MATTHEW 28:16-20
ASCENSION OF THE LORD
(*Acts 1:1-11; Psalm 47; Ephesians 1:17-23)
KEY VERSE: "And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age" (v 20).
TO KNOW: Jesus' mission on earth was completed and "in the fullness of time" (Greek: pleroma kairos) he ascended to the Father, filling all the cosmos  ̶  all of creation with his presence. Jesus' mission had been to the "lost sheep of the House of Israel" (Mt 10:6). At his ascension he expanded his mission to encompass the whole world, fulfilling the promise to Abraham that in him, all nations would be blessed (Gn 18:18). Jesus reassured his disciples by promising that his abiding presence and authority would sustain them in their mission as they baptized in the name of the Father, Son and Spirit, the fullness of the Trinity. In the fullness of time, Jesus went before us so that we might grow into the "fullness" of the stature of the children of God. At his birth, Jesus was called "Emmanuel," which means, "God is with us" (Matt 1:23), the name given to him according to the prophet Isaiah (7:14). The Spirit of the Risen Christ will be with the Church to guide and protect it until the end of time.
TO LOVE: Risen Lord, be with our Church in times of joy and times of trial.
TO SERVE: In what ways am I empowered to continue Jesus' work on earth?

* In those places where the Ascension has been transferred to the Seventh Sunday of Easter.

JOHN 15:9-17
FEAST OF MATTHIAS, APOSTLE
(Acts 1:15-17, 20-26; Psalm 113)
KEY VERSE: "As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love" (v 9).
READING: Jesus taught his disciples about the intimate unity that existed between himself and his Father. Everything that Jesus said and did was in obedience to his Father's word. This same bond existed between Jesus and his disciples. John used two Greek words to define the meaning of the love that Jesus had for them. In the first instance, the word agape expressed the supernatural love of the Father and the Son. In the second occurrence, the word phileo was used, which refered to human affection and friendship. Jesus' disciples were his friends because he had revealed everything he heard from the Father. Servants did not have privileged information of what the master did. Jesus chose his friends to be the instruments of God's revelation to the world. Their task would be fruitful if they obeyed Jesus' command to love.
REFLECTING: Am I grateful that that Lord chose me to be his friend?
PRAYING: Let us pray that all "who hold and teach the Catholic faith that comes to us from the apostles" [Eucharistic Prayer I], continue in our own time to hand on the faith that we have received, just as the apostles did in their time.

JOHN 3:16-18
SOLEMNITY OF THE MOST HOLY TRINITY
(Exodus 34:4b-6, 8-9; Psalm: Daniel 3; 2 Corinthians 13:11-13)
KEY VERSE: "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son" (v 16).
READING: It is essential for our Christian belief to know that it was love, not condemnation, that motivated God to send the Son to redeem the world from everything evil and destructive. Each person has a choice to respond to the grace God offers, or to turn away from it. By rejecting God's love, condemnation is brought upon oneself. Those who believe in God's Son have the indwelling light of the Spirit to guide them to all truth (Jn 16:13). Our belief in the One God revealed in three divine Persons  ̶  Father, Son, and Spirit  ̶  the creative, the redemptive, and the sanctifying love of God. The Trinity is about relationship. The Son is obedient to the Father; the Father does whatever the Son asks; the Father and the Son send the Spirit; the Son is obedient to the Holy Spirit.  Although the word "Trinity" is not found in Scripture, our concept of the Trinity has scriptural roots in the variety of ways we understand the one God in three persons that the creeds ater defined. Paul concluded his letter to the Corinthians, "The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with all of you" (2 Cor 13:13).
REFLECTING: Does the Trinitarian love of God manifest itself in me?
PRAYING: Father, Son and Holy Spirit, I adore and worship you.

THE MOST HOLY TRINITY
The first Sunday after Pentecost celebrates the great dogma of the Christian faith, the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity, which was declared a feast of the universal church in 1334. During the first thousand years of Christianity there was no special feast honoring this mystery (mystery, in this connection, means a supernatural fact revealed by God which transcends the power of human reasoning). The word "Trinity," first used by Tertullian (145-220) to describe the nature of God, was only defined by the Church councils in the fourth and fifth centuries. In the fourth century, the Council of Nicaea addressed the doctrine of the Trinity in response to the Arian heresy that taught that Jesus was only a created being like others. Through the Spirit, Jesus is the "only-begotten" son of the Father. In baptism, we are baptized in the name of God, not the "names," for we hold that there is only one God, the Father, his beloved Son, and the Holy Spirit: the Most Holy Trinity (CCC 232).

