Reflection for 6th Sunday of Easter 2021 (week beginning 9 May):
On Thursday of the coming week (May 13th) we celebrate the solemn feast of the Ascension – the return of Jesus to God the Father’s right hand.
(May 13th:the feast too of Our Lady of Fatima).
Mary, our Blessed Mother, always points to Jesus her Son rather than to herself.
We can be sure she would be pointing us to THE PASCHAL MYSTERY – a term which means the Passion, Death, Resurrection and Ascension of Jesus her Son.
Jesus’ parting words to his apostles directly before his Ascension are to be found at the end of the Gospels of Mark and Matthew. He instructed them to go out to the whole world, to proclaim the Good News (Gospel), and to baptise in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
There is a tradition that Mary, his and our Mother, remained on earth for 12 years after his Ascension. She was with the apostles in the Upper Room in Jerusalem 10 days later at Pentecost (the Descent of the Holy Spirit).
Between Ascension Thursday and Pentecost Sunday we have the 9 days of Novena prayer to the Holy Spirit.
Good Shepherd Catholic Church 