Solemnity of The Ascension - Cycle A

1st Reading: Acts 1:1-11

Prologue
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[1] In the first book, O Theophilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and
teach, [2] until the day when he was taken up, after he had given commandment
through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. [3] To them he pre-
sented himself alive after his passion by many proofs, appearing to them during
forty days, and speaking of the kingdom of God. [4] And while staying with them
he charged them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the
Father, which, he said, "you heard from me, [5] for John baptized with water, but
before many days you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit."

The Ascension
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[6] So when they had come together, they asked him, "Lord, will you at this time
restore the kingdom of Israel?" [7] He said to them, "It is not for you to know times
or seasons which the Father has fixed by his own authority. [8] But you shall
receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be my wit-
nesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the end of the earth." [9]
And when he had said this, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud
took him out of their sight. [10] And while they were gazing into heaven as he went,
behold, two men stood by them in white robes, [11] and said, "Men of Galilee, why
do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into
heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven."

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Commentary:

1-5. St Luke is the only New Testament author to begin his book with a prologue,
in the style of secular historians. The main aim of this preface is to convey to the
reader the profoundly religious character of the book which he is holding in his
hands. It is a work which will give an account of events marking the fulfillment of
the promises made by the God of Israel the Creator and Savior of the world. Under
the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, into his book St Luke weaves quotations from the
Psalms, Isaiah, Amos and Joel; it both reflects the Old Testament and interprets
it in the light of its fulfillment in Jesus Christ.

The prologue refers to St Luke's Gospel as a "first book". It mentions the last
events of our Lord's life on earth--the appearances of the risen Christ and his
ascension into heaven--and links them up with the 0account which is now begin-
ning.

St Luke's aim is to describe the origins and the early growth of this Christianity,
of which the main protagonist of this book, the Holy Spirit, has been the cause.
Yet this is not simply an historical record: the Acts of the Apostles, St Jerome
explains, "seems to be a straightforward historical account of the early years of
the nascent Church. But if we bear in mind it is written by Luke the physician,
who is praised in the Gospel (cf. 2 Cor 8: 18), we will realize that everything he
says is medicine for the ailing soul" ("Epistle" 53, 9).

The spiritual dimension of this book, which is one of a piece with the Third Gospel,
nourished the soul of the first generations of Christians, providing them with a
chronicle of God's faithful and loving support of the new Israel. "This book", St
John Chrysostom writes at the start of his great commentary, "will profit us no
less than the Gospels, so replete is it with Christian wisdom and sound doctrine.
It offers an account of the numerous miracles worked by the Holy Spirit. It
contains the fulfillment of the prophecies of Jesus Christ recorded in the Gospel;
we can observe in the very facts the bright evidence of Truth which shines in them,
and the mighty change which is taking place in the Apostles: they become perfect
men, extraordinary men, now that the Holy Spirit has come upon them. All Christ's
promises and predictions--He who believes in me will do these and even greater
works, you will be dragged before tribunals and kings and beaten in the synagogues,
and will suffer grievous things, and yet you will overcome your persecutors and
executioners and will bring the Gospel to the ends of the earth--all this, how it
came to pass, may be seen in this admirable book. Here you will see the Apostles
speeding their way overland and sea as if on wings. These Galileans, once so
timorous and obtuse, we find suddenly changed into new men, despising wealth
and honor, raised above passion and concupiscence" ("Hom. on Acts", 1).

St Luke dedicates this book to Theophilus--as he did his Gospel. The dedication
suggests that Theophilus was an educated Christian, of an upper-class back-
ground, but he may be a fictitious person symbolizing "the beloved of God",
which is what the name means. It also may imply that Acts was written quite
soon after the third Gospel.

1. "To do and teach": these words very concisely sum up the work of Jesus
Christ, reported in the Gospels. They describe the way in which God's saving
Revelation operates: God lovingly announces and reveals himself in the course
of human history through his actions and through his words. "The economy of
Revelation is realized by deeds and words, which are intrinsically bound up with
each other", Vatican II teaches. "As a result, the works performed by God in the
history of salvation show forth and bear out the doctrine and realities signified by
the words; the words, for their part, proclaim the works, and bring to light the
mystery they contain. The most intimate truth which this revelation gives us
about God and the salvation of man shines forth in Christ, who is himself both
the mediator and the sum total of Revelation" ("Dei Verbum", 2).