MARK 9:14-29
(James 3, 13-18; Psalm 19)
KEY VERSE: "All things can be done for the one who believes" (v 23).
READING:  When Moses descended from Mount Sinai, he found that the people had lost faith in God and were practicing idolatry (Ex 32:15-20). When Jesus came down from the mountain of the Transfiguration, he also met with disbelief. Like Moses, Jesus was exasperated with the people's infidelity. A man approached Jesus and asked him if he whether or not he could cure his son, as his disciples had been unable to do so. The boy apparently suffered from epilepsy (in the ancient world, illnesses were attributed to evil spirits). Jesus replied that everything was possible to one who had faith. The man confessed his desire to believe, but he also admitted that in this desperate situation he had doubts whether Jesus was able to do so. Jesus rebuked the power of evil. Although the boy appeared to be dead, Jesus took his hand and raised him up (a resurrection image). The awestruck disciples questioned Jesus as to why they were unable to effect a cure. Jesus answer was that faith in God's power must be accompanied by prayer.
REFLECTING: How can I help someone to to trust when their faith is weak?
PRAYING: Lord Jesus, help me to trust you in all situations.

VICTORIA DAY CANADA (Monday, Prior to May 25)
In Canada, the celebration of Victoria Day is the official celebration in Canada of the birthdays of Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth II. Victoria Day was established as a holiday in Canada West (Now Ontario) in 1845, and became a national holiday in 1901. Before Victoria Day became a national Holiday, people had celebrated Empire Day, beginning in the 1890s as Victoria approached her Diamond jubilee in 1897. Victoria, queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and empress of India was born on 24 May 1819. She ascended the throne after the death of her uncle George IV in 1837 when she was only 18. She ruled until her death in 1901 when her son Edward the VII became king of England.

MARK 9:30-37
(James 4:1-10; Psalm 55)
KEY VERSE: "Whoever receives one child such as this in my name, receives me" (v 37).
READING: As Jesus traveled through Galilee, he taught his disciples a second time about his impending suffering and death (see Mk 8:31). The disciples failed to comprehend his words as their concept of the Messiah was one who would reign with power over Israel's enemies. Consequently, they argued among themselves about what rank and position each of them would have in the coming kingdom. When they arrived in Capernaum, Jesus corrected their distorted view. He lovingly placed a small child in their midst, and in that way he taught them by means of a living parable. The child represented the powerless and needy in the community whom the disciples must be willing to serve. Whoever cared for these lowly ones, were in reality serving Jesus and God who sent him.
REFLECTING: How have I served the "little ones" in my community today?
PRAYING: Lord Jesus, help me to see you in the poor and suffering.

Optional Memorial of Christopher Magallanes, priest and martyr, and his companions, martyrs
Christopher Magallanes was a parish priest at Totatiche, Mexico. He worked with the indigenous people to form agrarian cooperatives with the town's people and to evangelize the poorest populations that were being neglected. When the anti-Church government closed all seminaries, he started his own seminary at Totatiche, which was quickly suppressed. He formed another, and another, and when they were all closed, the seminarians conducted classes in private homes. Captured by government authorities, he was heard to shout from his jail cell: "I am innocent and I die innocent. I forgive with all my heart those responsible for my death, and I ask God that the shedding of my blood serve the peace of our divided Mexico." Christopher Magallanes was joined in martyrdom by twenty-one diocesan priests and three devout laymen, all members of the Cristeros movement, who rose up in rebellion against the anti-Catholic Mexican government during the 1920s.

Memorial of Rita of Cascia, religious
From her early youth, Rita showed interest in a religious life. However, when she was twelve, her parents betrothed her to an ill-tempered, abusive individual. Disappointed but obedient, Rita married him when she was 18, and was the mother of twin sons. She put up with her husband's abuses for eighteen years before he was ambushed and stabbed to death. Her sons swore vengeance on their father's killers, but through Rita's prayers and interventions, they forgave the offenders. Upon the deaths of her sons, Rita again felt the call to religious life, and she was admitted to the Augustine monastery at age 36. Rita lived 40 years in the convent, spending her time in prayer and charity, and working for peace in the region. She was devoted to the Passion, and in response to a prayer to suffer as Christ, she received a chronic head wound that appeared to have been caused by a crown of thorns, and which bled for 15 years.  Rita is well-known as a patron of desperate, seemingly impossible causes and situations. This is because she has been involved in so many stages of life - wife, mother, widow, and nun, she buried her family, helped bring peace to her city, saw her dreams denied and fulfilled - and never lost her faith in God.
 

