The Ascension of the Lord Year A
Entrance Antiphon
Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking in the sky? The Lord will return, just as you have seen him ascend, alleluia. (Acts 1:11)
Collect
God our Father,
make us joyful in the ascension of your Son Jesus Christ.
May we follow him into the new creation,
for his ascension is our glory and our hope.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Acts 1:1-11
A reading from the Acts of the Apostles
In my earlier work, Theophilus, I dealt with everything Jesus had done and taught from the beginning until the day he gave his instructions to the apostles he had chosen through the Holy Spirit, and was taken up to heaven. He had shown himself alive to them after his Passion by many demonstrations: for forty days he had continued to appear to them and tell them about the kingdom of God. When he had been at table with them, he had told them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait there for what the Father had promised. ‘It is’ he had said ‘what you have heard me speak about: John baptised with water but you, not many days from now, will be baptised with the Holy Spirit.’
Now having met together, they asked him, ‘Lord, has the time come? Are you going to restore the kingdom to Israel?’ He replied, ‘It is not for you to know times or dates that the Father has decided by his own authority, but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you, and then you will be my witnesses not only in Jerusalem but throughout Judaea and Samaria, and indeed to the ends of the earth.’
As he said this he was lifted up while they looked on, and a cloud took him from their sight. They were still staring into the sky when suddenly two men in white were standing near them and they said, ‘Why are you men from Galilee standing here looking into the sky? Jesus who has been taken up from you into heaven, this same Jesus will come back in the same way as you have seen him go there.’
This is the Word of the Lord
Thanks be to God
Ephesians 1:17-23
A reading from the letter of Paul to the people of Ephesus
May the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, give you a spirit of wisdom and perception of what is revealed, to bring you to full knowledge of him. May he enlighten the eyes of your mind so that you can see what hope his call holds for you, what rich glories he has promised the saints will inherit and how infinitely great is the power that he has exercised for us believers. This you can tell from the strength of his power at work in Christ, when he used it to raise him from the dead and to make him sit at his right hand, in heaven, far above every Sovereignty, Authority, Power, or Domination, or any other name that can be named not only in this age but also in the age to come. He has put all things under his feet and made him, as the ruler of everything, the head of the Church; which is his body, the fullness of him who fills the whole creation.
This is the Word of the Lord
Thanks be to God
Gospel Acclamation Mt28:19,20
Alleluia, alleluia!
Go, make disciples of all the nations.
I am with you always; yes, to the end of time.
Alleluia!
Matthew 28:16-20
The Lord be with you
And also with you
Hear the Gospel of our Lord according to Matthew
Glory to you, O Lord
The eleven disciples set out for Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had arranged to meet them. When they saw him they fell down before him, though some hesitated. Jesus came up and spoke to them. He said, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go, therefore, make disciples of all the nations; baptise them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teach them to observe all the commands I gave you. And know that I am with you always; yes, to the end of time.’
This is the Gospel of the Lord
Praise to you, O Christ
Communion Antiphon
I, the Lord, am with you always, until the end of the world, alleluia. (Matthew 28:20)
Prayer of Spiritual Communion
My Jesus
I believe that You are present in the Most Holy Sacrament
I love You above all things,
and I desire to receive You into my soul.
Since I cannot at this moment receive You sacramentally,
come at least spiritually into my heart.
I embrace You as if You were already there
and unite myself wholly to You.
Never permit me to be separated from You.
Amen.
Prayer after Communion
Father,
in this eucharist
we touch the divine life you give to the world.
Help us to follow Christ with love
to eternal life where he is Lord for ever and ever. Amen.
Solemn Blessing:
May almighty God bless you on this day
when his only Son ascended into heaven
to prepare a place for you. Amen.
After his resurrection, Christ was seen by his disciples.
When he appears as judge
May you be pleasing for ever in his sight. Amen.
You believe that Jesus has taken his seat in majesty
at the right hand of the Father.
May you have the joy of experiencing
that he is also with you to the end of time,
according to his promise. Amen.
And the Blessing of God Almighty,
+Father, Son and Holy Spirit
Be upon you, this day and always. Amen
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While public worship has been suspended we are offering worship, prayer and Bible Study online. We are using Twitch. Anyone can access Twitch on their phone, tablet or computer browser and you don’t need an account to watch it. You can even add “chat” which I would like to use as a source for prayer, and perhaps after the worship is over, fellowship.
