The Ascension of the Lord

May is the Month of Mary, Dedicated to the Devotion of the Blessed Mother

In other years: Saint Christopher Magallanes and his Companions (20th century); Saint Eugene de Mazenod (1782-1861)

Readings of the Day

Rule of Saint Benedict: Ch 4:44-62 The Tools for Good Works

Mass: Acts 1:1-11; Resp Ps 47; Eph 1:17-23; Mt 28:16-20

Sing praise to God, sing praise.

MARY, QUEEN OF HEAVEN AND EARTH,

SAINT MICHAEL THE ARCHANGEL,

PRAY FOR US.

May the eyes of your hearts be enlightened, 

that you may know what is the hope that belongs to His call.

(Eph 1:18)

Welcome to the Ascension of the Lord. With all sorts of thoughts going through my mind this busy Sunday morning, I stick with a simple message I sent to a dear niece. Even though Jesus ascended, He will send the Holy Spirit and renew the face of the earth. Thanks be to God. 

Not done yet, as there follows all sorts of this and that ☺, here is something Pope Benedict XVI said about the Ascension. "The Lord draws the gaze of the Apostles - and our gaze - toward heaven to show how to travel the road of good during earthly life." And there are many ways to travel the road of good as expressed by Saint Benedict in Chapter 4 of the Holy Rule, The Tools for Good Works. And it happens that we have the privilege of being immersed in that chapter this week. As far as hope is concerned, then, "place your hope in God alone" (Rule of Saint Benedict, 4:41). And as Mother Julian of Norwich (1343-after 1416) said, "all will be well, and all will be well, and every kind of thing will be well." And it so happens that this year marks the 650th anniversary of Mother Julian's Revelations of the Passion of Christ. Pope Francis sent a message last week to all pilgrims gathered to mark the anniversary in the English city of Norwich.

All voices for this week come from George Cardinal Pell (1941-2023) and the first volume of his Prison Journal: The Cardinal Makes His Appeal (Ignatius, 2020). With this read, I am meeting a remarkable man of faith. The title of a recent article about him states it clearly: "Cardinal Pell Showed Us What Interior Freedom Really Looks Like," (Maryella Hierholzer, National Catholic Register, May 15, 2023). The late Cardinal is certainly showing me something about interior freedom, forgiveness, and taking pleasures in small things, among other things. At the same time, I am busy asking him to help me. And he delivers. The book is full of worthwhile passages to quote; Cardinal Pell has many things to teach the faithful, and not so faithful. For example, "I believe that one of the keys to surviving in prison, and especially in a solitary regime, is to concentrate on doing what one can rather than lamenting what one cannot do" (p. 95). Very good advice, wherever one finds herself. At the end of each journal entry, Cardinal Pell has a prayer, his own, another, or one that someone has sent him. Or he might end an entry with a stanza of poem or hymn. In any case, my book is full of page markers. So it may be that we hear from him again. 

Since we commemorate Our Lady, Help of Christians, this coming Wednesday, let's begin with a hymn addressed to her, "Help of Christians, Guard This Land," one that the Cardinal wrote is especially apt for Australia today. It is apt for any country though. 

Help of Christians, guard this land

From assault or inward stain;

Let it be what Christ has planned, 

A new Eden where you reign ...

Take from us the coward heart,

Fleeting will, divided mind,

Give us sight to play our part,

Though the world around is blind.

(p. 98)

Now with some prayers for the week, all from the Cardinal.

God our Loving Father, help me to keep hatred out of my heart.

Not only should I speak the truth in love, but I should think the truth in love.

(p. 30)

God our Father, I will always trust in you. Whatever, wherever I am, I know I can never be thrown away. Whether I am sick or perplexed or in sorrow, I may still serve you, and these difficulties may be necessary causes to some great end, which is quite beyond me.

You do nothing in vain, and you know what you are about. Amen.

(p. 150)

God our Father, help us always to be people of Christian hope even when, humanly speaking, the situation seems hopeless. May we always believe in the Resurrection as well as the crucifixion and be sustained by the promise of eternal life with you, Your Son, and the life-giving Spirit.

(p. 109)

God our Father, I pray for all my fellow prisoners, especially those who have written me. Help them to see their true selves; indeed, help me, too, to do this better for myself. Bring all of them some peace of mind, especially those who most certainly do not possess it.

(p. 26)

For everything I have received in a happy, full life and for all I am about to receive, 

my I be truly grateful.

(p. 322)

Loving God, you are our strength. Support us in our weakness, give us insight and wisdom, peace of heart and patience. Take us under you care, give us your love so that we will have the strength to embrace our weakness and confront our challenges.

We make this prayer through Christ Our Lord.

(p. 330)

There are plenty of saints to invoke this week too.

SAINT CHRISTOPHER MAGALLANES AND COMPANIONS,

SAINT EUGENE DE MAZENOD,

SAINT RITA OF CASCIA,

SAINT JOACHINA DE VEDRUNA DE MAS,

OUR LADY, HELP OF CHRISTIANS,

BLESSED LOUIS-ZEPHERIN MOREAU,

SAINT ALDHELM,

SAINT DOMINIC,

POPE SAINT GREGORY VII,

SAINT MARY MAGDALENE DE PAZZI,

SAINT BEDE THE VENERABLE,

SAINT PHILIP NERI,

SAINT AUGUSTINE OF CANTERBURY,

BLESSED ANDREW FRANCHI,

PRAY FOR US.

Today's photo: I took this photo last Monday. When I saw the early morning sunlight on this glorious bush, I thought of the coming of the Holy Spirit. All week I looked for another photo to use; this one kept coming back. The first glance is most often the best. "The Jesus who has been taken up from you into heaven will return in the same way as you have seen Him going into heaven" (Acts 1:11). Veni Sancte Spiritus. 

© Gertrude Feick 2023