Happy Feast of the Ascension of the Lord! Happy Mother's Day!
Happy Feast of the Ascension of the Lord! Happy Mother's Day!
Happy Mother’s Day! There is a beautiful Spanish proverb: "An ounce of mother is better than a pound of clergy." The word “mom” is synonymous with sacrificial love in its purest form as given by Jesus in his farewell speech: "love one another as I have loved you.” Mothers leave the legacy with us. They live in and through us. The month of May is traditionally the month of Mary. Through Mary, the work of Motherhood is glorified and sanctified. On this Mother’s Day, presenting all mothers on the altar, let us sing the beautiful song we sing on the Feast of the Presentation, “Gentle woman, peaceful dove, teach us wisdom, teach us love.”
Happy Feast of the Ascension of the Lord! On the 7th Sunday of Easter, we celebrate the Ascension of the Lord. God the Father sent his only begotten Son to reveal the Father’s love and mercy for humanity. He was born in Bethlehem, house of bread, and was laid in a manger where animals were fed, lived in Egypt as a refugee, and came to Nazareth and led a silent life for thirty years, and the final three years of public ministry came to culmination of his suffering, crucifixion, death, and resurrection. After 40 days Jesus ascended into heaven.
During the forty days of Easter, Jesus walked with his disciples and prepared them for Pentecost and future mission. The first reading (Acts 1:1-11) and Gospel (Mark 16:15-20) gives the account of Ascension. Acts 1:9 and Mark 16:19 says, the Ascension of the Lord culminates with his heavenly enthronement at the right hand of the Father. The Ascension took place on Mount Olives. In the first reading we read, “A cloud took him from their sight.” In the Bible the cloud represents the divine presence. We can see references in the Book of Exodus 13:21, during the night the Lord preceded Israelites by means of columns of clouds and in night columns of fire; Isaiah 63:11, they recalled how the Lord led them in the desert. Acts 7:56 Stephan said, “Behold, I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.”
Jesus departed from them, but at the same time he promised to always be with them and he pledged his future return. The same cloud that took him away will bring him back to retrieve the saints destined for glory (1Thessalonians 4:14-17). Daniel talks about his vision, “I saw coming with the clouds of heaven. One like a son of man” (7:13). In the Gospel of Matthew 26:64, Jesus had told the high priest, “From now on you will see ‘the Son of Man seated at the right hand of the Power’ and ‘coming on the clouds of heaven.’” Christ’s kingdom began with his coming, is now present in the Church, and will reach in fulfillment when he returns in glory. Jesus entrusted the Church to the Apostles and asked them to continue the mission with the guidance of the Holy Spirit. We heard in the Gospel (Mark 16:15) before the Ascension Jesus commanded his disciples: “Go into the whole world and proclaim the gospel to every creature.” We all received this command through our baptism.
We are in the years of Eucharistic Revival and Maintenance to Mission. At the Easter celebration we renewed our baptismal promises and pledged to live the baptismal call. We gather to celebrate Mass and at the end of every Mass we are sent out to live the gift we received. Our Evangelization Team is praying for our cluster and inviting you to come and join different endeavors. Also encourage you to invite someone, those who do not regularly participate in our cluster parishes.
On this Ascension let join in praying the Novena to the Holy Spirit from May 11 – 19, in preparation to celebrate the Pentecost. If you missed Saturday, you can make up and join us. Let us pray for one another especially those families whom we would like to see active in our cluster parishes. We will be praying every day during the Mass. If you may not be able to join Mass every day, please take two minutes to pray this prayer as a family at home. Booklets are available at the entrance, and also it will be posted on Facebook pages every day.