THE ASCENSION & MATTHIAS

THE ASCENSION & MATTHIAS HEART OF CATECHESIS OUR CATHOLIC CHURCH--THE MYSTICAL BODY OF CHRIST LESSON 2 CLOUD AND LIGHT These two images occur together in the manifestations of the Holy Spirit. In the theophanies of the Old Testament, the cloud, now obscure, now luminous, reveals the living and saving God, while veiling the transcendence of his glory - with Moses on Mount Sinai, at the tent of meeting, and during the wandering in the desert, and with Solomon at the dedication of the Temple. In the Holy Spirit, Christ fulfills these figures. The Spirit comes upon the Virgin Mary and "overshadows" her, so that she might conceive and give birth to Jesus. On the mountain of Transfiguration, the Spirit in the "cloud came and overshadowed" Jesus, Moses and Elijah, Peter, James and John, and "a voice came out of the cloud, saying, 'This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!'" Finally, the cloud took Jesus out of the sight of the disciples on the day of his ascension and will reveal him as Son of man in glory on the day of his final coming. Catechism of the Catholic Church #697 PARENTS & CATECHISTS READING REFLECTION & PRAYER Sacred Scripture MATTHEW 28:1-10 MATTHEW 28:16-20 ACTS Chapter 1 The Ascension Giotto di Bondone 1304-1306 Cappella Scrovegni, Padua Catechism of the Catholic Church #75-76, 644-645, 857 #659-664

Page 2 THE ASCENSION & MATTHIAS Sacred Scripture Grades K-1 The Illustrated Acts of the Apostles p. 8 The Ascension Grades 2-4 Bible for Young Catholics pp. 226-227 The Ascension pp. 280-282 The Ascension & Matthias Grades 5-12 Matthew 28:1-10 Matthew 28:16-20 Acts Chapter 1 Catechism STUDENTS READING REFLECTION & PRAYER Grades K-2 First Communion Catechism pp. 15-17, 33, 35-37 Grades 3-6 Baltimore Catechism #1 pp. 19-20, 56-57, 116-118 Grades 7-12 Catechism of the Catholic Church #75-76, 644-645, 857 #659-664 TEACHING STRATEGY & OBJECTIVES THEME: JESUS FINISHES HIS MISSION ON EARTH AND PROMISES TO SEND THE HOLY SPIRIT IN POWER TO GUIDE THE APOSTLES TO PREACH THE GOSPEL TO THE ENDS OF THE EARTH. Review the Resurrection of Jesus Discuss Jesus Ascension into Heaven Help students to understand Why Jesus ascended into heaven His instructions to the Apostles Christ s Establishment of His Church The meaning of Jesus SEATED AT THE RIGHT HAND OF THE FATHER Review the Holy Trinity and the Holy Spirit Review the SACRAMENT OF BAPTISM Discuss the Replacement of Judas OPENING PRAYER: SECOND GLORIOUS MYSTERY OF THE ROSARY: THE ASCENSION The Ascension John Singleton Copely, 1775 Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

OUR CATHOLIC CHURCH--THE MYSTICAL BODY OF CHRIST Page 3 REVIEW: THE CREED I believe in one God, the Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all things visible and invisible. I believe in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Only Begotten Son of God, born of the Father before all ages. God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, consubstantial with the Father; through him all things were made. For us men and for our salvation he came down from heaven, and by the Holy Spirit was incarnate of the Virgin Mary, and became man. For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate, he suffered death and was buried, and rose again on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures. He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead and his kingdom will have no end. READINGS FROM SACRED SCRIPTURE: THE ASCENSION MATTHEW 28:1-10 AND 16-20 DOES THE BIBLE DESCRIBE THE EXACT MOMENT JESUS ROSE FROM THE DEAD? No it only tells us what happened afterwards. WHAT IS THE RESURRECTION? RESURRECTION: JESUS CHRIST WAS CRUCIFED UNDER PONTIUS PILATE, HE SUFFERED DEATH AND WAS BURIED, AND ROSE AGAIN ON THE THIRD DAY, HIS BODY AND SOUL UNITED FOREVER IN A GLORIFIED STATE. Jesus died on the Cross on Good Friday when He said, FATHER INTO YOUR HANDS I COMMEND MY SPIRIT. At that moment His Human Soul left His Human Body and Jesus died in His humanity. On Easter Sunday, Jesus Body and Soul came together again in a Resurrected State never to part again. A Citation from Scripture worth remembering where these RESURRECTION stories may be found is JOHN 19. HOW IS MATTHEW S ACCOUNT OF THE RESURRECTION DIFFERENT FROM JOHN S? John only tells us about Mary Magdalene coming to the tomb; Matthew mentions another Mary [perhaps Mary, the wife of Cleophas and the mother of James]. Matthew also tells us that Jesus appeared to the women.

