God mounts his throne to shouts of joy;
a blare of trumpets for the Lord. (Psalm 46).
In his Gospel, Luke gives only a brief and passing account of the Lord’s Ascension into heaven, but gives us a more detailed account in his Acts of the Apostles. We therefore read his divinely inspired gospel with special attention. Jesus makes another promise of the Holy Spirit but, before that, gives his Church its essential constitution. The ministers of Jesus are to preach repentance for the forgiveness of sins to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. That is the mission Jesus gives his ministers, his last and most important message. The Church passes on this message down through the centuries, down to us.
We therefore pray: Jesus have mercy on me, a sinner.
