“He was lifted up, and a cloud took him from their sight.”
The readings for today’s celebration of the Ascension of the Lord once again remind us that as Christians we are people of hope. In the second reading Saint Paul eloquently exhorts the Ephesians to enlighten their hearts so that they will know the hope and glory that come from being people who place their trust in the Lord Jesus. In the story of the Ascension, recounted in the first reading, the Lord Jesus assures the disciples that the Holy Spirit’s power will come upon them. Finally, in the Gospel, the Lord lets the disciples know that their mission is to spread the hope of the gospel to all the nations. This wonderful feast keeps our eyes focused on the hope in which we were grounded on the day of our baptism.
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Week of May 10, 2026 — Week 45 • Maintenance: $852
May 17, 2026
May 24, 2026
First Reading — Jesus tells the disciples that they will be witnesses to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:1–11).
Psalm — God mounts his throne to shouts of joy: a blare of trumpets for the Lord (Psalm 47).
Second Reading — May the Father of glory give you a Spirit of wisdom and revelation (Ephesians 1:17–23).
Gospel — Jesus instructs the Eleven to baptize and teach people of all nations (Matthew 28:16–20).
Our sixteen-year-old son and his friends sat down to a meal after they had helped us clean out the basement. While I worked with the kids, my husband had prepared enough pasta and meatballs to feed four growing boys. During the conversation, they brought up the challenges of certain classes at school—one found physics hard, another math, and so on. My husband said to them, “Do you know what the best way to learn is?” And they looked at him expectantly, hoping to hear a simple answer. He said, “The best way to learn is to teach someone else.” He was met with blank stares. “That makes no sense,” they seemed to be thinking. Finally, one of them asked the obvious question, “But how?”
It is when we help others learn that we learn best ourselves. Because, to teach, we have to learn the material well, and that process will show us where we are weak and give us the opportunity to strengthen. It is through others that we see ourselves most clearly. It was when the disciples went to “all nations” to proclaim the kingdom of God that they became aware of their own flaws, failings, and fragility in the faith. This is captured most poignantly in the description of the disciples “looking intently at the sky.” They are bereft and bereaved in that moment. And despite the promise of the Holy Spirit, they are suddenly faced with having to go into the world with only their own qualifications (or lack thereof) and understanding of Jesus’ teachings. A mere seven weeks after the brutal torture and execution of Jesus, they are well aware of the disparity between the general expectation of an earthly Kingdom and the heavenly kingdom that Jesus brings. They are well aware of the danger they would be in if they do as Jesus says—to go out into the world and preach that particular kin-dom that God desires to usher into the world. And yet they go into the world. They teach others and learn even as they do so. They become the saints and martyrs we now venerate by facing their own limitations and allowing the Holy Spirit to help them live the kin-dom of God even as they proclaimed it.
Excerpted from Living the Word
Birthdays
Anniversaries
Parishioners
Agustin Fernandez, Ray Neiner, Gordon McKay, Angelia Collins, Joe Walsh, John Rawe, Darey Galindo, Susan & David Brindle, Jan Knox, Alice White, Mike Hull, Chris Rupp, Gina Rupp, Peggy Turvey, Valerie Villafane, Jim Davis, Zippy Ribeiro, Mary Childress, Patricia Davis, Ian Roncskevitz, Diana Pomatto, Adriana Stoltz, Elaine Johnson, John Lademan, Nan Leonard, Kansas Veron, Lynda Skillington, Howard & Joan Eddins, Mike Saites, Julia Schklar, Harry Brandon, Dorothy Walsh
Family & Friends
Parents of Stephen Wilson: Richard & Francis Wilson
Daughter of John & Miriam Lademan: Elizabeth Lademan
Family & friend of Fr. Regi: Augustine & Aleykutty, Anaa Paul, Thomas Matthew, Dr. Josh Taylor
Family of Enid Fernandez: Frank Salinsky
Friend of Theresa Bailey: Billy Davis
Friend of Katie Viazcan: Ruby Hardemon
Family of Jan Knox: Sydney, Emma & Rob Cribley
Family of Chit Hernando: Lucena Balino, Julie Dawson
Family of Ally Saites: Ben Mills, Mae Gardner-Mills
Family of Don & Betty Barker: Richard Lakvold
Family & Friend of Paula Lykins: Bill & Sue Aufermann, Sandra Wilson, Lisa & Roger Ellis
Friends of Angelia Collins: Alissa Joslin, Nia Greer & C. Davenport
Cole Family & Friends: Joy Kilpatrick, Gina Wiser, Cody Murdock, Bryce Haney
McKay Family & Friends: Lisa Cross, Gwen Gillium, Hootens, Dwayne Adams, Michael McGuire, Richard Curtis, John & Peggy Pitcher, Emily Ross, Lee & Stacey Cothran, Jessica Stinnett, John Walker
Family & friends of Joe & Kim Stoltz: Todd Cashion, Liz Mealer, Anna Lassiter, Mike Hinson, Rebecca Russell, Jeff Cooper, Jessie Vasquez
Friends of Nan Leonard: Infant Thomas Lee Tice, Rhonda Ray, Geary & Elizabeth Land
Family & Friends of Lisa Jackson: Louisa, Wade, Lauri Hadley, Lois Conroy, Wade Wix, Kim Holder, Ben McCaslin, Bailey Allen, Evelyn Jefferson
Scheuchenzuber Family & Friends: Judith Canady, Peter Lugaro, Al Smith, Dennis Anderson, Ralph Stephens, Fran Legenstein, Donna Turner, Rose Rineer, Dr. Davidson
Family & friends of Pat & Brenda Davis: Ryan & Alexandria Volk, Betsy Fox, Joseph Family, Mary Joyce Alms, Brent Davis, Larry Meyer
Family & Friends of the Eddins: Justin Jones, Mitzi Mangrum-Braun, Johnny Harrison, Terry Ring, Bill & Tony Eddins, Betsy & Mel Lane
Family of the Dearmans: Diana Hardey, Margaret Strobel, Sue Gossage, Linda, Terri & Mark Langdon, Bill Wiseman
Friends of Sandra Hull: Amanda & Mickey Adcox, John & Kayla Doble, Donald, Mason & Lorron Hobby, Tammy & Paul Hicks
Brother-in-law of Patty Beckman: Marvin Beckman
Friend of Mary Holton: Brad Burrow
We, the members of Saint John the Evangelist Catholic Church, recognize and respect our diverse and multicultural character. By the grace of God, we will nurture our spiritual community through prayer, service, and example to become one family in Christ.