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Saint Gertrude Parish - Lasne
May 14, 2026
On this page you will find:
The readings for Mass, the Mass leaflet with the choice of hymns
A sample universal prayer available for download, in PDF and editable Word formats.
A meditation on the Sunday Gospel, a spiritual text and commentary by Marie-Noëlle Thabut
Ascent
Solemnity
Ascension of Jesus into heaven; fresco in the Romanesque church of San Martino in Campiglio, near Bolzano
Go therefore and make disciples of all nations,
said the Lord.
I am with you every day.
until the end of the world.
Matthew 28:19-20
Readings from the Mass
Mass leaflet
Universal Prayer
Consult the Lectio Divina page, which invites you to read the Gospel in a prayerful atmosphere so that you may be touched in your heart. It is important not to rush to read commentaries or homilies before having this personal experience of encountering Christ in Scripture.
Next, if you wish, you can read the meditations below which will enrich your personal reading and meditation.
Meditation by Pope Francis
Today, in Italy and other countries, we celebrate the Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord. The Gospel passage (cf. Mt 28:16-20) shows us the apostles gathering in Galilee, “on the mountain that Jesus had told them about” (v. 16). It is there that the risen Lord has his final encounter with his followers, on the mountain. The “mountain” has a strong symbolic, evocative value. It was on a mountain that Jesus proclaimed the Beatitudes ( cf. (Mt 5:1-12); it was on the mountains that he withdrew to pray (cf. Mt 14:23); it was there that he welcomed the crowds and healed the sick (cf. Mt 15:29). But this time, on the mountain, it is no longer the Master who acts and teaches, but the Risen One who asks the disciples to act and proclaim, entrusting them with the mission of continuing his work.
He entrusts them with a mission to all nations. He says, “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” (vv. 19-20). The content of the mission entrusted to the apostles is as follows: to proclaim, baptize, teach, and walk in the path laid out by the Master, that is, the living Gospel. This message of salvation implies above all the duty of witness—without witness, one cannot proclaim—to which we, too, the disciples of today, are also called to give an account of our faith. Faced with such a demanding task, and thinking of our weaknesses, we feel inadequate, as the apostles themselves surely felt. But we must not be discouraged, remembering the words that Jesus addressed to them before his Ascension into heaven: "I am with you always, to the end of the age" (v. 20).
This promise assures us of Jesus' constant and comforting presence among us. But how is this presence realized? Through his Spirit, who guides the Church to walk through history as a companion to every person. This Spirit, sent by Christ and the Father, brings about the remission of sins and sanctifies all who, repentant, open themselves with trust to his gift. With the promise to remain with us until the end of time, Jesus inaugurates the style of his presence in the world as the Risen One. Jesus is present in the world, but with a different style, the style of the Risen One—that is, a presence revealed in the Word, in the sacraments, and in the constant, inner action of the Holy Spirit. The Feast of the Ascension tells us that Jesus, although ascended to Heaven to remain glorious at the right hand of the Father, is still and always among us: it is from this that our strength, our perseverance and our joy flow, precisely from the presence of Jesus among us with the power of the Holy Spirit.
May the Virgin Mary accompany our journey with her maternal protection: let us learn from her gentleness and courage to be witnesses in the world of the risen Lord.
At the end of the Regina Cæli
Dear brothers and sisters, let us unite ourselves spiritually with the Catholic faithful of China, who today celebrate, with particular devotion, the feast of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Help of Christians and Patroness of China, venerated in the Sheshan Shrine in Shanghai. Let us entrust to the guidance and protection of our Heavenly Mother the pastors and faithful of the Catholic Church in this great country, that they may be strong in faith and steadfast in fraternal unity, joyful witnesses and promoters of charity and fraternal hope, and good citizens.
My dearest Catholic brothers and sisters in China, I wish to assure you that the universal Church, of which you are an integral part, shares your hopes and supports you in the trials of life. She accompanies you in prayer for a new outpouring of the Holy Spirit, so that in you may shine forth the light and beauty of the Gospel, the power of God for the salvation of all who believe. Expressing once again to you all my deep and sincere affection, I impart to you a special Apostolic Blessing. May the Blessed Virgin Mary always protect you!
Finally, let us entrust to the intercession of Mary Help of Christians all the disciples of the Lord and all people of good will who, in these difficult times, in every part of the world, are working with passion and commitment for peace, for dialogue between nations, for service to the poor, for the safeguarding of creation and for the victory of humanity over every disease of the body, heart and soul.
Today is World Communications Day, dedicated this year to the theme of storytelling . May this event encourage us to tell and share constructive stories that help us understand that we are all part of a story bigger than ourselves and that we can look to the future with hope if we truly care for one another as brothers and sisters.
Today, the Feast of Mary Help of Christians, I offer a warm and affectionate greeting to the Salesians and Salesian Sisters. I remember with gratitude the spiritual formation I received from the sons of Don Bosco.
I should have been in Acerra today to support the faith of its people and the dedication of those working tirelessly to combat the tragedy of pollution in what is known as the Land of Fires. My visit has been postponed; however, I send my greetings, blessings, and encouragement to the bishop, priests, families, and the entire diocesan community, and look forward to meeting you as soon as possible. I will come, that's for sure!
