From Psalm 118
O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
His steadfast love endures forever.
Out of my distress I called on the Lord;
The Lord answered me and set me in a broad place.
With the Lord on my side I do not fear.
What can mortals do to me?
It is better to take refuge in the Lord
Than to put confidence in mortals.
The Lord is my strength and my might;
He has become my salvation.
I shall not die, but I shall live,
And recount the deeds of the Lord.
The Lord has punished me severely,
But he has not given me over to death.
Open to me the gates of righteousness,
That I may enter through and give thanks to the Lord.
I thank you that you have answered me
And have become my salvation.
The stone that the builders rejected
Has become the chief cornerstone.
This is the Lord’s doing;
It is marvelous in our eyes.
This is the day that the Lord has made;
Let us rejoice and be glad in it.
Save us, we beseech you, O Lord!
O Lord, we beseech you, give us success!
You are my God, and I will give thanks to you.
You are my God, I will extol you.
O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,
For his steadfast love endures forever.
His steadfast love endures forever.
Out of my distress I called on the Lord;
The Lord answered me and set me in a broad place.
With the Lord on my side I do not fear.
What can mortals do to me?
It is better to take refuge in the Lord
Than to put confidence in mortals.
The Lord is my strength and my might;
He has become my salvation.
I shall not die, but I shall live,
And recount the deeds of the Lord.
The Lord has punished me severely,
But he has not given me over to death.
Open to me the gates of righteousness,
That I may enter through and give thanks to the Lord.
I thank you that you have answered me
And have become my salvation.
The stone that the builders rejected
Has become the chief cornerstone.
This is the Lord’s doing;
It is marvelous in our eyes.
This is the day that the Lord has made;
Let us rejoice and be glad in it.
Save us, we beseech you, O Lord!
O Lord, we beseech you, give us success!
You are my God, and I will give thanks to you.
You are my God, I will extol you.
O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,
For his steadfast love endures forever.
Meditation: Adapted from “A Reflection on the Solemnity of the Ascencion” by Thomas Rosica, CSB
On the day of the Ascension, Jesus was lifted up into the heavens before his friends. Just imagine the awesomeness of this scene! But also, imagine how it must have felt for the Apostles to watch their Lord and Master leave them once again. Jesus has now disappeared from bodily view. But for us, that means that he has left us here as orphans!
Or has he? On the day of his Ascension, one might conclude that Jesus removed himself into a new form of divine exclusion, abandoning us to our earthly loneliness while assuming his glorious throne. But the case is exactly the opposite. Rather, his disappearance is but a preparation for him to come to us again in a new, even more intimate way – in the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. And it is only through his physical separation from us that his spiritual union with us and with all the world can be completed and fulfilled.
The mysterious feast of the Ascension reminds us that those moments when Christ feels far from us may, in fact, be his way of preparing us for his coming to us in a deeper, fuller way. The Ascension reminds us that Christ accepts our lack of self-confidence. Through his Ascension Christ teaches us how to love and let go. He loved his Apostles, but he knew that if he stayed with them on earth they would cling too tightly to him and fail to reach out to those around him. In a similar way, our moments of feeling lost and abandoned can open us to compassion, to see and respond to the suffering of those around us. In those moments, we can learn the grace of surrender.
On this feast, let us learn to revere all that we have with deep gratitude, and to hold everything in open hands.
Song: “I Know that My Redeemer Lives,” performed by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir
I know that Redeemer lives.
What comfort this sweet sentence gives!
He lives, he lives, who once was dead.
He lives, my ever-living Head.
He lives to bless me with his love.
He lives to plead for me above.
He lives my hungry soul to feed.
He lives to bless in time of need.
He lives to grant me rich supply.
He lives to guide me with his eye.
He lives to comfort me when faint.
He lives to hear my soul’s complaint.
He lives to silence all my fears.
He lives to wipe away my tears.
He lives to calm my troubled heart.
He lives all blessings to impart.
What comfort this sweet sentence gives!
He lives, he lives, who once was dead.
He lives, my ever-living Head.
He lives to bless me with his love.
He lives to plead for me above.
He lives my hungry soul to feed.
He lives to bless in time of need.
He lives to grant me rich supply.
He lives to guide me with his eye.
He lives to comfort me when faint.
He lives to hear my soul’s complaint.
He lives to silence all my fears.
He lives to wipe away my tears.
He lives to calm my troubled heart.
He lives all blessings to impart.
Sacred Silence
Scripture (Acts 1: 6-11)
So when they had come together, they asked him, ‘Lord, is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel?’ He replied, ‘It is not for you to know the times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority.But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.’ When he had said this, as they were watching, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. While he was going and they were gazing up towards heaven, suddenly two men in white robes stood by them. They said, ‘Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up towards heaven? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.’