OUR CATHOLIC CHURCH--THE MYSTICAL BODY OF CHRIST Page 4 WHAT MESSAGE DOES THE ANGEL GIVE TO THE HOLY WOMEN? He tells them that Jesus is Risen from the dead and that He is not in the tomb. He tells them to look at [ Behold ] the place where His Body had been laid. He also tells them to go to the disciples and tell them that Jesus is going to Galilee and that He will appear to them there. WHO DO THE WOMEN SEE WHILE THEY ARE ON THE WAY TO THE DISCIPLES? Jesus appears to them while they are on the way. WHAT IS THE FIRST WORD THAT JESUS SAYS TO THE HOLY WOMEN? PEACE, is the first word which Jesus speaks to the women. This word, PEACE, is also the first word which Jesus speaks to His Apostles later that day. We are not to be afraid we are to trust in Him and know peace deep in our souls. WHAT DO THE WOMEN DO? They kneel before Jesus and embrace His feet. WHAT DOES JESUS TELL THE WOMEN TO DO? He repeats the message spoken earlier by the angel, GO TELL MY BROTHERS THEY ARE TO GO TO GALI- LEE; THERE THEY WILL SEE ME. WHEN JESUS APPEARS TO THE DISCIPLES, DO THEY ALL BELIEVE IN HIM? No some of them still doubt. WHAT IS JESUS FINAL MESSAGE TO HIS DISCIPLES, AND WHAT DOES IT MEAN? Jesus message to the Disciples has three parts. 1. ALL POWER IN HEAVEN AND ON EARTH HAS BEEN GIVEN TO ME. Jesus is the Son of God the Word through Whom the Universe was made. God the Father now entrusts the God-Man with all authority and power; He is now the King of Kings the Lord of the Universe. 2. 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 TEACHING THEM TO OBSERVE ALL THAT I HAVE COMMANDED YOU Jesus now gives the Apostles the power to Baptize in the Name of the HOLY TRINITY: THERE IS ONE GOD WHO IS THREE DIVINE PERSONS; GOD THE FATHER, GOD THE SON, AND GOD THE HOLY SPIRIT. He also commands them to teach the world how to live and how to love. 3. BEHOLD, I AM WITH YOU ALWAYS, EVEN UNTO THE CONSUMMATION OF THE WORLD. This is at first hard to understand, since Jesus is saying it even as He is leaving ascending into Heaven. Well, Jesus isn t really leaving us. The Ascension marks the end of Jesus human life with His brothers they will no longer see Him and hear Him and walk with Him as they did before. Now they shall have an even closer relationship with Him. At Mass they shall receive Jesus in Holy Communion, so He will not just be with them, but within them. And He shall also send them another Divine Person as a gift the HOLY SPIRIT...who we will discuss in the following pages.

