Ascension Sunday (C)

(Edited) Sunday Reflections (from) Liturgical Years 2011 (A), 2012 (B), and 2013 (C)

Ascension Sunday (C), May 12, 2013

Liturgical readings
Acts 1:1-11
Psalm 47
Ephesians 1:17-23
Luke 24:46-53

"As Jesus blessed, he left the Eleven, and was taken up to heaven."

Unlike in other countries, where the Solemnity of the Lord's Ascension is celebrated on a Thursday (following the 40 days tradition), in the Philippines, the feast of the Ascension is celebrated every 7th Sunday after Easter. The reason is pastoral and allowed by the Vatican through the local episcopal conference. This allows more Filipinos to celebrate an important feast of the Lord on a Sunday.

Let us examine now parallel readings for this feast of the Ascension. The readings in Luke 24:46-53, which is proclaimed in the Eucharist, have parallel passages also describing the Ascension event. Parallel descriptions of the event is found in the gospel of Mark and in the Acts of the Apostles:

• Mark 16:19-20
• and Acts 1:9-11.

Reading these three scripture passages will provide more descriptive details of the event and mystery. And one can have a more integrated perception of what happened during the event of the Lord's Ascension from three perspectives.

• In Luke's version, Jesus gives a blessing before he is taken up to heaven.
• In Mark's version, Jesus is described as sitting at the right hand of God.
• And in the book of the Acts of the Apostles, he ascended to heaven until a cloud hid him from the sight of his followers. Then, there is also mention of two men dressed in white who said: "This Jesus, who was taken from you into heaven, will return in the same way you saw him go to heaven."

The Scriptures are the primary source of our canonical understanding of who Jesus is and the mystery of His person and mission. But our Catholic tradition along the continuum of Christian history has also a lot to say about the mystery of the Lord's Ascension. One strong voice in our timeline as a Catholic Church is found in St. Leo the Great, one of the doctors of the Church in the 1st millenium. St. Leo the Great has left a sermon reflecting on the feast of the Lord's Ascension. Below is an excerpt of his message:

"...in spite of being taken from men's sight of everything that is rightly felt to command their reverence, faith does not fail, hope is not shaken, charity does not grow cold...the light of truly believing souls is their unhesitating faith in what is not seen with the bodily eye but fix their desires on what is beyond sight...our Redeemer's visible presence has passed into the sacraments. Our faith is nobler and stronger because sight has been replaced by a doctrine whose authority is accepted by believing hearts, enlightened from on high."

The three readings on the mystery of the Ascension cited above and the quoted sermon of St. Leo the Great, all lead the Catholic faithful to see Jesus' presence among us after His Ascension through His Spirit in the Church. He is present among His ordained ministers, in the congregation gathered for prayer and the Sacraments, and in the Word proclaimed and lived nobly in the heart of family and work environments. It is by the virtues of faith, hope, and charity that we see the light of Christ in each other. It is by faith that we know Jesus as the Son who sacrificed his life for our sins in order to shepherd our souls back to the Church and the Father. As Christ fulfilled his mission and returned to the Father, by our baptismal consecration, we are called to continue His mission in prayer and in the respective areas of work. We too are entasked every day, each according to the ability or talents given by God, to sanctify all the realities we are immersed in - big or small.

Scripture quotes:

• "No sooner had he said this than he was lifted up before their eyes in a cloud which took him from their sight." (Acts 1)
• "He has put all things under Christ's feet and has made him thus exalted, head of the church." (Ephesians)

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6th Sunday of Easter (C)

(Edited) Sunday Reflections (from) Liturgical Years 2011 (A), 2012 (B), and 2013 (C)

6th Sunday of Easter (C), May 5, 2013

Liturgical readings
Acts 15:1-2, 22-29
Psalm 67
Revelation 21:10-14, 22-23
John 14:23-29

"We will make our dwelling place with him always."

The Holy Bible Confraternity Edition, (a special edition promoted by Pope Paul VI in the 1960s), presents this Sunday's gospel passage between two paragraphs with the following title headings:

• "His love for His disciples" (14:18-24)
• and "The Holy Spirit will teach all things" (14:25-31).

