The Ascension Continues!!!

We have now begun the week between the Ascension and Pentecost Sunday, after celebrating the Feast of the Ascension on May 20th. These feasts may be one day but what we gain from them is eternal. Jesus instructed his disciples to go out into the whole world and proclaim the Good News. In the scriptures for the Ascension, there were two different scenarios. The first reading, Acts 1:1-10, after Jesus ascended, the disciples stood there looking up into the sky and it was two angels that told them they needed to get to work. While in the gospel, Mark 16:15-20, we are told that after the Ascension the disciples went immediately to proclaim the Good News around the world. Whatever the scenario may be, our call is very clear as disciples' of Jesus, we have been entrusted with a great mission and we need to stick to it. Just as this commentator writes, "So, what do we walk away with today? We learn that the Church, the community of faith, has a mandate from Christ himself to preach the Gospel. This is the responsibility of the whole Church, including each of us as individuals. The reason we preach the Gospel is to share the good news that we will follow Christ and share in His glory. This is a message of hope and a promise that all of our spiritual work will be worth it. We cannot just stand around. Let's get busy. We have a message to announce" (The Priest, April 2012). That quote truly says it all. Each one of us is called to proclaim the Good News and we do so not just with words but by our very example in how we live our lives and our faith. The Dismissal at Mass calls us to continue the mission when we leave church. The dismissal that is appropriate for Mass on the Ascension and each day is, "Go and announce the Gospel of the Lord." We have been renewed by God's Word and nourished by the Body and Blood of Christ, now we need to put what we have received into practice. Let us pray that we may follow the mandate of the Lord to proclaim the Good News and live with the promise that our Lord is with us until the end of the age. God Bless You and Your Journey!!! On a Personal Note: I have reached the time for vacation. I will be away from some days of rest and relaxation and will try and get a blog written during that time. Please keep me and Fr. Tom (the priest I vacation with) in your prayers!