("Hail the Day that Sees Him Rise")
♪ Hail the day that sees him rise
♪ Alleluia
♪ To his throne above the skies
♪ Alleluia
♪ Christ, the Lamb for sinners given
♪ Alleluia!
♪ Now ascends the highest heaven
♪ Alleluia
- In the name of the Father and of the Son
and of the Holy Spirit.
- [Congregation] Amen.
- The Lord be with you.
- [Congregation] And with your spirit.
- Today we celebrate the Ascension of the Lord
and it's the climax of his victory over sin and death.
It's a day of joy, it's a day of hope
and Jesus wants us to share in his victory.
So it's important to realize that he hasn't left us
but is still with us, helping us in our struggles.
Lord Jesus, you give us strength in times of weakness.
Lord have mercy.
- [Congregation] Lord have mercy.
- Christ Jesus you give us consolation in times of sorrow.
Christ have mercy.
- [Congregation] Christ have mercy.
- Lord Jesus you give us light in times of darkness.
Lord have mercy.
- [Congregation] Lord have mercy.
- May almighty God have mercy on us,
forgive us our sins and bring us to ever lasting life.
- [Congregation] Amen.
- Glory to God in the highest and on earth,
peace to people of good will.
We praise you, we bless you we adore you,
we glorify you, we give you thanks for your great glory.
Lord God, Heavenly King, oh God, Almighty Father,
Lord Jesus Christ only begotten Son.
Lord God, Lamb of God, Son of the Father,
you take away the sins of the world.
Have mercy on us.
You take away the sins of the world.
Receive our prayer.
You are seated at the right-hand of the Father.
Have mercy on us.
For you alone are the holy one,
you alone are the Lord,
you alone are the most high.
Jesus Christ with the Holy Spirit
in the glory of God the Father, Amen.
Let us pray.
Grant, we pray, almighty God,
that we, who believe that your Only Begotten Son,
our Redeemer, ascended this day to the heavens,
may in spirit dwell already in heavenly realms.
Who lives and reigns with you
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever, Amen.
- 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 the 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 of 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."
The word of the Lord.
- [Congregation] Thanks be to God.
(Piano music for Responsorial Psalm)
♪ God mounts his throne to shouts of joy
♪ a blare of trumpets for the Lord
♪ God mounts his throne to shouts of joy
♪ a blare of trumpets for the Lord
♪ 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
♪ God mounts his throne to shouts of joy
♪ a blare of trumpets for the Lord
- A reading from the letter of St. Paul to the Ephesians.
Brothers and sisters,
May the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory,
give you a Spirit of wisdom and revelation
resulting in knowledge of him.
May the eyes of your hearts be enlightened,
that you may know what is the hope that belongs to his call,
what are the riches of glory
in his inheritance among the holy ones,
and what is the surpassing greatness of his power
for us who believe,
in accord with the exercise of his great might,
which he worked in Christ,
raising him from the dead
and seating him at his right hand in the heavens,
far above every principality,
authority, power, and dominion,
and every name that is named
not only in this age but also in the one to come.
And he put all things beneath his feet
and gave him as head over all things to the church,
which is his body,
the fullness of the one who fills all things in every way.
The word of the Lord.
- [Congregation] Thanks be to God.
♪ Alleluia
♪ Alleluia
♪ Alleluia
♪ Alleluia
- The Lord be with.
- [Congregation] And with your spirit.
- A reading from the Holy Gospel according to Matthew.
- [Congregation] Glory to you Lord.
- The eleven disciples went to Galilee,
to the mountain to which Jesus had ordered them.
When they saw him, they worshiped, 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.
It was in 1979,
when Pope St. John Paul II
made his first visit to the United States
as our Holy Father.
And I remember at his Mass in Grand Park in Chicago
in his homily, as he was speaking in his homily,
the crowd would erupt with joy.
And he was quoting from this Gospel today
at the end of his homily and he was assuring us
that Jesus is always with us.
That no matter what happens, that he's always by our side,
again giving us encouragement
for the time when he would leave.
And I remember John Paul saying,
quoting from Matthew's Gospel.
He said, in the midst of all this clapping that was going on
and he goes "And behold, I am with you always
until the end of the age."
And the crowd burst with a thunderous applause,
many of them thinking John Paul was speaking about himself.
Thinking this is the end coming.
That when John Paul goes,
it's gonna be the end of the world.
I remember some people interpreting it that way.
And of course they loved him so much.
He was such a young man at that time.
He was my age, I think.
A few years older than I was then,
than I am when he was made the Holy Father.
And it was that sense there though,
that even the people who were there felt a confidence.
Now we know he wasn't speaking literally about his life,
but that of Jesus.
So even today, as we celebrate this Ascension,
we see that Jesus is lifted up
and he's taken from the sight
of his followers.
But he didn't leave them.