The Lord "proclaimed the kingdom of the Father both by the testimony of his life
and by the power of his word" (Vatican II, "Lumen Gentium", 35). He did not limit
himself to speech, to being simply the Teacher whose words opened man's minds
to the truth. He was, above all, the Redeemer, able to save fallen man through the
divine efficacy of each and every moment of his life on earth.

"Our Lord took on all our weaknesses, which proceed from sin--with the exception
of sin itself. He experienced hunger and thirst, sleep and fatigue, sadness and
tears. He suffered in every possible way, even the supreme suffering of death. No
one could be freed from the bonds of sinfulness had he who alone was totally
innocent not been ready to die at the hands of impious men. Therefore, our Savior,
the Son of God, has left all those who believe in him an effective source of aid,
and also an example. The first they obtain by being reborn through grace, the
second by imitating his life" (St Leo the Great, "Twelfth Homily on the Passion").

Jesus' redemptive action--his miracles, his life of work, and the mystery of his
death, resurrection and ascension, whose depth and meaning only faith can
plumb--also constitute a simple and powerful stimulus for our everyday conduct.
Faith should always be accompanied by works, by deeds, that is, our humble
and necessary cooperation with God's saving plans.

"Don't forget that doing must come before teaching. 'Coepit facere et docere', the
holy Scripture says of Jesus Christ: 'He began to do and to teach. ' "First deeds:
so that you and I might learn" (St. J. Escriva, "The Way", 342).

3. This verse recalls the account in Luke 24:13-43 of the appearances of the risen
Jesus to the disciples of Emmaus and to the Apostles in the Cenacle. It stresses
the figure of forty days. This number may have a literal meaning and also a deeper
meaning. In Sacred Scripture periods of forty days or forty years have a clearly
salvific meaning: they are periods during which God prepares or effects important
stages in his plans. The great flood lasted forty days (Gen 7:17); the Israelites
journeyed in the wilderness for forty years on their way to the promised land (Ps
95:10); Moses spent forty days on Mount Sinai to receive God's revelation of the
Covenant (Ex 24:18); on the strength of the bread sent by God Elisha walked forty
days and forty nights to reach his destination (1 Kings 19:8); and our Lord fasted
in the wilderness for forty days in preparation for his public life (Mt 4:2).

5. "You shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit": this book has been well described
as the "Gospel of the Holy Spirit". "There is hardly a page in the Acts of the
Apostles where we fail to read about the Spirit and the action by which he guides,
directs and enlivens the life and work of the early Christian community. It is he
who inspires the preaching of St Peter (cf. Acts 4:8), who strengthens the faith
of the disciples (cf. Acts 4:31), who confirms with his presence the calling of the
Gentiles (cf. Acts 10:44-47), who sends Saul and Barnabas to distant lands,
where they will open new paths for the teaching of Jesus (cf. Acts 13:2-4). In a
word, his presence and doctrine are everywhere" (St. Escriva, "Christ Is Passing
By", 127).

6-8. The Apostles' question shows that they are still thinking in terms of earthly
restoration of the Davidic dynasty. It would seem that for them --as for many
Jews of their time--eschatological hope in the Kingdom extended no further than
expectation of world-embracing Jewish hegemony.

"It seems to me", St John Chrysostom comments, "that they had not any clear
notion of the nature of the Kingdom, for the Spirit had not yet instructed them.
Notice that they do not ask when it shall come but 'Will you at this time restore
the Kingdom to Israel?', as if the Kingdom were something that lay in the past.
This question shows that they were still attracted by earthly things, though less
than they had been" ("Hom. on Acts", 2).

Our Lord gives an excellent and encouraging reply, patiently telling them that the
Kingdom is mysterious in character, that it comes when one least expects, and
that they need the help of the Holy Spirit to be able to grasp the teaching they
have received. Jesus does not complain about their obtuseness; he simply cor-
rects their ideas and instructs them.

8. The outline of Acts is given here: the author plans to tell the story of the growth
of the Church, beginning in Jerusalem and spreading through Judea and Samaria
to the ends of the earth. This is the geographical structure of St Luke's account.
In the Third Gospel Jerusalem was the destination point of Jesus' public life (which
began in Galilee); here it is the departure point.

