The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today, in communities who will celebrate the Ascension on Sunday May 17, share the essential action of the Spirit in the growth of the Mission of the Church.
The Reading from the Acts of the Apostles presents the Choice of Judas’s Successor.
* [1:1–26] This introductory material (Acts 1:1–2) connects Acts with the Gospel of Luke, shows that the apostles were instructed by the risen Jesus (Acts 1:3–5), points out that the parousia or second coming in glory of Jesus will occur as certainly as his ascension occurred (Acts 1:6–11), and lists the members of the Twelve, stressing their role as a body of divinely mandated witnesses to his life, teaching, and resurrection (Acts 1:12–26).
* [1:26] The need to replace Judas was probably dictated by the symbolism of the number twelve, recalling the twelve tribes of Israel. This symbolism also indicates that for Luke (see Lk 22:30) the Christian church is a reconstituted Israel. (Acts of the Apostles, CHAPTER 1 | USCCB, n.d.)
Psalm 113 is a hymn exhorting the congregation to praise God’s name.
* [Psalm 113] A hymn exhorting the congregation to praise God’s name, i.e., the way in which God is present in the world; the name is mentioned three times in Ps 113:1–3. The divine name is especially honored in the Temple (Ps 113:1) but its recognition is not limited by time (Ps 113:2) and space (Ps 113:3), for God is everywhere active (Ps 113:4–5) especially in rescuing the lowly faithful (Ps 113:7–9). (Psalms, PSALM 113 | USCCB, n.d.)
The passage from the Gospel of John resembles a parable where Israel is spoken of as a vineyard and love is described in terms of Greek words “agapaō and phileō”.
* [15:1–17] Like Jn 10:1–5, this passage resembles a parable. Israel is spoken of as a vineyard at Is 5:1–7; Mt 21:33–46 and as a vine at Ps 80:9–17; Jer 2:21; Ez 15:2; 17:5–10; 19:10; Hos 10:1. The identification of the vine as the Son of Man in Ps 80:15 and Wisdom’s description of herself as a vine in Sir 24:17 are further background for portrayal of Jesus by this figure. There may be secondary eucharistic symbolism here; cf. Mk 14:25, “the fruit of the vine.”
* [15:2] Takes away, prunes: in Greek there is a play on two related verbs.
* [15:6] Branches were cut off and dried on the wall of the vineyard for later use as fuel.
* [15:13] For one’s friends: or: “those whom one loves.” In Jn 15:9–13a, the words for love are related to the Greek agapaō. In Jn 15:13b–15, the words for love are related to the Greek phileō. For John, the two roots seem synonymous and mean “to love”; cf. also Jn 21:15–17. The word philos is used here.
* [15:15] Slaves,friends: in the Old Testament, Moses (Dt 34:5), Joshua (Jos 24:29), and David (Ps 89:21) were called “servants” or “slaves of Yahweh”; only Abraham (Is 41:8; 2 Chr 20:7; cf. Jas 2:23) was called a “friend of God.” (John, CHAPTER 15 | USCCB, n.d.)
A Member of the Creighton University Community asks what does it mean to love our brothers and sisters near and far as God loves.
One way to live agape is through the virtue of solidarity. Solidarity calls us to “an active commitment to our neighbor and demands of us a shared responsibility for all of humanity. This duty is not limited to one’s own family, nation or state, but extends progressively to all…so no one can consider himself or herself extraneous or indifferent to the lot of another member of the human family.” -John Paul II, Centesimus Annus, no. 51
Further explained, “[Solidarity] is not a feeling of vague compassion or shallow distress at the misfortunes of so many people, both near and far. On the contrary, it is a firm and persevering determination to commit oneself to the common good.” -Sollicitudo rei Socialis, no. 38.
Today is the feast day of Saint Matthias. How do we share in the “luck” of Saint Matthias who joined the apostles after casting lots? If we imagine ourselves in Matthias’ place, our spot opening up to join the apostles, just after Jesus’ crucifixion. What would our ministry be? How would we live our lives? What can we do today to bring our lives more into congruence with our call? (Member of Creighton University Community, 2026)
Don Schwager quotes Jesus ascends to heaven in his body - divine and human nature, by Augustine of Hippo, 354-430 A.D.