Just by sight he was no longer seen
as they were familiar with him.
But he remained with them
and he always remains with us.
He said, "I am with you always"
and that not only means in time, always forever,
but it means all ways, in every circumstance,
I am with you always, until the end of the age.
It's good for us to remember that
when bad things happen to good people.
Because it is at those times that we may feel
that the Lord has left us.
When we feel those empty times.
For the many years in the life of St. Theresa of Calcutta
when she felt that the Lord left her,
when she had this dryness in her spiritual life,
sometimes even questioning whether or not God existed.
And I'm so happy that we hold her up as an example.
Pope St. John Paul II, through his ministry as Holy Father,
kept on affirming people and assuring them,
you know of God's love for us.
And through his ministry, we know the fall of Communism,
because of him preaching God's love
and encouraging people not to lose heart,
especially when he went to Poland.
You see, God is with us always, all time,
and in all ways, in every circumstance.
So he didn't leave us, he never did.
He's with us, always at our side,
always within us.
May we remember that.
May we then live as his disciples.
When he told and gave them command,
we gotta do something now.
He's leaving us physically in sight,
but through his love, we are to go out
and make disciples of all nations,
baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son,
and of the Holy Spirit.
So every time we go to a Baptism,
every time at Easter vigil
when we bring people into the church,
that's God giving us new life.
That's us fulfilling the command that he gave us,
to go forth and baptize.
So we're doing his work by following that command
to go and make disciples of all nations.
And while we may not be able to baptize every single soul,
we can baptize with the love of the Holy Spirit,
so that people can have
an encounter of God's love through us.
A little touch of baptism
and hopefully they will encounter the Lord,
who on this day ascended, but did not leave us.
And so within our Easter season we once again renew
our promises of baptism and so I ask you to respond
with a resounding I do as I ask you
do you renounce sin,
so as to live in the freedom of the children of God?
- [Congregation] I do.
- Do you renounce the lure of evil,
so that sin may have no mastery over you?
- [Congregation] I do.
- Do you renounce Satan, the author and prince of sin?
- [Congregation] I do.
- Do you believe in God, the Father Almighty,
creator of heaven and earth?
- [Congregation] I do.
- Do you believe in Jesus Christ, his only son, our Lord,
who was born of the virgin Mary,
suffered death and was buried,
rose again from the dead
and is seated at the right-hand of the Father?
- [Congregation] I do.
- Do you believe in the Holy Spirit,
the Holy Catholic Church, the Communion of Saints,
the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body,
and life everlasting?
- [Congregation] I do.
- And may almighty God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ
who bestowed on us, forgiveness of our sins,
keep us by his grace in Christ Jesus our Lord,
for eternal life, Amen.
And let us pray now for our needs
with confidence of Jesus's abiding presence.
- [Teresita] That all members of the church
be strengthened to respond faithfully to Jesus's commission
to continue his baptizing and teaching ministry.
We pray to the Lord.
- [Congregation] Lord hear our prayer.
- That all peoples of the world
come to the salvation God offers.
We pray to the Lord.
- [Congregation] Lord hear our prayer.
For those suffering because of sickness,
unemployment, or homelessness that they may encounter
the risen Jesus who is always present.
We pray to the Lord.
- [Congregation] Lord hear our prayer.
- For all of us here,
that we faithfully chose to do the works of the risen Jesus
by opening ourselves more fully to the power of the spirit.
We pray to the Lord.
- [Congregation] Lord hear our prayer.
- Eternal God, your risen son Jesus Christ
ascended into heaven and now sits at your right hand.
Hear these our prayers that one day,
we might enjoy life everlasting.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.
- [Congregation] Amen.
(piano music)
- Pray, my sisters and brothers, that my sacrifice and yours
may be acceptable to God, the almighty Father.
- [Congregation] May the Lord accept
the sacrifice at your hands,
for the praise and glory of his name,
for our good, and the good of all his holy Church.
- We offer it now it sacrifice and supplication, oh Lord,
to honor the wondrous ascension of your Son.
Grant we pray, that through this most holy exchange,
we too may rise up to the heavenly realms
through Christ our Lord.
- [Congregation] Amen.
- The Lord be with you.
- [Congregation] And with your spirit.
- Lift up your hearts.
- We lift them up to the Lord.
- Let us give thanks to the Lord, our God.
- [Congregation] It is right and just.
- It is truly right and just, our duty and our salvation,
always and everywhere to give you thanks, Lord holy Father
almighty and eternal God through Christ our Lord.
For after his resurrection he plainly appeared
to all his disciples
and was taken up to Heaven in their sight
that he might make us shares in his divinity.
