Here is our third video on the gifts of the Holy Spirit to prepare you for Pentecost!

This video was made by a 12 year old girl. It is simple and beautiful, just three minutes long. Please share it!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L1tbJCQbEi8

Pentecost is coming! To prepare for the coming of the Holy Spirit we have made seven short videos ( 2 to 3 minutes) on the gifts of the Spirit. Here is the first. Please enjoy and share!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-YXtyA9HFig



May 24^th 2020. The Ascension of Our Lord

GOSPEL: Matthew 28, 16-20

Translated from a homily by Don Fabio Rosini broadcast on Vatican Radio

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Don Fabio’s homily follows the Gospel

GOSPEL: Matthew 28:16-20

The eleven disciples went to Galilee,
to the mountain to which Jesus had ordered them.
When they saw him, they worshipped, but they doubted.
Then Jesus approached and said to them,
“All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations,
baptizing them in the name of the Father,
and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit,
teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.
And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.”

The Gospel of the Lord: Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ

Kieran’s summary . . . At his Ascension, Jesus tells us that he is with us always, but sometimes we don’t feel his presence and we feel abandoned. Where is Jesus present? But do I really expect his presence with me to be evident if I am doing mundane things, or if I am doing things that have nothing to do with him? It is when we are carrying out our mission of evangelisation that the presence and power of Jesus become manifest! If we reject the Father’s love, refuse the lordship of Jesus and sadden the Spirit, then do not be surprised if we do not feel God’s presence with us! God is always with us, but his power and presence become more evident when we respond to him and unite ourselves to him in his work of salvation. Actually, Jesus shows a dramatic trust in us. He entrusts us with full cooperation in his work of redemption. The passage tells us that the disciples doubted  at the moment of the Ascension. The Greek verb for “doubt” used here indicates that they were unsure of themselves, possibly unsure of how they would proceed without their master. The doubt here is understandable. Jesus is leaving, but telling them at the same time that he is with them always. The feeling of uncertainty and doubt of the disciples is something that will be with us always because the mission that the Lord has given the Church is something far greater than we are. The mission of the Church, in fact, is a mission in which the power of God is made manifest. Our works of evangelisation are mediocre whenever we try to preach the Gospel using our own capacities and strengths. Yes, God has given us responsibility to use our gifts in the service of the Church, but we must use them to be channels of grace for others, grace that issues from Jesus at the right hand of the Father. It is the power of God that we must announce. The Ascension is very important because it has this twofold dimension: on the one hand we are entrusted with the great mission of the Church; on the other hand we are made aware that it is a mission that is far beyond us and can only be accomplished through the power of the Spirit that will be given to us. The Church is called to do great works, not because its members are capable of doing them, but because she lives by the power of one who is greater. The Ascension is the beginning of our synergy with the Lord; in other words, he has departed and now we have become his body and must work in cooperation with his Spirit, doing works that are beyond us, but managing to accomplish them because of his power working through us.

Jesus tells us that he is with us always, but sometimes we don’t feel his presence and we feel abandoned. Where is Jesus present? Is his presence with me going to be evident if I am doing mundane things, or if I am doing things that have nothing to do with him? It is when we are carrying out our mission of evangelisation that the presence and power of Jesus becomes manifest.
"And behold, I am with you every day, until the end of the world." This is a phrase that comforts and consoles, but often it seems unreal; sometimes one feels alone, abandoned. It is therefore important to understand well the meaning of this short Gospel passage for the feast of Ascension. The final sentence of Jesus echoes a formula inherited from the Old Testament, which speaks of a present God, but, above all, an ally of his people. The "God-with-us" which we find in the name "Emanuele" represents the fulfilment of the formula: "You will be my people and I will be your God". This formula was present in Israel since Sinai. The notion of union with God went through a long development, until the definitive fulfilment in the body of the Lord Jesus Christ, who is true God and true man - a perfect and definitive union. This might all sound very edifying, so why then do we feel lonely? Why do we wonder where Jesus is hiding? Let us pay attention to what Jesus says before that final sentence: "Go therefore and make disciples of all peoples, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you". This is the place where he is present: in the task of evangelization, which is the central mission of the Church.

If we reject the Father’s love, refuse the lordship of Jesus and sadden the Spirit, then let us not be surprised if we do not feel God’s presence with us! God is always with us, but his power and presence become more evident when we respond to him and unite ourselves to him in his work of salvation

Let us try to understand this better: the place where we can recognize the power of God is not simply everywhere; we don’t expect God to accompany us in an evident way if we are just going for a walk; but in the mission that he has given us we can expect him to be present! Another Gospel says: "If one walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees by the light of this world" (Jn 11: 9); and elsewhere he says again: "I am the light of the world; whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life "(Jn 8:12).  It is not that God the Father does not always watch over us. It is not that Jesus is not the Lord of everywhere. It is not that the Holy Spirit is not always diligent with his inspirations. No, God never abandons us, that's for sure, but he is present with us in a particular way when we respond to his call to join in his work. We are vertiginously free: we can choose to walk in darkness, reject the Father, surrender ourselves to other lordships and sadden the Spirit.

Incredibly, the Lord gives us a share in his work! The salvation of others depends on my fulfilment of my mission. I can no longer be occupied solely with my own redemption: I have been called to be an instrument for the salvation of others. This work is not my own work of course. Jesus is in heaven at the right hand of the Father and it is his work that I am called to do. That is why he sends the Spirit on the Church so that she can accomplish her mission. There is a synergy here, a cooperation of our efforts with the Spirit.

A key point of the Ascension is the liberality with which the Lord places his trust in us, by giving us a share in his work. Surprisingly, the salvation of this world depends on the fulfilment of our mission as Christians. Saint Paul says: “How will they believe in one they have never heard of? How will they hear of him without someone announcing it?" (Rom 10,14). The Lord Jesus is always with us, but we (and the world) will only fully perceive him the day we take up our mission. On the day of the Ascension, the time of Christian creativity begins, when man learns to do things with the Lord, but to do them first-hand. It is the adult period of the history of salvation. In this age, the centre of our life is no longer our own salvation, but that of others. We are not in this world only to save ourselves, but to be instruments of salvation for others. This is true when we become parents: the most important thing is no longer our life, but the lives of those entrusted to us. And it is right here that the Lord’s presence beside us begins to become manifest.

Please check out our blog entry this week. It concerns the most extraordinary series of Marian apparitions in the history of the Church, those that occurred in Garabandal in Spain almost 60 years ago. Did Our Lady really appear? Why were the appearances so extraordinary? Our blog gives clear answers to these mysteries. Also, it address the question of whether the fulfilment of the Garabandal prophecies is near.
https://www.immaculatemother.org/post/what-really-happened-in-garabandal-sixty-years-ago