The Ascension of the Lord
Lectionary: 58
Tlugħ il-Mulej fis-Sema
Solennità
Reading1 ACTS OF THE APOSTLES 1:1-11
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. While meeting with them, he enjoined them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for “the promise of the Father about which you have heard me speak; for John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.” When they had gathered together they asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” He answered them, “It is not for you to know the times or seasons that the Father has established by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, throughout Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” When he had said this, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him from their sight. While they were looking intently at the sky as he was going, suddenly two men dressed in white garments stood beside them. They said, “Men of Galilee, why are you standing there looking at the sky? This Jesus who has been taken up from you into heaven will return in the same way as you have seen him going into heaven.”
Qari 1 Bidu tal-Ktieb tal-Atti tal-Appostli 1:1-11
Fl-ewwel
rakkont tiegħi, Teofilu, tkellimt fuq dak kollu li Ġesù 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 lejh,
kien meħud ’il fuq, u sħaba ħadithulhom 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 Ġesù, li kien meħud minn magħkom lejn
is-sema, għad jerġa’ jiġi kif rajtuh sejjer”. Il-Kelma tal-Mulej.
Responsorial Psalm PSALM 47:2-3, 6-7, 8-9
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 to shouts of joy: a blare of trumpets for the Lord.
or: R/ Alleluia.
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 God mounts his throne to shouts of joy: a blare of trumpets for the Lord.
or: R Alleluia.
For king of all the earth is God;
sing hymns of praise.
God reigns over the nations,
God sits upon his holy throne.
R/ God mounts his throne to shouts of joy: a blare of trumpets for the Lord.
or: R/ Alleluia.
Salm Responsorjali Salm 46(47):2-3,6-7,8-9
R/. Tela’ Alla b’għajat ta’ ferħ. jew R/. 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’għajat ta’ ferħ,
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/.
Reading 2 HEBREWS 9:24-28; 10:19-23
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.
Qari 2 mill-Ittra lil-Lhud 9:24-28; 10:19-23
Kristu
ma daħalx f’santwarju magħmul b’idejn il-bnedmin li hu biss xbieha
tas-santwarju veru, imma daħal fis-sema stess, biex issa jidher għalina
quddiem Alla. U daħal hemm mhux biex minn żmien għal żmien joffri lilu
nnifsu bħalma l-qassis il-kbir jidħol kull sena fis-santwarju biex
joffri demm ħaddieħor. Li kieku kien hekk, kien ikollu jbati ħafna drabi
sa mill-ħolqien tad-dinja. Iżda issa deher darba għal dejjem, meta
waslet il-milja taż-żminijiet, biex ineħħi d-dnub bis-sagrifiċċju tiegħu
nnifsu. U kif hu miktub għall-bnedmin li għandhom imutu darba biss, u
wara dan isir il-ġudizzju, hekk ukoll Kristu, wara li offra lilu nnifsu
darba biss biex jitgħabba bid-dnubiet tal-kotra, għad jerġa’ jidher
darb’oħra, mhux biex ineħħi d-dnubiet, imma biex isalva lil dawk li
qegħdin jistennewh bil-ħerqa. Ladarba, ħuti, għandna l-fiduċja li nidħlu
fis-Santwarju bis-saħħa tad-demm ta’ Ġesù billi ngħaddu mit-triq, ġdida
u ħajja, li hu fetħilna ’l ġewwa mill-velu, li hu l-ġisem tiegħu stess;
u ladarba għandna dan il-qassis il-kbir imqiegħed fuq il-familja ta’
Alla, ejjew nersqu b’qalb sinċiera u b’fidi sħiħa, bi qlubna mnaddfin
minn kuxjenza ħażina u l-ġisem tagħna maħsul b’ilma safi. Inżommu sħiħ
fl-istqarrija qawwija tat-tama tagħna, għax ta’ kelmtu huwa dak li
għamlilna l-wegħda. Il-Kelma tal-Mulej.
Gospel LUKE 24:46-53
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. You are witnesses of these things. And behold I am sending the promise of my Father upon you; but stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.” Then he led them out as far as Bethany, raised his hands, and blessed them. As he blessed them he parted from them and was taken up to heaven. They did him homage and then returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and they were continually in the temple praising God.
Evanġelju skont San Luqa 24:46-53
F’dak iż-żmien, Ġesù 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 Ġerusalemm. Intom xhud ta’ dan. U jiena, araw, nibgħat fuqkom lil dak li wiegħed Missieri. Imma intom ibqgħu fil-belt, sa ma Alla jkun libbiskom bil-qawwa tiegħu”. Imbagħad ħadhom sa ħdejn Betanja, u rafa’ jdejh u berikhom. U ġara li, huwa u jberikhom, infired minnhom u kien meħud fis-sema. Huma nxteħtu fl-art jagħtuh qima, u mimlijin b’ferħ kbir reġgħu lura lejn Ġerusalemm, u qagħdu l-ħin kollu fit-tempju jbierku lil Alla. Il-Kelma tal-Mulej.
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Eight-minute Gospel reflection by Fr Antony Kadavil
Introduction:
Today’s readings are about people’s bearing heroic witness to Jesus through life and death, and the Source of the inspiration behind such witness-bearing. They urge us to work for greater Christian unity and to consider the power of Christian witness.
Scripture lessons:
The first reading describes the martyrdom of Stephen, showing us how he bore witness to the forgiving love of Jesus by his last prayer. In the second reading, taken from the Book of Revelation, Jesus, the Alpha and the Omega, is pictured as having all the forces of Heaven and earth at his disposal, standing ready to help us in our Christian witness-bearing.
It is relatively easy to acknowledge our oneness with Stephen and to long for the experience of eternal oneness with “all those who have washed their robes in the blood of the Lamb” (Rv 22:14, Douay- Rheims). But to remain truly one with all of our brothers and sisters continues to be a daily challenge.
Sunday’s Gospel is the last part of the “priestly prayer” of Jesus after the Last Supper. This chapter of John has been called “The Testament of Jesus” or “Jesus’ High Priestly (or Intercessory) Prayer.” During that long prayer, Jesus prayed first for himself – for his own glorification (vv 1-5) – as he faced the cross. Then, he prayed for his disciples that they might be unified and protected in the face of opposition from the world (vv 6-19), and finally he prayed for those in distant lands and far-off ages, including ourselves, who would enter the Christian Faith through the witness-bearing of the Apostles and their successors.
Thus, this is Jesus’ prayer for each one of us. We have complete Faith and certainty because Jesus put his confidence in God and entrusted us to Him.
Life Messages:
1) We need to pray for unity and serve one another in unity. We must pray for unity and discuss the similarities we share with others as well as our differences. Along with prayer, we must put our words into action. This means that we are to serve one another and to love one another as brothers and sisters in the Lord. What unites us is greater than what divides us. As we move nearer to Jesus Christ, in him we move nearer to one another. Such unity is ultimately a gift of the Holy Spirit and of His guidance. The soul of the ecumenical movement then, is spiritual. Only by a renewal of the spiritual, by common prayer and common listening to the Word of God, can we hope to overcome the present ecumenical impasses and difficulties. In the words of Pope St. John Paul II: “The door to ecumenism is opened only on our knees.”
2) We need to have a clear idea about the Catholic stand on ecumenism. In his encyclical Ut Unum Sint, Pope St. John Paul II warns against compromise for the sake of unity. He states, “the ultimate goal of the ecumenical movement is to reestablish full visible unity among all the baptized [77.1].” He adds, “It is already possible to identify the areas in need of fuller study before a true consensus of Faith can be achieved.”
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