Acts 1.1-11 | Ephesians 1.17-23 | Matthew 28.16-20

We celebrate with Mother Church the solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord. This is the second glorious mystery of the Holy Rosary. We begin the last week of Easter Season, which will end with the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, next Sunday.

Today, the evangelist Matthew speaks to us about the mission of the Church in the world, the ascension of Jesus to Heaven, and the promise of continuous presence.

After demonstrating that He was alive and shortly before being taken up to Heaven, the risen Jesus said that the disciples should go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to observe all that He had commanded them.

This is the mission of the Church, received directly from the risen Jesus. The Church exists to call humanity to the discipleship of Jesus, to the observance of His commandments. It is a mission that began among the Jews and extended to non-Jews.

Jesus said that all authority had been given to Him by the Father in Heaven and on earth. The resurrected Jesus was able to send His disciples to the nations and peoples because He had been clothed with power and glory.

The evangelist Matthew wrote that the disciples had gone to Galilee, to the mountain that Jesus had indicated to them. And when they saw Jesus, they prostrated themselves before Him, and yet some doubted. The reality of the resurrection was not something evident and simple for everyone. It was a path of ups and downs, where doubt gave way to certainty through the strength of faith and the testimony of the community.

Jesus said that He would be with the disciples every day, until the end of the world. The confidence in this promise of continuous presence motivated the disciples in fulfilling the mission that the resurrected Jesus had entrusted to them. These are privileged places of this presence of Christ: the community of faith gathered (the Church), the Holy Scriptures, the Eucharist, and the most needy people.

Let us overcome doubts and strengthen our faith in the resurrected Jesus, fulfilling our mission with confidence in His constant presence among us.

Today, the evangelist Luke tells us, at the beginning of the Acts of the Apostles, about Jesus' ascension to Heaven forty days after the resurrection, relating it to the coming of the Holy Spirit with power. Luke mentions two men dressed in white who questioned the apostles because they remained standing, looking at the sky, while Jesus ascended.

The white color of their garments indicates that those men had a celestial origin, especially because they explained to the apostles that Jesus would come from Heaven, indicating the return of Christ at the end of time, clothed in power and glory, to judge the living and the dead.

The Church must actively await the return of Christ; it must not remain standing, looking at the sky. The coming of Christ is hastened by the practice of charity and justice, motivated by a profound spirituality.

Today, in his letter to the Ephesians, the apostle Paul speaks to us of the mystery of the glory of the resurrected Jesus in Heaven, seated at the right hand of the Father, reigning with power, while continuing to act in the world as Head through the Church, His mystical Body, saving repentant humanity by the forgiveness of sins.

Let us ask the Father for a spirit of wisdom to truly know our Lord Jesus Christ. May the Holy Spirit open our hearts to His light so that we may know the glory that awaits us in our inheritance with the saints. Everything is under the feet of Christ, the sovereign of all the earth.

Today is World Communications Day. Let us pray for all communicators, asking God that they may exercise their profession with ethical commitment in favor of good and justice.

And in this last week of Easter, let us dedicate ourselves to common prayer, in the joyful hope of the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, next Sunday. Let us pray for Christians of all denominations, that they may be open to the gift of unity in diversity.

Local: Praia Grande - SP, Brasil

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