Convent. She offered her prayers and sufferings to support the missionary endeavors of the Church. She gave the world a spirituality of "little ways."  One can be very effective in the spiritual life by doing "little things." She is a Doctor of the Church.

#2. St Francis Xavier of the Society of Jesus (1506 - 1552). Priest and Missionary. Spanish.

Every saint in the Church, that includes you and me are missionaries. Our Baptism gives us the mandate of Mission and Witness.

Do what you are inspired to do. The Holy Spirit will do the rest.

For a Pentecost Novena, click the link below:

http://seekfirst.blogspot.com/2023/05/9-days-pentecost-novena.html?m=1

Daily Bible Verse @ SeekFirstcommunity.com