Reading and meditation on the Word of God on Thursday, Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord, May 14th, 2026

Delivered by Ariel from the Parish of Saint Albert the Great in the Archdiocese of Makassar, Indonesia. Acts of the Apostles 1: 1-11; Rs psalm 47: 2-3.6-7.8-9; Ephesians 1: 17-23; Matthew 28: 16-20.PERFECT AT NUMBER 40 Our meditation today has the theme: Perfect at Number40. A man celebrated his 40th anniversary of his birth and hiseldest 10-year-old daughter wrote a little note to him. The note was affixed tothe gift parcel prepared by her mother. It reads like this: "Father isperfect at number 40!" Her father asked about the purpose of that writing,and the girl revealed a hope that her father should be the best father and thebest husband for the family. In the scriptures, 40 is a very important number. Thenumber 40 means completeness and it's a very beautiful thing to enjoy. Moseswent to the mountain and enjoyed his meeting with God for 40 days and 40 nights.After that he received the 10 commandments from God.  The Israelites wandered for 40 years ofpreparation to enter the promised land. Elijah walked 40 days in the middle ofthe wilderness to the mountain of God then he met God there. For 40 days afterresurrection, Jesus appeared to his apostles, and after sending them into thethe world, He ascended to heaven exactly on the 40th day. Our key word here is completeness. We normally arehappy and satisfied when everything and everyone is complete. This means thatwe are already fully booked by God with tickets for our pilgrimages on earth asfollowers of Christ. With that, we will walk with confidence towards heaven.The Ascension of Jesus into heaven gives us assurance of the booking tickets.On each ticket are written several spiritual menus of food that make us happyto enjoy the pilgrimage. The first menu says: "The risen Lord is alwayswith us now and forever." He ascended to heaven but he will always bepresent with us at all times in a different form. His presence is in the HolySpirit. The second menu says: "The risen Lord strengthens us to continueHis works". We carry out our duties, ministry and profession with theenergy of Jesus Christ, the style of Jesus Christ, the heart of Jesus Christand the face of Jesus Christ. The third menu says: "You are my witnesses to allcorners of the world". Through the activities of preaching the Good Newsof the Lord which is supported by the media communication today, everyone inthe world can easily be reached with the Gospel. And the fourth menu says:"Everyone of us are official messengers of Jesus Christ". We must beconsistent with this "official" status in order to distinguish itfrom those who are already using the name of Christ for non-Christian and nonecclesiastical ends. We hope that with these fully booked tickets we areincreasingly excited to welcome the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the Day ofPentecost and ready to be guided by Him in every moment of our lives. Let'spray. In the name of the Father ... O most loving Jesus, grant us the grace ofjoyful expectance in looking always forward to heaven as our ultimate goal.Hail Mary, full of grace... In the name of the Father ...