The Apostles' mission extends to the whole world. Underlying this verse we can
see not so much a "geographical" dimension as the universalist aspirations of
the Old Testament, articulated by Isaiah: "It shall come to pass in the latter days
that the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be established as the highest of
the mountains, and shall be raised above the hills; and all the nations shall flow
to it, and many peoples shall come, and say: 'Come, let us go up to the mountain
of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; that he may teach us his ways and
that we may walk in his paths. For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word
of the Lord from Jerusalem" (Is 2:2-3).

9. Jesus' life on earth did not end with his death on the Cross but with his ascen-
sion into heaven. The ascension, reported here, is the last event, the last mystery
of our Lord's life on earth (cf. also 24:50-53)--and also it concerns the origins of the
Church. The ascension scene takes place, so to speak, between heaven and
earth. "Why did a cloud take him out of the Apostles' sight?", St John Chrysostom
asks. "The cloud was a sure sign that Jesus had already entered heaven; it was
not a whirlwind or a chariot of fire, as in the case of the prophet Elijah (cf. 2 Kings
2: l 1), but a cloud, which was a symbol of heaven itself" ("Hom. on Acts", 2). A
cloud features in theophanies--manifestations of God--in both the Old Testament
(cf. Ex 13:22) and the New (cf. Lk 9:34f).

Our Lord's ascension is one of the actions by which Jesus redeems us from
sin and gives us the new life of grace. It is a redemptive mystery "What we have
already taught of the mystery of his death and resurrection the faithful should
deem not less true of his ascension. For although we owe our redemption and
salvation to the passion of Christ, whose merits opened heaven to the just, yet
his ascension is not only proposed to us as a model, which teaches us to look
on high and ascend in spirit into heaven, but it also imparts to us a divine virtue
which enables us to accomplish what it teaches" ("St Pius V Catechism" I, 7,
9).

Our Lord's going up into heaven is not simply something which stirs us to lift up
our hearts--as we are invited to do at the preface of the Mass, to seek and love
the "things that are above" (cf. Col 3:1-2); along with the other mysteries of his
life, death and resurrection, Christ's ascension saves us. "Today we are not only
made possessors of paradise", St Leo says, "but we have ascended with Christ,
mystically but really, into the highest heaven, and through Christ we have ob-
tained a more ineffable grace than that which we lost through the devil's envy"
("First Homily on the Ascension").

The ascension is the climax of Christ's exaltation, which was achieved in the first
instance by his resurrection and which--along with his passion and death--const-
itutes the paschal mystery. The Second Vatican Council expresses this as
follows: "Christ our Lord redeemed mankind and gave perfect glory to God [...].
principally by the paschal mystery of his blessed passion, resurrection from the
dead, and glorious ascension" ("Sacrosanctum Concilium", 5; cf. "Dei Verbum",
19).

Theology has suggested reasons why it was very appropriate for the glorified Lord
to go up into heaven to be "seated at the right hand of the Father." "First of all,
he ascended because the glorious kingdom of the highest heavens, not the ob-
scure abode of this earth, presented a suitable dwelling place for him whose body,
rising from the tomb, was clothed with the glory of immortality. He ascended,
however, not only to possess the throne of glory and the kingdom which he had
merited by his blood, but also to attend to whatever regards our salvation. Again,
he ascended to prove thereby that his kingdom is not of this world" ("St Pius V
Catechism", I, 7, 5; cf. "Summa Theologiae", III, q. 57, a. 6).

The ascension marks the point when the celestial world celebrates the victory
and glorification of Christ: "It is fitting that the sacred humanity of Christ should
receive the homage, praise and adoration of all the hierarchies of the Angels and
of all the legions of the blessed in heaven" (J. Escriva, "Holy Rosary", second
glorious mystery).

11. The angels are referring to the Parousia--our Lord's second coming, when he
will judge the living and the dead. "They said to them, What are you doing here,
looking into heaven? These words are full of solicitude, but they do not proclaim
the second coming of the Savior as imminent. The angels simply assert what is
most important, that is, that Jesus Christ will come again and the confidence
with which we should await his return" (St John Chrysostom, "Hom. on Acts",
2).

We know for a certainty that Christ will come again at the end of time. We con-
fess this in the Creed as part of our faith. However, we know "neither the day nor
the hour" (Mt 25: 13) of his coming. We do not need to know it. Christ is always
imminent. We must always be on the watch, that is, we should busy ourselves
in the service of God and of others, which is where our sanctification lies.