JOHN 6:51-58
SOLEMNITY OF THE MOST HOLY BODY AND BLOOD OF CHRIST
(Deuteronomy 8:2-3,14b-16a; Psalm 147; 1 Corinthians 10:16-17)
KEY VERSE: "Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abide in me, and I in them" (v 56).
READING: In John's account of Jesus' multiplication of the loaves in the wilderness, he moves from the wisdom theme of Jesus' discourse on the Bread of Life, to the Sacramental theme*. The vocabulary changes graphically: "flesh and "blood," and "eat and drink." John spoke clearly of the nourishment of his body and blood given to us in the Eucharist: Jesus flesh was "real food" and his blood was "real drink." The Greek word used for eating (phago) is not merely symbolic; it means "to gnaw," or "to munch." In Jewish thought blood stood for life, and the blood belonged to God. That is why to this day orthodox Jews will not eat meat that is not completely drained of blood (kosher). When Jesus told his followers that they must drink his blood he meant that they must take his very life into their lives. Jesus is the supreme "sacrament" of God, nourishing the faithful with his own body and blood on their spiritual journey. Jesus tells the people that without this sacred food, they cannot have eternal communion with him and his Father. How unfortunate that those who claim a literal interpretation of other passages of scripture, deny the reality of Jesus' real presence in the Eucharist as explained by Christ himself. 
REFLECTING: Do I understand the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist? Could I explain it to others?
PRAYING: Lord Jesus, feed me at your table of eternal life.

(* Note: In John's gospel, there is no institution of the Eucharist given at the Last Supper)

MARK 10:17-27
(1 Peter 1:3-9; Psalm 111)
KEY VERSE: "Go, sell what you have, and give to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven" (v 21).
READING: A rich man approached Jesus and asked him what he must do to inherit eternal life. Jesus told him that the answer to his question could be found in the Law, which was a reflection of God's righteousness. When the man said that he had kept the Law all of his life, Jesus invited him to take another step on his spiritual journey. By sharing his wealth with the poor, the man would be rewarded with even greater treasures in heaven. But the rich man was unable to part with his possessions, and he walked away saddened. Jesus warned his disciples that wealth could be an obstacle to the kingdom of God. He used the image of a heavily laden camel trying to squeeze through the city gates to show that his followers should not be so weighed down with material goods that they would be unable to pass through heaven's gate.
REFLECTING: What does my parish do to help the poor? What do I do?
PRAYING: Lord Jesus, teach me to be generous with the gifts you have given to me.

Memorial of Philip Neri, priest
Philip Neri founded the Confraternity of the Most Holy Trinity. He began to preach and had many converts. In 1550 he considered retiring to the life of a solitary hermit, but he received further visions that told him his mission was in Rome. Later he considered missionary work in India, but once again, visions convinced him to stay in Rome. He entered the priesthood in 1551. He heard confessions by the hour and could tell penitents their sins before they confessed them. He began working with youth, finding safe places for them to play, becoming involved in their lives. Pope Gregory XIV tried to make him a cardinal, but Philip declined. His popularity was such that he was accused of forming his own sect, but was cleared of this baseless charge. He founded the Congregation of the Oratory, a group of priests dedicated to preaching and teaching, but suffered from accusations of heresy because of the involvement of laymen as preachers. In later years he was beset by several illnesses, each of which was in turn cured through prayer. In 1594, when he was in an agony of pain, the Blessed Virgin appeared to him, and cured him. Philip died in 1595 and was canonized by Gregory XV in 1622.

Memorial Day (USA)
Memorial Day, originally known as Decoration Day, was established in 1868 to commemorate the dead from the Civil War. The first official observance included a program at the National Cemetery at Arlington and memorial services in various communities. General John A. Logan of the Grand Army of the Republic designated May 30, 1868, "as a day for strewing with flowers or otherwise decorating the graves of comrades who died in defense of their country, and whose bodies now lie in almost every city, village, or hamlet churchyard in the land." Memorial Day is celebrated in most states on the last Monday in May. It is a time to remember all U.S. men and women killed or missing in action in all wars.