"You heard what came to our ears just now from the Gospel: 'Lifting up his hands, he blessed them. And it happened, while he was blessing them he withdrew from them, and was carried up to heaven.' Who was carried up to heaven? The Lord Christ was. Who is the Lord Christ? He is the Lord Jesus. What is this? Are you going to separate the human from the divine and make one person of God, another of the man, so that there is no longer a trinity of three but a quaternary of four? Just as you, a human being, are soul and body, so the Lord Christ is Word, soul and body. The Word did not depart from the Father. He both came to us and did not forsake the Father. He both took flesh in the womb and continued to govern the universe. What was lifted up into heaven, if not what had been taken from earth? That is to say, the very flesh, the very body, about which he was speaking when he said to the disciples, 'Feel, and see that a spirit does not have bones and flesh, as you can see that I have' (Luke 24:39). Let us believe this, brothers and sisters, and if we have difficulty in meeting the arguments of the philosophers, let us hold on to what was demonstrated in the Lord's case without any difficulty of faith. Let them chatter, but let us believe." (excerpt from Sermon 242,6)
The Word Among Us Meditation on John 15:9-17 comments that while Matthias had followed Jesus from the very beginning of his ministry, it wasn’t until years later that he received this deeper calling to become one of the Twelve. Clearly, Matthias’ vocation matured over time—to the point that in the end, he gave his life out of love for the One who had first chosen him.
What hope this brings! You may be tempted to think that your life is a matter of chance. Not so: God is too wise and too loving to leave you as a victim of circumstance. Just as he chose Matthias, he has chosen you to follow his Son. He has chosen you to be a disciple in the specific time and place in which you live: as a father or mother, a worker or student—as a disciple who shines the light of Christ into the world. That calling will continue to grow as you follow him, and he will give you all the grace you need to carry it out!
“Thank you, Jesus, for choosing me to be your own!”
Friar Jude Winkler comments that in the Acts of the Apostles, the choice of Matthais as the apostle to replace Judas is presented. They choose someone who has been with them from the beginning. They pray and choose lots as they depend on the Spirit to guide the growth of the Church. This is a continuation of a Hebrew custom of how when the king used the Urim and Thummim, in a sacred ritual to discern the will of God. God would speak through the lots for the new Apostle. In the Gospel of John, during the Last Supper Discourse, Jesus implores His followers to live a life of virtue and follow the main commandment and give their life for others. This is not a relationship of slaves but one of friends. Friar Jude comments that we live in dignity by loving, as Jesus, all the children of God.
Father Richard Rohr, OFM, introduces Dr. Gloria Durka who explores Thomas Merton’s love of Julian’s positive theology.
Learning to remain hopeful amidst the darkness of suffering is a struggle in which all of us become engaged from time to time—and it can be a bitter trial. The optimism of Julian can help us as it did Thomas Merton. In his book Conjectures of a Guilty Bystander, Merton wrote the following:
I pray much to have a wise heart, and perhaps the rediscovery of Lady Julian of Norwich will help me. I took her book with me on a quiet walk among the cedars. She is a true theologian…. She first experienced, then thought, and the thoughtful deepening of experience worked it back into her life, deeper and deeper, until her whole life as a recluse at Norwich was simply a matter of getting completely saturated in the light she had received all at once…. Her life was lived in the belief in this “secret,” the “great deed” that the Lord will do on the Last Day, not a deed of destruction and revenge, but of mercy and of life, all partial expectations will be exploded and everything will be made right…. [1]
Julian’s writings are permeated with Christian hope. She experienced all of the aspects of hope in her own spiritual life: the rocklike dependability of God, the God who is always near, the God of the impossible, the God who is Father and Mother to us. (Rohr, n.d.)
We acknowledge the Wisdom of the Spirit in guiding our decisions that we hope to make in contemplation of the experience we have of the Love of God as motivation for our action in support of the people in our environment.
References
Acts of the Apostles, CHAPTER 1 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Bible Readings. Retrieved May 14, 2026, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/acts/1?15
John, CHAPTER 15 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved May 14, 2026, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/john/15?9
Meditation on John 15:9-17. (n.d.). Word Among Us. Retrieved May 14, 2026, from https://wau.org/meditations/2026/05/14/1563865/
Member of Creighton University Community. (2026, May 14). Daily Reflection May 14, 2026 | Creighton Online Ministries. Creighton Online Ministries. Retrieved May 14, 2026, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/daily-reflections/daily-reflection-may-14-2026
Psalms, PSALM 113 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Bible Readings. Retrieved May 14, 2026, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/113?1
Rohr, R. (n.d.). Essential Joy. Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved May 14, 2026, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/essential-joy/
Schwager, D. (n.d.). The Lord Jesus Was Taken up into Heaven. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved May 14, 2026, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/
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