2nd Reading: Ephesians 1:17-23

Thanksgiving. The Supremacy of Christ (Continuation)
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[17] that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, give you a spirit
of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, [18] having the eyes of your
hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called
you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, [19] and what
is the immeasurable greatness of his power in us who believe, according to the
working of his great might [20] which he accomplished in Christ when he raised
im from the dead and made him sit at the right hand in the heavenly places, [2I]
far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name
that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come; [22] and
he has put all things under his feet and has made him the head over all things
for the church, [23] which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.

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Commentary:

17. The God whom St Paul addresses is "the God of our Lord Jesus Christ", that
is, the God who has revealed himself through Christ and to whom Jesus himself,
as man, prays and asks for help (cf. Lk 22:42). The same God as was described
in the Old Testament as "the God of Abraham, of Isaac and of Jacob" is now de-
fined as "the God of our Lord Jesus Christ". He is the personal God recognized
by his relationship with Christ, his Son, who as mediator of the New Covenant ob-
tains from God the Father everything he asks for. This will be our own experience
too if we are united to Christ, for he promised that "if you ask anything of the
Father, he will give it to you in my name" (Jn 16:23; 15:16).

The founder of Opus Dei reminds us that "Jesus is the way, the mediator. In him
are all things; outside of him is nothing. In Christ, taught by him, we dare to call
Almighty God 'our Father': he who created heaven and earth is a loving Father"
("Christ Is Passing By", 91).

The Apostle also calls God "the Father of glory". The glory of God means his
greatness, his power, the infinite richness of his personality, which when it is
revealed inspires man with awe. Already, in the history of Israel, God revealed
himself through his saving actions in favor of his people. Asking God to glorify his
name is the same as asking him to show himself as our Savior and to give us his
gifts. But the greatest manifestation of God's glory, of his power, was the raising
of Jesus from the dead, and the raising, with him, of the Christian (cf. Rom 6:4;
1 Cor 6:14). In this passage St Paul asks God "the Father of glory" to grant
Christians supernatural wisdom to recognize the greatness of the blessings he
has given them through his Son; that is, to acknowledge that he is their Father
and the origin of glory. By asking for a "spirit of wisdom and revelation" the
Apostle is seeking special gifts--on the one hand, wisdom, that gift of the Holy
Spirit which enables one to penetrate the mystery of God: "Who has learned thy
counsel, unless thou hast given wisdom and sent thy holy Spirit from on high?"
(Wis 9:17). This wisdom which the Church has been given (cf. Eph l:8) can be
communicated to Christians in a special way, as a special gift or charism of the
Holy Spirit. The Apostle also asks God to give them a spirit "of revelation", that
is, the grace of personal revelations, such as he himself (cf. 1 Cor 14:6) and
other Christians (cf. 1 Cor 14:26) received. It is not a matter of revelation or
recognition of new truths, but rather of special light from the Holy Spirit so as
to have a deeper appreciation of the truth of faith, or of the will of God in a
particular situation.

18-19. Along with this deeper knowledge of God, St Paul asks that Christians
be given a fuller and livelier hope, because God and hope are inseparable. He
recognizes the faith and charity of the faithful to whom he is writing (cf. 1:15);
now he wants hope to shine more brightly for them; he wants God to enlighten
their minds and make them realize the consequences of their election, their
calling, to be members of the holy people of God, the Church. Hope, therefore,
is a gift from God. "Hope is a supernatural virtue, infused by God into our soul,
by which we desire and expect eternal life, promised by God to his servants,
and the means necessary to obtain it" ("St Pius X Catechism", 893).

The ground for hope lies in God's love and power which have been manifested in
the resurrection of Christ. This same power is at work in the Christian. Because
God's plan for our salvation is an eternal one, he who has called us will lead us
to an immortal life in heaven. The fact that God's power is at work in us (cf. Rom
5:5) does not mean that we encounter no difficulties. Monsignor Escriva reminds
us that "as we fight this battle, which will last until the day we die, we cannot
exclude the possibility that enemies both within and without may attack with
violent force. As if that were not enough, you may at times be assailed by the
memory of your own past errors, which may have been very many. I tell you now,
in God's name: do not despair. Should this happen (it need not happen; nor will it
usually happen), then turn it into another motive for uniting yourself more closely
to the Lord, for he has chosen you as his child and he will not abandon you. He
has allowed this trial to befall you so as to have you love him the more and dis-
cover even more clearly his constant protection and love" ("Friends of God", 214).

