Today's Gospel - May 20, 2011 Sunday with Reflection

1^ST READING - Acts 1:1-11

P S A L M  - Psalm 47:2-3, 6-7, 8-9

R: God mounts his throne to shouts of joy: a blare of trumpets for the Lord. 

1 [2] All you peoples, clap your hands, shout to God with cries of gladness, 2 [3] for the Lord, the Most High, the awesome, is the great king over all the earth. (R) 5 [6] God mounts his throne amid shouts of joy; the Lord, amid trumpet blasts. 6 [7] Sing praise to God, sing praise; sing praise to our king, sing praise. (R) 7 [8] For the king of all the earth is God; sing hymns of praise. 8 [9] God reigns over the nations, God sits upon his holy throne. (R)

2^ND READING - Ephesians 4:1-13 (or Ephesians 1:17-23)

GOSPEL ACCLAMATION

Go and teach all nations, says the Lord; I am with you always, until the end of the world.

Mark 16:15-20

15 Jesus said to his disciples: “Go into the whole world and proclaim the gospel to every creature. 16 Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved; whoever does not believe will be condemned. 17 These signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will drive out demons, they will speak new languages. 18 They will pick up serpents with their hands, and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not harm them. They will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.” 19 So then the Lord Jesus, after he spoke to them, was taken up into heaven and took his seat at the right hand of God. 20 But they went forth and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the word through accompanying signs.

SABBATH

CHRIST’S CONTINUING PRESENCE How ironic of Jesus to assure us of His continuing presence (“Know that I am with you always, until the end of the world!” – Matthew 28:20) right at the moment of His departure. But perhaps He is implying that His Ascension into heaven isn’t really a leave-taking in the first place. Rather, our Lord is now entering into a new dimension of presence. No longer physical, but nonetheless real and valid. In fact, now that we no longer have the literal, physical presence of Jesus with us, He is nevertheless present in us through various other ways: in our liturgical gatherings, in His Word, and in the Holy Eucharist. We can also say, to some extent, that He is present in the human person, in each and every one of us. And thank God, even in today’s world, we are not without shining exemplars of God’s loving presence in the saints. Through them (even if not necessarily the official, canonized ones), the light of Christ’s earthly life shines in our midst. Saints need not be exceptional, hard-to-find people in this world. They’re just actually there, going about their ordinary everyday affairs. They’re not bathed in celestial light or perfumed with sanctity. They have no visions and perform no miracles. They are men and women who simply love God and their neighbor, and they prove it in a thousand different ways in their work, in their prayer, and acts of self-sacrificing charity. And so, since Jesus is no longer physically present with us now, it’s up to the “plain saints” (including us hopefully) to continue His work here on earth. Not just to continue it, in fact, but even to “surpass” it (see John 14:12)! If Jesus were to remain here on earth still, He would be in a sense “limited” by the dimensions of time and space. We now can “exceed” Him in our own little way as we carry out the unfinished business He had begun. We are now the extensions of our Lord Jesus, His proxies, if you will.Fr. Martin Macasaet, SDB REFLECTION QUESTION: In what ways are you carrying out Jesus’ unfinished business? Lord Jesus, You have left us with the mission to fulfill Your plan for our lives. Help us to do them with zeal and with love. St. Bernardine of Siena, priest, pray for us. Do you want to receive this in your email?  To get Bo Sanchez to send it to you personally, log-on to http://kerygmafamily.com. Lots of surprises await.