At
the Introit the Church sings the words which were spoken by the
angels to the apostles and disciples, after the Ascension of our
Lord:
INTROIT
Ye men of Galilee, why wonder you, looking up to heaven? allel.: He
shall so come as you have seen him going up into heaven. Allel.,
allel., allel. (Acts I. 11.), Oh, clap your hands, all ye nations;
shout unto God with the voice of joy. (Ps. XLVI. 2.) Glory be to the
Father, etc.
COLLECT
Grant, we beseech Thee, O Almighty God, that we who believe Thy
only-begotten Son, our Redeemer, to have this day ascended into the
heavens, may ourselves also in, mind dwell amid heavenly things.
Through the same etc.
LESSON
(Acts 1:1-11) The former treatise I made, O Theophilus, of all things
which Jesus began to do and to teach , until the day on which, giving
commandments by the Holy Ghost to the apostles ,whom he had chosen,
he was taken up: to whom also he showed himself alive after his
passion, by many proofs, for forty days appearing to them, and
speaking of the kingdom of God. And eating together with them, he
commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but should
wait for the promise of the Father, which you have heard (saith he)
by my mouth: for John indeed baptized with water, but you shall be
baptized with the Holy Ghost, not many days hence. They, therefore,
who were come together, asked him, saying: Lord, wilt thou at this
time restore the kingdom to Israel? But he said to diem: It is not
for you to know the times or moments which the Father hath put in his
own power; but you shall receive the power of the Holy Ghost coming
upon you, and you shall be witnesses to me in Jerusalem and in all
Judea, and Samaria, and even to the uttermost part of the earth. And
when he had said these things, while they looked on, he was raised
up; and a cloud received him out of their sight. And while they were
beholding him going up to heaven, behold, two men stood by them in
white garments, who also said: Ye men of Galilee, why stand yon
looking up to heaven? This Jesus who is taken up from you into
heaven, shall so come, as you have seen him going into heaven.
EXPLANATION
This gospel of St. Luke addressed to Theophilus, a Christian
of note in Antioch, contains an account of the life, sufferings, and
death of Jesus up to the time of His ascension into heaven. The
Evangelist continues his account in the Acts of the apostles, in
which he describes in simple words that which Jesus did during the
forty days following His Resurrection, and the manner in which He
ascended into heaven in the presence of His apostles. Rejoice that
Christ today has entered into the glory gained by His sufferings and
death, and pray: I rejoice, O King of heaven and earth, in the glory
Thou bast this day attained in heaven. Sing to God, ye kingdoms of
the earth: sing ye to the Lord: sing ye to God, who mounteth above
the heaven of heavens to the east. Give ye glory to God for Israel,
his magnificence and his power is in the clouds. God is wonderful in
his saints, the God of Israel is he who will give power and strength
to his people, blessed be God. (Psalms 6:33-36)
GOSPEL
(Mark 16:14-20) At that time, Jesus appeared to the eleven as they
were at table: and he upbraided them with their incredulity and
hardness of heart, because they did not believe them who had seen him
after he was risen again. (And he said to them: Go ye into the whole
world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and
is baptized shall be saved: but he that believeth not shall be
condemned: And these signs shall follow them that believe. In my name
they shall cast out devils: they shall speak with new tongues; they
shall take up serpents: and if they shall drink any deadly thing, it
shall not hurt them: they shall lay their hands upon the sick; and
they shall recover.) And the Lord Jesus after he had spoken to them,
was taken up into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of God. But
they going forth preached everywhere, the Lord working withal,
and confirming the word with signs that followed.
Why
did Christ say to His apostles: Go ye into the whale world and preach
the gospel to all creatures?
To
show that no one is to assume the office of preaching, but must look
for his mission from the lawful pastors of the Church. And when
Christ sends His apostles into the whole worlds to all nations
without exception, He shows His willingness to save all men. If the
designs of God are not fulfilled, the blame is not to be attributed
to God, but to man, who either does not accept the doctrine of the
gospel, or accepting, does not live in accordance with it, or else
renders himself by his obduracy in vice, unworthy of the gospel.
Is
faith without good works sufficient for salvation?
No,
faith that is not active in love, not fruitful in good works, and
therefore not meritorious, (Galatians 5:6.) is not sufficient for
salvation. "Such faith," says St. Anselm, "is not the
faith of a Christian, but the faith of the devil." Only he who
truly believes in Christ and His doctrine, and lives in accordance
with it, will be saved.
Is
ours then the true faith since all the faithful do not work miracles;
as Christ has predicted?
St.
Gregory very beautifully replies to this question: "Because the
Redeemer said that true faith would be accompanied by miracles, you
must not think that you have not the faith, because these signs do
not follow; these miracles had to be wrought in the beginning of the
Church, because faith in her had to be increased by these visible
signs of divine power." And even now when such signs are
necessary for the propagation of the faith, and victory over
unbelief, God gives His faithful power to work them.
Are
miracles wrought now in the Catholic Church?
Yes,
for there have been at all times saints in the Church, who, as seen
from their lives, have wrought miracles, on account of their faith,
which even the heretics cannot deny; for instance St. Francis Xavier,
who in the sight of the heathens, raised several dead persons to
life. In a spiritual manner all pious Catholics still work such
miracles; for, as St. Chrysostom says, "they expel devils when
they banish sin, which is worse than the devil; they speak new
tongues when they converse no longer on vain and sinful things, but
on those which are spiritual and heavenly." "They take up
serpents," says St. Gregory, "when by zealous exhortations
they lift others from the shame of vice, without being themselves
poisoned; they drink deadly things without being hurt by them, when
they hear improper conversation without being corrupted or led to
evil; they lay their hands upon the sick and heal them, when they
teach the ignorant, strengthen by their good example those who are
wavering in virtue, keep the sinner from evil, and similar things."
Strive to do this upon all occasions, O Christian, for God willingly
gives you His grace and you will thus be of more use to yourself and
others, and honor God more than by working the greatest miracles.
Where
and how did Christ ascend into heaven?
From
Mount Olivet where His sufferings began, by which we learn, that
where our crosses and afflictions begin which we endure with patience
and resignation, there begins our reward. Christ ascended into heaven
by His own power, because He is God, and now in His glorified
humanity He sits at the right hand of His Father, as our continual
Mediator.
In
whose presence did Christ ascend into heaven?
In
the presence of His apostles, and many of His disciples, whom He
had previously blessed, (Luke 24:51) and who, as St. Leo says,
derived consoling joy from His ascension. Rejoice, also, O Christian
foul, for Christ has today opened heaven for you, and you may enter
it, if you believe in Christ, and live in accordance with that faith.
St. Augustine says: "Let us ascend in spirit with Christ, that
when His day comes, we may follow with our body.
Yet
you must know, beloved brethren, that not pride, nor avarice, nor
impurity, nor any other vice ascends with Christ; for with the
teacher of humility pride ascends not, nor with the author of
goodness, malice, nor with the Son of the Virgin, impurity. Let us
then ascend with Him by trampling upon our vices and evil
inclinations, thus building a ladder by which we can ascend; for
we make a ladder of our sins to heaven when we tread them down in
combating them:"
ASPIRATION
O King of glory! O powerful Lord! who hast this day ascended
victoriously, above all heaven, leave us not as poor orphans; but
send us, from the Father, the Spirit of truth whom Thou hast
promised. Alleluia.
Why
is the paschal candle extinguished after the gospel on this day?
To
signify that Christ, of whom the candle is a figure, has gone from
His disciples.
Goffine's
Devout Instructions