20-21. The Apostle is in awe at the marvels which God's power has worked in
Jesus Christ. He sees Christ as the source and model of our hope. "For, just as
Christ's life is the model and exemplar of our holiness, so is the glory and exal-
tation of Christ the form and exemplar of our glory and exaltation" (St Thomas
Aquinas, "Commentary on Eph, ad. Ioc".).

As elsewhere in the New Testament (cf. Acts 7:56; Heb 1:3; 1 Pet 3:22), the fact
that the risen Christ is seated "at the right hand" of the Father means that he
shares in God's kingly authority. The Apostle is using a comparison with which
people of his time were very familiar -- that of the emperor seated on his throne.
The throne has always been the symbol of supreme authority and power. Thus,
the "St Pius V Catechism" explains that being seated at the right hand "does
not imply position or posture of body, but expresses the firm and permanent
possession of royal and supreme power and glory, which he received from the
Father" (I, 7, 3).

Christ's pre-eminence is absolute: he is Lord of all creation, material as well
as spiritual, earthly as well as heavenly. "All rule and authority and power and
dominion": this refers to the angelic spirits (cf. note on Eph 3:10), whom the false
preachers were presenting as superior to Christ. St Paul argues against them:
Jesus Christ at his resurrection was raised by God above all created beings.

22-23. In previous letters St Paul described the Church as a body (cf. Rom 12:4f;
1 Cor 12:12ff). Here, and in Colossians 1:18, he pursues this comparison and
says that it is the body of Christ, and that Christ is its head. He returns to this
teaching elsewhere in the Captivity Epistles (cf. Col 1:18; Eph 5:23f). The image
of body and head highlights the life-giving and salvific influence of Christ on the
Church, and at the same time emphasizes his supremacy over the Church (cf.
St. Thomas Aquinas, "Commentary on Eph, ad loc.", and also the note on Col
1:18). This fact fills Christians with joy: by joining the Church through Baptism,
they have become truly members of our Lord's body. "No, it is not pride", Paul
VI says, " nor arrogance nor obstinacy nor stupidity nor folly that makes us so
sure of being living, genuine members of Christ's body, the authentic heirs of
his Gospel" ("Ecclesiam Suam", 33).

This image also reveals Christ's close union with his Church and his deep love
for her: "he loved her so much", St John of Avila observes, "that although what
normally happens is that a person raises his arm to take a blow and protect his
head, this blessed Lord, who is the head, put himself forward to receive the blow
of divine justice, and died on the Cross to give life to his body, that is, us. And
after giving us life, through penance and the sacraments, he endows us, defends
and keeps us as something so very much his own, that he is not content with
calling us his servants, friends, brethren or children: the better to show his love
and render us honor, he gives us his name. For, by means of this ineffable union
of Christ the head with the Church his body, he and we are together called 'Christ"'
("Audi, Filia", chap. 84).

The Apostle also describes the Church, the body of Christ (cf. 1 Cor 12:12) as
his "fullness" (cf. note on Col 1:19). What he means is that, through the Church,
Christ becomes present in and fills the entire universe and extends to it the fruits
of his redemptive activity. By being the vehicle which Christ uses to distribute his
grace to all, the Church is different from the Israel of the Old Testament: it is not
confined to a particular geographical location.

Because the Church has limitless grace, its call is addressed to all mankind: all
men are invited to attain salvation in Christ. "For many centuries now, the Church
has been spread throughout the world," St. Escriva comments, "and it numbers
persons of all races and walks of life. But the universality of the Church does not
depend on its geographical extension, even though that is a visible sign and a
motive of credibility. The Church was catholic already at Pentecost; it was born
catholic from the wounded heart of Jesus, as a fire which the Holy Spirit enkindles
[...]. 'We call it catholic', writes St Cyril, 'not only because it is spread throughout
the whole world, from one extreme to the other, but because in a universal way
and without defect it teaches all the dogmas which men ought to know, of both
the visible and the invisible, the celestial and the earthly. Likewise, because it
draws to true worship all types of men, those who govern and those who are ruled,
the learned and the ignorant. And finally, because it cures and makes healthy all
kinds of sins, whether of the soul or of the body, possessing in addition--by
whatever name it may be called--all the forms of virtue, in deeds and in words and
in every kind of spiritual gift' ("Catechesis", 18, 23)" ("In Love with the Church", 9).