Therefore, overcome with paschal joy,
every land, every people exalts in your praise
and even the Heavenly powers with the Angelic hosts
sing together the unending hymn of your glory as we acclaim
♪ Holy, Holy, Holy Lord God of hosts
♪ Heaven and earth are full of your glory
♪ Hosanna in the highest
♪ Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord
♪ Hosanna in the highest
♪ Hosanna in the highest
- You are indeed Holy, O Lord,
the fount of all holiness.
Make holy, therefore, these gifts, we pray,
by sending down your Spirit upon them like the dew fall,
so that they may become for us
the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ.
At the time he was betrayed
and entered willingly into his Passion,
he took bread and, giving thanks, broke it,
and gave it to his disciples, saying,
"Take this, all of you, and eat of it,
"for this is my body,
"which will be give up for you."
In a similar way, when supper was ended,
he took the chalice
and, once more giving thanks,
he gave it to his disciples, saying,
"take this, all of you, and drink from it,
"for this is the chalice of my blood,
"the blood of the new and eternal covenant,
"which will be poured out for you and for many
"for the forgiveness of sins.
"Do this in memory of me."
♪ The mystery of faith
♪ When we eat this Bread and drink this Cup
♪ We proclaim your Death, O Lord
♪ Until you come again
- Therefore, as we celebrate
the memorial of his Death and Resurrection,
we offer you, Lord,
the Bread of life and the Chalice of salvation,
giving thanks that you have held us worthy
to be in your presence and minister to you.
Humbly we pray that,
partaking of the Body and Blood of Christ,
we may be gathered into one by the Holy Spirit.
Remember, Lord, your Church,
spread throughout the world,
and bring her to the fullness of charity,
together with Frances our Pope and Joseph our Bishop
all the clergy and all your people.
Remember also our brothers and sisters
who have fallen asleep in the hope of the resurrection,
and all who have died in your mercy.
Welcome them into the light of your face.
Have mercy on us all, we pray,
that with the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God,
with Joseph her loving husband,
with the blessed Apostles, the martyrs
and all the Saints who have pleased you throughout the ages,
we may merit to be coheirs to eternal life,
and may praise and glorify you
through your Son, Jesus Christ.
♪ Through him, and with him, and in him
♪ O God, almighty Father
♪ In the unity of the Holy Spirit
♪ All glory and honor is yours
♪ For ever and ever
♪ Amen
♪ Amen
♪ Amen
- At the Savior's command and formed by divine teaching,
we dare to pray.
- [Congregation] Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name;
thy kingdom come,
thy will be done
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
and forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us;
and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
- Deliver us, Lord, we pray, from every evil,
graciously grant peace in our days,
that, by the help of your mercy,
we may be always free from sin
and safe from all distress,
as we await the blessed hope
and the coming of our Savior, Jesus Christ.
- [Congregation] For the kingdom, the power
and the glory are yours now and for ever.
- Lord Jesus Christ, who said to your Apostles,
" Peace I leave you, my peace I give you"
look not on our sins, but on the faith of your Church,
and graciously grant her peace and unity
in accordance with your will.
Who live and reign for ever and ever.
- [Congregation] Amen.
- The peace of the Lord be with you always.
- [Congregation] And with your spirit.
- Let us offer each other the sign of peace.
- Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world,
have mercy on us. (congregation joins in)
Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world,
have mercy on us.
Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world,
grant us peace.
- Behold the Lamb of God
behold him who takes away the sins of the world.
Blessed are those called to the supper of the Lamb.
- [Congregation] Lord, I am not worthy
that you should enter under my roof,
but only say the word and my soul shall be healed.
(piano music)
♪ If you would follow me
♪ Follow where life will lead
♪ Do not look for me among the dead
♪ For I am hidden in pain, risen in love
♪ There is no harvest without sowing of grain
♪ All that is hidden will be made clear
♪ All that is dark now will be revealed
♪ What you have heard in the dark
♪ Proclaim in the light
♪ What you hear in whispers
♪ Proclaim from the housetops
♪ If you would honor me
♪ Honor the least of these
♪ You will not find me dressed in finery
♪ My Word cries out to be heard
♪ Breaks through the world
♪ My Word is on your lips and lives in your heart
(piano music)
- Let us pray.
Almighty, ever living, and ever loving God,
who allow those on earth to celebrate divine mysteries
grant we pray
that Christian hope may draw us onward
to where our nature is united with you,
through Christ our Lord.
- [Congregation] Amen.
- The Lord be with you.
- [Congregation] And with your spirit.
- May our loving God bless you.
The Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.
- [Congregation] Amen.
♪ Go in peace, alleluia.
♪ Alleluia
♪ Thanks be to God, alleluia
♪ Alleluia
♪ Alleluia, we sing your praises
♪ All our hearts are filled with gladness
♪ Alleluia, we sing your praises
♪ All our hearts are filled with gladness.
♪ Christ the Lord to us said
♪ I am wine, I am bread
♪ I am wine, I am bread
♪ Give to all who thirst and hunger
♪ Alleluia, we sing your praises.
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