OUR CATHOLIC CHURCH--THE MYSTICAL BODY OF CHRIST Page 5 WHEN WE SAY THE CREED, WE SAY, HE ASCENDED INTO HEAVEN, AND IS SEATED AT THE RIGHT HAND OF THE FATHER. WHAT DOES THIS MEAN? It means that Jesus Kingdom the Catholic Church has been established, and that He exercises Divine Power over this Church, which is His Mystical Body on earth. WHY DID JESUS ASCEND INTO HEAVEN? WHY DIDN T HE STAY WITH US? This is the Mystery of the Ascension. God s Plan is not to establish an earthly kingdom [as He told Pontius Pilate, MY KINGDOM IS NOT OF THIS EARTH. ] God s Plan is for the Son to bring the World to Him through His HOLY SPIRIT working in and through US! Pope Benedict XVI puts this quite beautifully in his second Book on Jesus of Nazareth The departing Jesus does not make His way to some distant star. He enters into communion of power and life with the living God, into God s dominion over space. Hence He has not gone away, but now and forever by God s own power He is present with us and for us. In the farewell discourses of John s Gospel, this is exactly what Jesus says to His disciples, I GO AWAY AND I COME TO YOU [JN 14:28]. These words sum up beautifully what is so special about Jesus going away, which is also His coming, and at the same time they explain the Mystery of the Cross, the Resurrection, and the Ascension. His going away is in this sense a coming, a new form of closeness, of continuing presence, which for John too, is linked with the joy that we saw in Luke s Gospel. Because Jesus is with the Father, He has not gone away but remains close to us. Now He is no longer in one particular place in the world as He had been before the Ascension : now, through His power over space, He is present and accessible to all throughout history and in every place [Jesus of Nazareth II: pp. 282 284]. IN THE CREED WE SAY, HE WILL COME AGAIN IN GLORY TO JUDGE THE LIVING AND THE DEAD, AND HIS KINGDOM WILL HAVE NO END. WHAT DOES THIS MEAN? At the end of time when God is ready to bring all the world and universe to Himself, Jesus shall come again, as He promised YOU SHALL SEE THE SON OF MAN COMING IN POWER ON THE CLOUDS OF HEAVEN. Jesus will bring final justice for all. Jesus will command those who have done evil to DEPART FOREVER INTO THE EV- ERLASTING FIRE PREPARED FOR THE DEVIL AND HIS ANGELS, and will call those who have served Him in this life to be with Him forever in Heaven. READINGS FROM SACRED SCRIPTURE: ACTS OF THE APOSTLES CHAPTER ONE WHO IS THEOPHILUS AND WHAT DOES THE AUTHOR OF THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES MEAN WHEN HE SPEAKS OF HIS FIRST ACCOUNT? St. Luke, the author of the Acts of the Apostles, was a gentile [this word is used in the Bible to describe those who are not Jewish]. Luke was probably a Greek Physician, a well-educated man of the world from Antioch. THEOPHILUS means Lover of God and may be an individual person perhaps a person of great importance who wanted to know the story of Jesus or it may just be Luke s way of addressing US [the readers of his book]. The first account or the first book to which he refers is his Gospel the GOSPEL ACCORDING TO LUKE. The ACTS OF THE APOSTLES is the sequel the second part of the story which Luke is telling. It is sometimes called THE GOSPEL OF THE HOLY SPIRIT because it tells us so much about how the Holy Spirit works in and through the Apostles in the foundation of the Catholic Church. WHAT [AND WHO] ARE THE APOSTLES? The Apostles are the 12 disciples closest to Jesus. Disciples means those who are taught. Apostles means, those who are sent. The Acts of the Apostles tells us most about the work of two Apostles Peter, the Head of the Church the Rock on which the Church was built, and Paul who we will discuss later.

Page 6 THE ASCENSION & MATTHIAS WHAT [OR WHO] IS THE HOLY SPIRIT? We see Him described as wind, water, and fire. He appears in the form of a dove. Most people are not exactly sure about what or who the Holy Spirit is. The HOLY SPIRIT is THE THIRD PERSON OF THE HOLY TRINITY,WHO PROCEEDS FROM THE FATHER AND THE SON The Holy Spirit is God in the fullest sense of the word. He is co-equal with the Father and the Son, with Whom, He is adored and glorified. Consider our good sketch of the HOLY TRINITY God the Father is the Unbegotten Origin of the Trinity. God the Son is the Word eternally Begotten of the Father the Father s Divine Knowledge of Himself. God the Holy Spirit Proceeds from the Father and the Son He is their Eternal Relationship which is LOVE. The ACTS OF THE APOSTLES is the story of how God the Holy Spirit began to bring Jesus work to completion in and through the Early Church. Remember, when we consider Realities like DIVINITY: THE QUALITY OF BEING GOD and the HOLY TRINITY: THERE IS ONE GOD WHO IS THREE DIVINE PERSONS, GOD THE FATHER, GOD THE SON, AND GOD THE HOLY SPIRIT we cannot fully comprehend their meaning. Here we enter the realm of MYSTERY: A HIDDEN REALITY REVEALED BY GOD. [A Scriptural Citation we can use to find an example or manifestation of the HOLY TRINITY is MATTHEW 3 the scene of the Baptism of Jesus]. Father Proceeding Begotten Holy Spirit Proceeding Son HOW LONG DOES JESUS CONTINUE TO APPEAR TO THE APOSTLES AFTER HIS RESURRECTION? 40 days. WHAT DOES JESUS MEAN WHEN HE SAYS YOU SHALL BE BAPTIZED WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT.? The Apostles have been baptized, but have not yet received the fullness of the Holy Spirit. WHAT IS BAPTISM? BAPTISM: THE SACRAMENT IN WHICH THE GUILT OF ORIGINAL SIN IS WASHED AWAY, WE BECOME CHILDREN OF GOD, AND THE INDWELLING PRESENCE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT IS BREATHED INTO OUR SOUL. WHERE IS THE MOUNT OF OLIVES? It is about ¾ of a mile to the east of Jerusalem. WHEN THEY RETURN TO JERUSALEM AND ARE IN THE UPPER ROOM, WHAT DOES PETER, THE HEAD OF THE APOSTLES, DECIDE TO DO? He decides to choose an Apostle to replace Judas. WHAT HAPPENED TO JUDAS? After Judas betrayed Jesus for 30 pieces of silver, he hung himself. After awhile his body burst open and his bowels gushed out. The Temple priests used the money to buy a cemetery.

