Latest / Catholic Spirit Radio / Good News #180 053125: Ascension Sunday: Celebrating Jesus' Journey to Heaven

Transcript

Good News #180 053125: Ascension Sunday: Celebrating Jesus' Journey to Heaven · Catholic Spirit Radio

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Welcome to Good News on Catholic Spirit Radio, a program for teens and almost
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teens to better understand that the gospel of Jesus Christ is relevant in their
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lives, and it's a place where your questions about faith and religion can be answered.
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And now, here's your host, Deacon Al.
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Good evening, and welcome to Good News. I am Deacon Al Lundy of the Peoria Diocese,
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welcoming you to Catholic Spirit Radio this evening.
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We're going to talk about the good news of Jesus Christ, the gospel of our Lord
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that we read every Sunday, along with other readings.
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And we talk about how does this affect us in today's world. And this is a very special weekend.
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This is Ascension Sunday, usually Ascension Thursday, but that's kind of old
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church, and that's only followed now in a few of the dioceses in the United States.
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Most have moved it from Thursday, 40 days after the resurrection, to now.
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I'm sorry, 40 days after Good Friday, and that would be Thursday.
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But now we move it to Sunday, and that's because of a change in culture.
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Not many people have Thursday off from work anymore, so it's very hard to get
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a lot of people to church.
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And so the celebration of the Mass is the most important thing we do,
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And so we moved this to Sunday in order to allow for more Catholics to celebrate this important day.
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We also talk a little bit about what's going on in the real world.
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So far, I have to admit, our new pope has been fairly quiet.
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We haven't heard a lot from him yet, which I'm okay with.
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I'd rather have a pope that takes his time and speaks only when it's an important
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time to speak. The church has enough bishops to make decisions locally and regionally
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to keep the church active and on point.
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And the job of the pope is really to serve the universal church.
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And that doesn't require a lot of speeches and a lot of interference with things.
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So I'm okay with a quiet pope for now. I am anxious to hear him.
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I've only heard him right now in foreign languages.
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I'm waiting to hear him speak English. It would just be fun to hear a pope who spoke English.
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I'm kind of excited about an American pope and having someone in the papal office
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who understands the uniqueness of the Western world.
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I don't think some of our popes have. And it'll be interesting to see what Leo's
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point of view is on things. I think we're all pretty anxious for that.
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Some other things going on in the world. I'd like to talk about rabbits.
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Rabbits, yeah. So, you know, I garden. I love to garden.
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And I put in clematis, climbing vine-like clematis.
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I love clematis. I used to have clematis until the rabbits ate it.
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And so Mother's Day, the wife and I went out and bought a bunch of plants for
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the garden. I do that every Mother's Day.
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Take mom out, well, my son's mother, and let her pick out some plants.
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So we got some clematis, two different ones, a brilliant red one and a very
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nice purple and white one. We planted those.
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The purple white ones, they are very pretty. They've been opening up.
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I've got several open already. They're really nice. The red ones, rabbits ate it.
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Rabbits ate it, yeah. That was a pretty costly little rabbit food.
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Put in some emerald hosta. Brilliant, bright, brilliant emerald green color.
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Yeah, the rabbits ate it.
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Yeah, yeah. Put in, oh, well, you know what I can't wait to see is the black-eyed Susan.
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Put in a big clump of black. The rabbits ate it.
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Rabbits have had a very, very good, very good eating this week.
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Yes, so they tell me rabbits taste like chicken. Yeah, man, I'll tell you what,
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I am, I am, we had a question in the, in the mailbox one time about the, the Antichrist.
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What will the Antichrist look like? I'm pretty certain he's going to look like a rabbit.
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I just, I mean to tell you, these guys are just eating me out of house and home.
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And they seem to know which are the most expensive plants. Yeah, good taste.
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But I will tell you about, let's drip back up to the Antichrist and do some serious stuff.
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When is the, this is always the question, when is the Antichrist coming?
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And what is the Antichrist going to look like? Well, here's the thing.
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There is no the Antichrist.
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Nowhere in the Bible does it say that. And he said, well, in Revelation, well, I got news for you.
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The word Antichrist does not even appear in the book of Revelation.
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So you're thinking about the beast.
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And the beast is only mentioned in the book of Revelation. And Antichrist is
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only mentioned in 1 and 2 John.
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No other books in the Bible mention antichrist, except for 1 and 2 John.
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And John tells us that antichrists, plural, are already present in the world even now.
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And he's talking about in his own time, in the apostolic time.
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So, an antichrist is anyone. It doesn't say thing. It doesn't talk about it being a beast or a thing.
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An antichrist is anyone who teaches contrary to the teachings of Christ.
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They're against Christ, Antichrist. So, there have been Antichrists in the world for centuries.
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There's Antichrists in the world now. There are some that you hear on the news,
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or hear from on the news, almost daily.
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I would say anyone who teaches that abortion is fine is an Antichrist.
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If you teach that same-sex marriage is fine, I'm sorry, that's against the teachings
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of Christ, you are by definition an Antichrist.
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So don't think that you're waiting for some final judgment day for the Antichrist
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to show up. That's not the case.
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There are Antichrists among us now.