The theme of love was presented in the gospel of last Sunday's Eucharist. This theme of love is continued in this Sunday's gospel - linking its meaning to the Father, to the Holy Spirit, to the Lord's word, and to His peace.

What does the tradition of the Church say about God's love in the gospel of John? The mystery of God and His love presented in this Sunday's gospel is also taken up by St. Cyril of Alexandria (ca. 376-444 A.D.), one of the doctors of the Church in the 1st millenium, in one of his sermons for the Easter Season. The following quote from St. Cyril's sermon, which is a commnentary on the gospel of John, is found in the non-biblical readings of the breviary:

"...Christ sends the Spirit, who is both the Father's Spirit and his own, to dwell in each of us. Yet that Spirit, being one and indivisible, gathers together those who are distinct from each other as individuals, and causes them all to be seen as a unity in himself. Just as Christ's sacred flesh has power to make those in whom it is present into one body, so the one, indivisible Spirit of God, dwelling in all, causes all to become one in spirit."

Back to the text of the gospel, Jesus reminds all His followers not to be disturbed and fearful (John 14:27), for He will send the Holy Spirit to them. He repeats this same message of assurance and the promise of His indwelling love to all of us faithful in this Sunday's Mass and in the commentary of St. Cyril of Alexandria. So, whenever the events around us or in the news online cause much distress and fear, we only need to be reminded of the assuring message of Jesus, and remember what He promises. His Spirit will gift us with the prayer and faith to "bear with one another charitably, and to spare no effort in securing, by the bonds of peace, the unity that comes from the Spirit (Ephesians 4:2-3)."

Scripture quotes

• "We are sending you Judas and Silas, who will convey this message by word of mouth." (Acts 15)
• "May God have pity on us and bless us; may He let His face shine upon us." (Psalm 67)
• "The holy city had no need of sun or moon, for the glory of God gave it light, and its lamp was the Lamb." (Revelation 21)

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Commemoration of Saints (May 23)

Solemnities, Feasts, Obligatory and Optional Memorials, and Traditional Dates of Commemoration

• Desiderius, bishop and martyr
• Guibert
• Leonitus of Rostov, bishop and martyr
• Ivo of Chartres, bishop
• Euphrosyn of Polotsk, virgin
• William of Rochester, martyr
• John Baptist Rossi [1]

May 23. The Catholic Church commemorates today 2 bishops and martyrs, 1 bishop, 1 martyr, 1 virgin, 1 Benedictine monk, and 1 priest [2].

Saints in the Byzantine Calendar [May 23]

• Michael, Bishop of Synnada at Phrygia [3]

The canonization process

Saints, as we know them today, are raised to the altar of the Vatican through a process called canonization. The canonization process as we know it today — centralized, investigative, and papally controlled — was not born overnight but gradually developed over centuries. In the early centuries, especially before 993 A.D., the Pope was not involved in the process, except to approve the cult of Saints in Rome under his jurisdiction as Bishop of Rome. As to the other countries and regions outside of Rome, the Saints were proclaimed by the local communities among whom they had lived and died. And the local bishop of those communities approved of their sainthood [4].

It was during the time of the Catholic Reformation, particularly in the wake of the Council of Trent (1545–1563 A.D.), that the process became significantly more formalized. In response to Protestant critiques of saint veneration and accusations of superstition, the Catholic Church doubled down on discipline, doctrinal clarity, and institutional reform. The Council reaffirmed the legitimacy of honoring saints while calling for greater oversight in religious practices. This led to stricter procedures in canonizations, culminating in the establishment of the Congregation of Rites in 1588 A.D. by Pope Sixtus V. Saints like Ignatius of Loyola, Teresa of Ávila, and Isidore the Farmer were canonized under this new, more rigorous system — serving as models of reform - era holiness and orthodoxy [5].

This article was written with the assistance of AI (ChatGPT by OpenAI), May 20, 2025.

References: Books, Websites, Search results & AI Overviews

• [1] Pocket Catholic Dictionary, John A. Hardon
• [2] search results from Google and Google Gemini, May 23, 2025
• [3] Dictionary of Saints, John J. Delaney
• [4] Lives of the Saints, Richard P. McBrien
• [5] chapgpt by openai, May 20, 2025

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