Page 7 THE ASCENSION & MATTHIAS WHY DID PETER DECIDE TO REPLACE JUDAS? Peter quotes scripture and one verse in particular, His office let another take. There were conditions to consider in finding his replacement Therefore, it is necessary that one of the men who accompanied us the whole time the Lord Jesus came and went among us, beginning from the baptism of John until the day on which He was taken up from us, become with us a witness to His Resurrection. So they cast lots and chose Matthias as the twelfth Apostle to replace Judas. Casting lots might sound like a game of chance. But in Old Testament times it was a venerated way of determining God s Will. The priests in the temples used it to determine priestly duties (see Lev:7-10). The process involved using marked sticks or stones which would be cast or thrown. How they landed would determine what action to take. You are the eternal Shepherd who never leaves his flock untended. Through the apostles you watch over us and protect us always. You made them shepherds of the flock to share in the work of your Son. Roman Missal, Preface of the Apostles I. CATECHISTS...AS WE MOVE THROUGH THIS YEAR OF THE MYSTICAL BODY OF CHRIST WE WILL BE STUDYING SACRED SCRIPTURE FROM THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES AND THE EPISTLES. IN STRIVING TO KEEP JESUS CHRIST AT THE VERY HEART OF CATECHESIS, EVERY WEEK WE WILL HAVE AN ACCOUNT FROM THE GOSPELS TO COMPLEMENT OUR LESSON. DO THIS IN MEMORY OF ME MOMENTS FROM THE LIFE OF JESUS CHRIST Christ takes leave of His Apostles Buoninsegna di Duccio, 1308-1311 AND NOW I WILL NO LONGER BE IN THE WORLD, BUT THEY ARE IN THE WORLD, WHILE I AM COMING TO YOU, HOLY FATHER, KEEP THEM IN YOUR NAME, THE NAME WHICH YOU HAVE GIVEN ME, SO THAT THEY MAY BE ONE JUST AS WE ARE. WHEN I WAS WITH THEM I PROTECTED THEM IN YOUR NAME THAT YOU GAVE ME, AND I GUARDED THEM, AND NONE OF THEM WAS LOST EXCEPT THE SON OF DESTRUC- TION, IN ORDER THAT THE SCRIPTURES MIGHT BE FULFILLED. BUT NOW I AM COM- ING TO YOU. I SPEAK THIS IN THE WORLD SO THAT THEY MAY SHARE MY JOY COM- PLETELY. [JOHN 17:11-13] JESUS SAID TO HER, WOMAN WHY ARE YOU WEEPING? WHOM ARE YOU LOOKING FOR? SHE THOUGHT IT WAS THE GARDENER AND SAID TO HIM, SIR, IF YOU CARRIED HIM AWAY, TELL ME WHERE YOU LAID HIM, AND I WILL TAKE HIM. JESUS SAID TO HER, MARY!. SHE TURNED AND SAID TO HIM IN HEBREW, RABBOUNI, WHICH MEANS TEACHER. JESUS SAID TO HER, STOP HOLDING ON TO ME FOR I HAVE NOT YET ASCENDED TO THE FATHER. BUT GO TO MY BROTHERS AND TELL THEM, I AM ASCENDING TO MY FATHER AND YOUR FATHER, TO MY GOD AND YOUR GOD. [JOHN 20:15-17] Appearance of Christ to Mary Magdalene Alexander Ivanov, 1834-1836 Russian Museum, St Petersberg