Readings: Acts 1:1-11; Psalms 47:2-3, 6-7, 8-9; Ephesians 1:17-23; Luke 24:46-53;

Bearing witness to Christ, to his message and the power of his goodness: this is our primary mission on earth. Before he ascended, Jesus didn’t say, “Go have a good time; go ‘find yourselves’.”  No! He said, “Go be my witnesses to all the nations.” This is the mission we have been given. This is what we are supposed to do.

Each one of us will do it in a different way.

• God calls some to witness as priests.
• He calls some to consecrate their lives as full-time missionaries.
• Others are called to be leaven in the dough of the world, transforming culture from within, either as humble workers or as great leaders.
• Each of us he calls to bear witness by the sincerity, faithfulness, and loving-kindness with which we live out our normal responsibilities and relationships.

Right before Jesus ascended, St Luke tells us, he “raised his hands, and blessed them.”  Then he ascended and his disciples “returned to Jerusalem with great joy.” Why were they joyful at Christ’s departure? Because Christ had revealed to them the purpose of their lives – they had a mission; their life had meaning.

Today, at Holy Communion, let’s accept anew our life’s mission, so that at the end of this Mass, when I [the priest] raise my hands so that Christ can bless you through me, our restlessness will be taken up into joy.