June 1, 2025
Ascension This weekend at Mass we return to the Gospel of Luke after hearing from John for the entire Easter season. The third Gospel and the Acts of the Apostles, both attributed to Luke, give us two slightly different narratives of the events of Jesus’ Ascension into heaven. Our passage from Acts begins with, “In the first book, Theophiles, I dealt with all that Jesus did and taught until the day he was taken up.” The first book refers to the Gospel and Luke is telling a story to his friend Theophiles. The narrative tells us that Jesus gave instructions to the disciples through the Holy Spirit, and presented himself as alive for forty days after he had suffered, died and rose from the dead. He spoke about the kingdom and told them to wait in Jerusalem until they received a ‘promise from the Father.’ The Holy Spirit comes upon them, enabling
