he Ascension of the Lord
Reading
The Acts of the Apostles 1: 1-11
1:1 Certainly, O Theophilus, I composed the first discourse about everything that Jesus began to do and to teach,
1:2 instructing the Apostles, whom he had chosen through the Holy Spirit, even until the day on which he was taken up.
1:3 He also presented himself alive to them, after his Passion, appearing to them throughout forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God with many elucidations.
1:4 And dining with them, he instructed them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but that they should wait for the Promise of the Father, “about which you have heard,” he said, “from my own mouth.
1:5 For John, indeed, baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit, not many days from now.”
1:6 Therefore, those who had assembled together questioned him, saying, “Lord, is this the time when you will restore the kingdom of Israel?”
1:7 But he said to them: “It is not yours to know the times or the moments, which the Father has set by his own authority.
1:8 But you shall receive the power of the Holy Spirit, passing over you, and you shall be witnesses for me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the ends of the earth.”
1:9 And when he had said these things, while they were watching, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him from their sight.
1:10 And while they were watching him going up to heaven, behold, two men stood near them in white vestments.
1:11 And they said: “Men of Galilee, why do you stand here looking up toward heaven? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, shall return in just the same way that you have seen him going up to heaven.”
Second Reading
The Letter of Saint Paul to the Ephesians 1: 17-23
1:17 so that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give a spirit of wisdom and of revelation to you, in knowledge of him.
1:18 May the eyes of your heart be illuminated, so that you may know what is the hope of his calling, and the wealth of the glory of his inheritance with the saints,
1:19 and the preeminent magnitude of his virtue toward us, toward we who believe in accord with the work of his powerful virtue,
1:20 which he wrought in Christ, raising him from the dead and establishing him at his right hand in the heavens,
1:21 above every principality and power and virtue and dominion, and above every name that is given, not only in this age, but even in the future age.
1:22 And he has subjected all things under his feet, and he has made him the head over the entire Church,
1:23 which is his body and which is the fullness of him who accomplishes everything in everyone.
or, Ephesians 4: 1-13
| 4:1 | And so, as a prisoner in the Lord, I beg you to walk in a manner worthy of the vocation to which you have been called: |
| 4:2 | with all humility and meekness, with patience, supporting one another in charity. |
| 4:3 | Be anxious to preserve the unity of the Spirit within the bonds of peace. |
| 4:4 | One body and one Spirit: to this you have been called by the one hope of your calling: |
| 4:5 | one Lord, one faith, one baptism, |
| 4:6 | one God and Father of all, who is over all, and through all, and in us all. |
| 4:7 | Yet to each one of us there has been given grace according to the measure allotted by Christ. |
| 4:8 | Because of this, he says: “Ascending on high, he took captivity itself captive; he gave gifts to men.” |
| 4:9 | Now that he has ascended, what is left except for him also to descended, first to the lower parts of the earth? |
| 4:10 | He who descended is the same one who also ascended above all the heavens, so that he might fulfill everything. |
| 4:11 | And the same one granted that some would be Apostles, and some Prophets, yet truly others evangelists, and others pastors and teachers, |
| 4:12 | for the sake of the perfection of the saints, by the work of the ministry, in the edification of the body of Christ, |
| 4:13 | until we all meet in the unity of faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God, as a perfect man, in the measure of the age of the fullness of Christ. |
Mark 16: 15-20
| 16:15 | And he said to them: “Go forth to the whole world and preach the Gospel to every creature. |
| 16:16 | Whoever will have believed and been baptized will be saved. Yet truly, whoever will not have believed will be condemned. |
| 16:17 | Now these signs will accompany those who believe. In my name, they shall cast out demons. They will speak in new languages. |
| 16:18 | They will take up serpents, and, if they drink anything deadly, it will not harm them. They shall lay their hands upon the sick, and they will be well.” |
| 16:19 | And indeed, the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven, and he sits at the right hand of God. |
| 16:20 | Then they, setting out, preached everywhere, with the Lord cooperating and confirming the word by the accompanying signs. |