All grace reaches the Church through Christ. The Second Vatican Council reminds
us: "He continually endows his body, that is, the Church, with gifts of ministries
through which, by his power, we serve each other unto salvation so that, carrying
out the truth in love, we may through all things grow into him who is our head"
("Lumen Gentium", 7). This is why St Paul calls the Church the "body" of Christ;
and it is in this sense that it is the "fullness" ("pleroma") of Christ--not because it
in any way fills out or completes Christ but because it is filled with Christ, full of
Christ, forming a single body with him, a singlespiritual organism, whose unifying
and life-giving principle is Christ, its head. This demonstrates Christ's absolute
supremacy; his unifying and life-giving influence extends from God to Christ, from
Christ to the Church, and from the Church to all men. It is he in fact who fills
all in all (cf. Eph 4:10; Col 1:17-19; 2:9f).

The fact that the Church is the body of Christ is a further reason why we should
love it and serve it. As Pope Pius XII wrote: "To ensure that this genuine and
whole-hearted love will reign in our hearts and grow every day, we must accustom
ourselves to see Christ himself in the Church. For it is indeed Christ who lives in
the Church, and through her teaches, governs and sanctifies; and it is also Christ
who manifests himself in manifold disguise in the various members of his society"
("Mystici Corporis", 43).

Gospel Reading: Matthew 28:16-20

Appearance in Galilee. The Mission to the World
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[16] Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus
had directed them. [17] And when they saw him they worshipped him; but some
doubted. [18] And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on
earth has been given to me. [19] Go therefore and make disciples of all nations,
baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
[20] teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with
you always, to the close of the age."

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Commentary:

16-20. This short passage, which brings to a close the Gospel of St Matthew, is
of great importance. Seeing the risen Christ, the disciples adore him, worshipping
him as God. This shows that at last they are fully conscious of what, from much
earlier on, they felt in their heart and confessed by their words--that their Master
is the Messiah, the Son of God (cf. Mt 16:18; Jn 1:49). They are overcome by
amazement and joy at the wonder their eyes behold: it seems almost impossible,
were he not before their very eyes. Yet he is completely real, so their fearful
amazement gives way to adoration. The Master addresses them with the majesty
proper to God: "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me." Omni-
potence, an attribute belonging exclusively to God, belongs to him: he is confirming
the faith of his worshippers; and he is also telling them that the authority which he
is going to give them to equip them to carry out their mission to the whole world,
derives from his own divine authority.

On hearing him speak these words, we should bear in mind that the authority of
the Church, which is given it for the salvation of mankind, comes directly from
Jesus Christ, and that this authority, in the sphere of faith and morals, is above
any other authority on earth.

The Apostles present on this occasion, and after them their lawful successors,
receive the charge of teaching all nations what Jesus taught by word and work:
he is the only path that leads to God. The Church, and in it all Christian faithful,
have the duty to proclaim until the end of time, by word and example, the faith
that they have received. This mission belongs especially to the successors of
the Apostles, for on them devolves the power to teach with authority, "for, before
Christ ascended to his Father after his resurrection, he [...] entrusted them with
the mission and power to proclaim to mankind what they had heard, what they
had seen with th eir eyes, what they had looked upon and touched with their
hands, concerning the Word of Life (1 Jn 1: 1). He also entrusted them with the
mission and power to explain with authority what he had taught them, his words
and actions, his signs and commandments. And he gave them the Spirit to fulfill
their mission" (John Paul II, "Catechesi Tradendae", 1). Therefore, the teachings
of the Pope and of the Bishops united to him should always be accepted by
everyone with assent and obedience.

Here Christ also passes on to the Apostles and their successors the power to
baptize, that is, to receive people into the Church, thereby opening up to them the
way to personal salvation.

The mission which the Church is definitively given here at the end of St Matthew's
Gospel is one of continuing the work of Christ--teaching men and women the truths
concerning God and the duty incumbent on them to identify with these truths, to
make them their own by having constant recourse to the grace of the sacraments.
This mission will endure until the end of time and, to enable it to do this work, the
risen Christ promises to stay with the Church and never leave it. When Sacred
Scripture says that God is with someone, this means that that person will be suc-
cessful in everything he undertakes. Therefore, the Church, helped in this way by
the presence of its divine Founder, can be confident of never failing to fulfill its
mission down the centuries until the end of time.

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Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.

Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States. We encourage readers to purchase
The Navarre Bible for personal study. See Scepter Publishers for details.

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