PROCLAIM THE GOSPEL TO EVERY CREATURE
At 1,1 -11; Ps 46; Eph 4,1-13; Mk 16,15-20
13 MAY – ASCENSION OF THE LORD – S
The Apostles of the Lord are invested with a great mission: they must make the Word of God on Jesus true every day. What the Ancient Scripture says about the Christ of God will have to be fulfilled through them today in its entirety. Three ancient words are sufficient to attest to what great responsibility lays upon the Apostles.
But a shoot shall sprout from the stump of Jesse, and from his roots a bud shall blossom. The spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him: a spirit of wisdom and of understanding, A spirit of counsel and of strength, a spirit of knowledge and of fear of the Lord, and his delight shall be the fear of the Lord. Not by appearance shall he judge, nor by hearsay shall he decide, But he shall judge the poor with justice, and decide aright for the land’s afflicted. Justice shall be the band around his waist, and faithfulness a belt upon his hips. There shall be no harm or ruin on all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be filled with knowledge of the Lord, as water covers the sea (Cf. Is 11,1-9).
He grew up like a sapling before him, like a shoot from the parched earth; There was in him no stately bearing to make us look at him, nor appearance that would attract us to him. He was spurned and avoided by men, a man of suffering, accustomed to infirmity, One of those from whom men hide their faces, spurned, and we held him in no esteem. Yet it was our infirmities that he bore, our sufferings that he endured, While we thought of him as stricken, as one smitten by God and afflicted. But he was pierced for our offenses, crushed for our sins, Upon him was the chastisement that makes us whole, by his stripes we were healed. We had all gone astray like sheep, each following his own way; But the Lord laid upon him the guilt of us all. Though he was harshly treated, he submitted and opened not his mouth; Like a lamb led to the slaughter or a sheep before the shearers, he was silent and opened not his mouth. Oppressed and condemned, he was taken away, and who would have thought any more of his destiny? When he was cut off from the land of the living, and smitten for the sin of his people,
A grave was assigned him among the wicked and a burial place with evildoers, Though he had done no wrong nor spoken any falsehood. (But the Lord was pleased to crush him in infirmity.) If he gives his life as an offering for sin, he shall see his descendants in a long life, and the will of the Lord shall be accomplished through him. Because of his affliction he shall see the light in fullness of days; Through his suffering, my servant shall justify many, and their guilt he shall bear. Therefore I will give him his portion among the great, and he shall divide the spoils with the mighty, Because he surrendered himself to death and was counted among the wicked; And he shall take away the sins of many, and win pardon for their offenses (Cf. Is 53,1-12). The spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me; He has sent me to bring glad tidings to the lowly, to heal the broken hearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives and release to the prisoners, To announce a year of favour from the Lord. You yourselves shall be named priests of the Lord, ministers of our God you shall be called (Cf. Is 61,1-11).
The Apostle of the Lord will go to every people and every creature. He will show Christ Jesus with the Word and with his life. He will attract to him those whom the Father will give him, so that they too may become the life of Jesus in the midst of their brethren. This is the evangelizing mission. It is made by the Apostle and by the disciple who is the life of Christ.
He said to them, “Go into the whole world and proclaim the gospel to every creature. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved; whoever does not believe will be condemned. These signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will drive out demons, they will speak new languages. They will pick up serpents (with their hands), and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not harm them. They will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.” So then the Lord Jesus, after he spoke to them, was taken up into heaven and took his seat at the right hand of God. But they went forth and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the word through accompanying signs.
He will talk about the Holy Spirit by showing his beauty. He will speak of Christ, expiating the sin of the world. He will speak of the Father making himself his visible will in the midst of the Gentiles. Everything else will be done by the Father and the Son and by the Holy Spirit. If we do not become a manifestation of the Holy Spirit, of the Son and of the Father, there is no mission.
Virgin Mary, Mother of the Redemption, Angels and Saints make us true missionaries of Jesus.