May 17, 2015 – Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord
Acts 1: 1-11; Ps 47: 2-3, 6-9; Eph 1: 17-23; Mk 16: 15-20
“But they went forth and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the Word with accompanying signs.” With those words St. Mark closes his Gospel — our Gospel reading on this day, the Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord. This has not changed as we, the followers of Jesus, continue to preach everywhere with the support and presence of the Lord.
We are all called to discipleship, and practicing good stewardship is a great way to be the disciples Jesus expects us to be. Part of our discipleship involves evangelization — that is, living out the Good News, the Word, in all we do. No matter where we are or what we are doing we represent Jesus and we represent the Church. The Ascension was the close of Jesus’ physical ministry on Earth, but it was not the end of His ministry.
That is where His followers and Apostles continued, and where we need to continue today. In his exhortation, Evangelii Gaudium, Pope Francis reminds us of this call to evangelization: “Anyone who has experienced God’s saving love does not need much time or lengthy training to go out and proclaim that love.” Stewardship-discipleship-evangelization are calls to action, to continue Christ’s presence on Earth.
