Solemnity
of the Ascension of the Lord
Solennita’ ta’ tlugh il-Mulej fis-sema
Messalin C 223
In the first book, Theophilus, I dealt with all that Jesus did and taught until
the day he was taken up, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to
the apostles whom he had chosen. He presented himself alive to them by many
proofs after he had suffered, appearing to them during forty days and speaking
about the kingdom
of God Jerusalem Israel Jerusalem , throughout Judea and Samaria
L-Ewwel Lezzjoni - Atti tal-Appostli 1, 11
Fl-ewwel rakkont tiegħi, Teofilu, tkellimt fuq dak kollu li Ġesu' kien għamel
u għallem minn mindu beda sal-jum li fih kien meħud fis-sema, wara li, permezz
tal-Ispirtu s-Santu, ta l-ordnijiet tiegħu lill-appostli li hu kien għażel. Wara
l-passjoni tiegħu dehrilhom u tahom ħafna provi li hu ħaj; f'erbgħin jum rawh kemm-il darba u kellimhom
fuq il-ħwejjeġ tas-Saltna ta' Alla.
Meta kien għadu magħhom, ordnalhom biex ma jitilqux minn Ġerusalemm, imma
joqogħdu jistennew sa ma sseħħ il-wegħda tal-Missier, "li fuqha – qalilhom
– smajtu x'kont għedtilkom: Ġwanni għammed bl-ilma, imma intom, fi ftit jiem oħra
titgħammdu bl-Ispirtu s-Santu. Kif kienu flimkien staqsewh: "Mulej, hu dan iż-żmien li fih int se
terġa twaqqaf is-Saltna ta' Iżrael?"
Hu weġibhom: "Mhijiex biċċa tagħkom li tkunu tafu l-waqt u ż-żmien
li l-Missier għażel bis-setgħa tiegħu.
Imma meta jiġi fuqkom l-Ispirtu s-Santu, intom tirċievu l-qawwa, u tkunu
xhieda tiegħi f'Ġerusalemm, fil-Lhudija kollha u s-Samarija u sa truf l-art."
Wara li qal dan huma u jħarsu lejħ, kien meħud 'il fuq, u sħaba ħaditulhom minn
quddiem għajnejhom. Waqt li kienu b'għajnejhom fis-sema jħarsu lejh sejjer, f'daqqa waħda
dehru ħdejhom żewġt irġiel libsin l-abjad, u qalulhom: "Irġiel tal-Galilija, x'intom tħarsu
lejn is-sema? Dan Ġesu' li kien meħud minn magħkom lejn is-sema, għad jerġa jiġi
kif rajtuh sejjer." Il-Kelma
tal-Mulej
R. (6) God
mounts his throne to shouts of joy: a blare of trumpets for the Lord.
or:R. Alleluia.
or:R. Alleluia.
All you peoples, clap your hands,
shout to God with cries of gladness,
For the LORD, the Most High, the awesome,
is the great king over all the earth. R/
God mounts his throne amid shouts of joy;
the LORD, amid trumpet blasts.
Sing praise to God, sing praise;
sing praise to our king, sing praise. R/
For king of all the earth is God;
sing hymns of praise.
God reigns over the nations,
God sits upon his holy throne. R/
Salm Responsorjali - Salm 46(47
R/ Tela' Alla b'għajat ta' ferħ. (jew) Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah.
Popli kollha, ċapċpu jdejkom,
għajtu b'leħen ta' ferħ lil Alla!
Għax il-Mulej, l-Għoli, hu tal-biża',
sultan kbir fuq
l-art kollha. R/
Tela' Alla b'għajjat ta' ferh
Il-Mulej bid-daqq tat-trombi.
Għannu lil Alla, għannu,
għannu lis-sultan tagħna, għannu. R/
Għax Alla
s-sultan tal-art kollha;
għannulu
bis-sengħa għanja sabiħa.
Isaltan Alla fuq il-ġnus kollha,
Joqgħod Alla fuq
it-tron imqaddes tiegħu. R/
Christ did not enter into a sanctuary made by hands, a copy of the true
one, but heaven itself, that he might now appear before God on our behalf. Not
that he might offer himself repeatedly, as the high priest enters each year into the sanctuary with blood that is not
his own; if that were so, he would have had to suffer repeatedly from the
foundation of the world. But now once for all he has appeared at the end of the
ages to take away sin by his sacrifice. Just as it is appointed that men and
women die once, and after this the judgment, so also Christ, offered once to
take away the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to take away sin but
to bring salvation to those who eagerly await him. Therefore, brothers and
sisters, since through the blood of Jesus we have confidence of entrance into the sanctuary by the new and living way he
opened for us through the veil, that is, his flesh, and since we have a great
priest over the house of God, “let us approach with a sincere heart and in absolute trust, with our hearts
sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed in pure water. Let
us hold unwaveringly to our confession that gives us hope, for he who made the
promise is trustworthy. This is the Word
of The Lord.
