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SOLEMNITY OF
THE ASCENSION OF THE LORD
MASS DURING THE DAY
YEAR B
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SECOND READING
EPHESIANS 1:17-23
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A READING FROM THE LETTER OF SAINT PAUL TO THE EPHESIANS
(HE MADE HIM SIT AT HIS RIGHT HAND IN HEAVEN.)
May the God of our Lord Jesus Christ,
the Father of glory,
give you a spirit of wisdom
and perception of what is revealed,
to bring you full knowledge of him.
May he enlighten the eyes of your mind so that
you can see what hope his call holds for you,
what rich glories he has promised
the saints will inherit
and how infinitely great is the power
that he has exercised for us believers.
This you can tell from the strength of his power
at work in Christ,
when he used it to raise him from the dead
and to make him sit at his right hand, in heaven,
far above every Sovereignty,
Authority, Power, or Domination,
or any other name that can be named,
not only in this age,
but also in the age to come.
He has put all things under his feet,
and made him, as the ruler of everything,
the head of the Church;
which is his body,
the fullness of him who fills the whole creation.
The word of the Lord.
R.) Thanks be to God.
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ALTERNATIVE SECOND READING
YEAR B
EPHESIANS 4:1-13
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A READING FROM THE LETTER OF SAINT PAUL TO THE EPHESIANS
(FULLY MATURE WITH THE FULLNESS OF CHRIST.)
[I, the prisoner in the Lord,
implore you therefore to lead a life worthy of you vocation.
Bear with one another charitably,
in complete selflessness, gentleness and patience.
Do all you can to preserve the unity of the Spirit by the peace that binds you together.
There is one Body, one Spirit,
just as you were called into one
and the same hope when you were called.
There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism,
and one God who is Father of all, over all,
through all and within all.
Each one of us, however,
has been given his own share of grace,
given as Christ allotted it.]
It was said that he would:
When we ascended to the height,
he captured prisoners, he gave gifts to men.
When it says, “he ascended”,
what can it mean if not that he descended right down to the lower regions of the earth?
[The one who rose higher than all the heavens to fill all things
is none other than the one who descended.
And to some, his gift was that they
should be apostles;
to some, prophets;
to some, evangelists;
to some, pastors and teachers;
so that the saints together make a unity in the work of service,
building up the body of Christ.
In this way we are all to come to unity in our faith
and in our knowledge of the Son of God,
until we become the perfect Man,
fully Mature with the fullness of Christ himself.]
The word of the Lord.
R.) Thanks be to God.
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(SHORT FORM, VERSES 1-7.11-13. READ BETWEEN [ ] )
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