Today also marks the fifth anniversary of the encyclical Laudato si ’ , which sought to draw attention to the cry of the Earth and the poor. Thanks to the initiative of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, the “Laudato si’ Week,” which we have just celebrated, will lead into a special Laudato si ’ Anniversary Year, a special year for reflecting on the encyclical, from May 24 of this year until May 24 of next year. I invite all people of goodwill to participate, to care for our common home and our most vulnerable brothers and sisters. The prayer dedicated to this year will be published on the website. It will be beautiful to recite it.
I wish everyone a happy Sunday. Please remember to pray for me. Enjoy your lunch and goodbye.
PRAYER
Loving God, Creator of heaven, earth, and all that they contain. Open our minds and touch our hearts, so that we may be part of creation, your gift.
Be there for those in need during these difficult times, especially the poorest and most vulnerable. Help us to demonstrate creative solidarity in facing the consequences of this global pandemic. Give us the courage to embrace change in pursuit of the common good. Now more than ever, may we all feel interconnected and interdependent.
Grant that we may succeed in listening to and responding to the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor. May the present sufferings be the birth pangs of a more fraternal and sustainable world.
Under the loving gaze of Mary Help of Christians, we pray to you through Christ our Lord. Amen
AR — DE — EN — ES — FR — HR — IT — PL — PT
POPE FRANCIS
REGINA CAELI
Library of the Apostolic Palace
Sunday, May 24, 2020
[ Multimedia ]
Homily of Bishop Vincenzo Paglia*
Sunday, June 5, 2011: Ascension Sunday
Memorial of Saint Boniface, bishop and martyr. He proclaimed the Gospel in Germany and was killed while celebrating the Eucharist (+754).
Acts 1.1-11; Ps 46; Ep 1,17-23; Mt 28:16-20.
"Men of Galileo, why do you stand here looking into the sky?"
The question posed by the two men dressed in white surprised the apostles, oppressed by a feeling of emptiness, suspended between nostalgia for the past and the discouragement of the present. They were no longer thinking of Jesus, as they were all preoccupied with themselves and a sense of loneliness. Their heaven was truly empty, since it was their own abandonment they contemplated, without expecting any further comfort. The heaven the apostles gazed upon was not that of Scripture, but their own future, devoid of all hope. A closed heaven, and therefore inevitably empty, from which no voice of God could be heard, where neither angels ascending nor descending, nor the Son of Man could be seen. And yet, the disciples insisted on staring at this heaven. The same is true for us when we gaze at the heaven knowing what might come from there, or when we consider it in a purely negative light, as an abstraction, an escape from the concrete, immediate reality of daily life. But the voice that reveals the futility of this way of looking at the sky is the voice of the angels. It is the Word of God, in fact, that turns us away from a falsely religious way of looking at the sky.
The Word of God turns us away from ourselves and from those projections of ourselves that rise up to heaven.
It is toward Jesus that the Word invites us to look, not toward the emptiness of our heaven, but toward the reality and meaning of his Ascension. This heaven is no longer closed or empty, and it becomes the place from which we must expect something: the return of Jesus “in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.” To hope for this, however, means believing that he has “disappeared from their sight,” but that he is alive. If he is no longer among us, it is not because he has vanished; on the contrary, his presence has spread, among us and throughout the whole world. This is the meaning of the Ascension. This is why, rather than withdrawing from the world where he became unattainable, Jesus withdrew from a limited way of being among humankind. He perhaps withdrew from our possession, which is also the reason why heaven seems empty to us, why we can no longer see him. We can raise our eyes like the apostles and see nothing, because we only see what we want to see: so many confirmations of the sad feelings that dwell in everyone's heart.
But the message of this Ascension is different. It is an invitation to follow Jesus, who makes himself present to the whole world. In the past, the word "church steeple" evoked the spirit of human solidarity within a small community with no outside connections. Today, however, it has become synonymous with selfishness and disintegration, a kind of invitation to think only of oneself, ignoring the world, which has become one large village.
Every church steeple on this day invites us to listen to the message of the Ascension, broadening our perspectives: from the particular to the universal, from love for ourselves to love for all humanity, especially the poorest. There are times when, because of our sin, heaven appears closed and empty. But there are so many men and women for whom heaven is truly closed, empty, and this too is because of our sin. These are the multitudes to whom no man dressed in white has appeared to announce that "Jesus will return" one day. We do not see them, just as we do not see the Son of Man ascending into heaven, but they are there. They are those who live outside our village, our city, our country. Sometimes they speak our language, sometimes the color of their skin is different from ours. But Jesus ascended into heaven for them too, so that they might be part of this family of disciples he has gathered.
Vincenzo Paglia is Bishop of Terni-Narni-Amelia, spiritual advisor to the Community of Sant'Egidio, president of the Episcopal Conference of Umbria and president of the Catholic Biblical Federation.
Understanding the readings
with Marie-Noëlle THABUT
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