It-Tieni Qari - Ittra lill-Lhud 9,
24-28; 10, 19-23
Kristu ma daħalx
f'santwarju magħmul b'idejn il-bniedem li hu biss xbieha tas-santwarju veru,
imma daħal fis-sema stess, biex issa jidher għalina quddiem Alla. U daħal hemm mhux biex minn minn
kuxjenza ħażina u l-ġisem tagħna maħsu
b'ilma safi
Jesus said to his disciples: “Thus it is written that the Christ would
suffer and rise from the dead on the third day and that repentance, for the
forgiveness of sins, would be preached in his name to all the nations,
beginning from Jerusalem Bethany Jerusalem
Evanġelju - Għeluq tal-Evanġelju
skont San Luqa 24, 46-53
F'dak iż-żmien, Ġesu'
qal lid-dixxipli tiegħu: "Hekk kien miktub, li l-Messija jbati u
fit-tielet jum iqum mill-imwiet, u li l-indiema għall-maħfra tad-dnubiet
tixxandar f'ismu lill-ġnus kollha, ibda minn
……………………..
COMMENTARY -
Father Cantalamessa on Witnessing
Here is a translation of a commentary by the
Pontifical Household preacher, Capuchin Father Raniero Cantalamessa, on the
readings from this Sunday's liturgy.
You Will Be My Witnesses
If we do not want the Ascension to be a sad
"farewell," but rather a true feast, then we must understand the
radical difference between a disappearance and a departure. With the ascension,
Jesus has not departed, he has not become absent; he has only disappeared from
our sight. Those who leave are no longer here; those who only go out of our
sight, however, can still be near us -- it is only that something prevents our
seeing them. Jesus does disappear from the apostles' sight at the ascension but
he does so to be present in another more intimate way.
He is no longer outside them but within them. This is similar to the Eucharist. So long as the host is outside of us we see it, we adore it; when we receive the host we no longer see it, it has disappeared, but it has disappeared to be within us. It is present in a new, more powerful way.
But it will be asked: If Jesus is no longer visible, how
will men come to know of his presence? The answer is that he wants to make
himself present through his disciples! In his Gospel and in the Acts of the
Apostles, the Evangelist Luke closely links the Ascension with the theme of
testimony: "You are witnesses of these things" (Luke 24:48).
The "you" indicates in the first place the apostles who were with
Jesus. After the apostles, this "official" testimony -- official
because it is connected to their office -- passes to their successors, the
bishops and priests. But the "you" also regards all the baptized and
believers in Christ. "Each individual layman," says a document of the
Second Vatican Council, "must stand before the world as a witness to the
resurrection and life of the Lord Jesus and a symbol of the living God"
("Lumen Gentium," 38).
Pope Paul VI has famously said that "the world needs witnesses more than
it needs teachers." It is relatively easy to be a teacher. It is much less
easy to be a witness. In fact, the world is full of both true and false teachers,
but has few witnesses. Between the two roles there is the same difference as
that between saying and doing. "Actions," an English proverb says,
"speak louder than words."
The witness is one who speaks with his life. A believing father and mother must
be "the first witnesses of faith" for their children. (The Church
asks this for them from God in the blessing that follows the rite of
matrimony).
Let us give a specific example. At this time of year many children are
preparing for first Communion and confirmation. A believing mother or father
can help the child review the catechism, explain the meaning of the words to
him, and help him memorize the responses. Such parents are doing a beautiful
thing and if only there were more who did this!
But what would a child think if after all that his parents said and did for his
first Communion, they never go to Mass on Sunday, they never make the sign of
the cross and never pray? They have been teachers, but they haven't been
witnesses.
Naturally, the testimony of the parents must not limit itself to the time of
the first Communion or confirmation of their children. With the way they
correct and forgive the child and forgive each other, with the way they speak
with respect of those who are not present, with the way they conduct themselves
before a poor person begging for alms, with the comments they make in the
presence of the children when they are listening to the news, parents have the
possibility of bearing witness to their faith every day.
The souls of children are like sheets of photographic film: Everything they see and hear in the years of childhood leaves a trace and one day the "film" will be "developed" and will bear its fruits -- for good or for bad.
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