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The trick to being a Christian is recognition, discernment, to be able to look
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at what somebody teaches and say that's false or that's true so that you're
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not taken in by the lies of an Antichrist.
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But I'm convinced that when the beast arrives, it's going to look like a rabbit.
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There's nothing more hate-filled in this world than a hungry rabbit. Oh, well.
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I hope your gardening is going better. I'm actually running out tomorrow to
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replace some of these plants because I really wanted them.
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And I've already ordered new cages to put around them to protect them from these
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heinous, hideous, voracious rabbits.
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Okay, so that's just a little bit about my world.
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Oh, I will share this. I could use some prayers if anybody's willing to do that for me.
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Going through a rather difficult time in my family's life, it has become necessary
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due to several medical conditions to find a nursing home for my mother.
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She's just been taking care of her for several years, and unfortunately,
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her medical needs have just grown beyond my abilities to care for.
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And so for her own good and for her own well-being, we're looking at placement now in skilled nursing.
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It's a horrible thing to have to do to a parent. Nobody likes it.
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The parents certainly don't like it. Nobody jumps up and waves their hands and
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says, ooh, ooh, send me to a nursing home.
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That just doesn't happen. No one is in a nursing home because they want to be there.
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They're there because they need to, because there's a great medical need for
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that amount of round-the-clock care.
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So we're not talking assisted living or independent living. This is pure, skilled nursing care.
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And it's hard. It's hard on my mom. It's hard on my family. It's hard on me.
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This is not something we ever thought would happen, but she's going to be pushing
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95 in a few months. and we're not made to last forever.
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The human body isn't expected to, it's not created to.
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This is not our home. That's one of the hardest things for someone to come to
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grips with as they get older, that this life is not our home.
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This is our journey to our home.
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And it's hard sometimes to realize you're nearing the end of the journey because
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there's a lot of fear there about, you know, what's the next step? Where am I going?
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This is a good woman. This is a woman who prays the rosary every day and has
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for many, many years, who is dedicated to serving others through community service,
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church service, social services.
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She's had a good life. She's done a good job as a mom, and she was a wonderful
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wife to my dad when he was alive.
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But it's just, her body is to that point where she just needs more help than I can give.
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So please pray for my mother and for my family as we enter this new stage of life with her.
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And we sure appreciate that. We're great believers in the power of prayer.
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So please pray for us. We're going to take a short break.
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Listen to some friends from our Catholic Spirit radio station,
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and we will return with more good news.
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Stay tuned. Good news will be right back on Catholic Spirit Radio.
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I'm Fr. Thomas Loya. How would you like to meet Pope Bill XIV's personal representative
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from the Dicastery for the Eastern Catholic Churches as he hears from us about
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our Eastern Catholic Churches and offers us insight and counsel?
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Here's what you need to know. The Byzantine Assembly takes place Wednesday through
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For venue location, events, and registration, visit byzantineassembly.org.
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You are not alone. Prayer for the Canonization of Archbishop Fulton J.
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Sheen Written by Monsignor Richard Sosman Heavenly Father, Source of all holiness,
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You raise up within the Church in every age men and women who serve with heroic love and dedication.
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You have blessed Your Church through the life and ministry of Your faithful
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servant, Archbishop Fulton J.
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Sheen. He has written and spoken well of Your Divine Son, Jesus Christ,
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and was a true instrument of the Holy Spirit in touching the hearts of countless people.
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If it be according to your will, for the honor and glory of the Most Holy Trinity
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and the salvation of souls, we ask you to move the Church to proclaim Him a saint.
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We ask this prayer through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
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More info at icatholicmobile.com. Hello, this is Steve Blesa with your one-minute
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tool for Catholic evangelism. Here's the question for your non-Catholic friend.
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Has your baby been born again? That is, has your baby been baptized?
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Well, here's your three best friendship tools for Catholic evangelism.
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Number one, baptize them.
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Why? Without baptism, your child is exposed to diabolical and demonic powers.
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Along with that, your baby is not born again and therefore not a member of the body of Christ.
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Secondly, obedience. Yes, obedience to Acts 16.33, which says,
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Then he and everyone in his household were immediately baptized.
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So wouldn't you include infants and children in that?
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Some simple research regarding the many typologies of baptism in the Old and
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New Testament show that baptism is not just an outward sign. And thirdly, my take.
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As a mom or dad, I know you make sure your babies, your toddlers,
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and your young children are formed with great behavior such as eat healthy,
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treat others respectfully, tell the truth and don't hit your sister.
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You did all that so that when they are old, they would not depart from those strong values.
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But regarding infant baptism, you say they need to make that decision on their
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own. I think we have a contradiction there, a whopping contradiction.
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Find me online at Smarty Pants Catholic Evangelism.
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Welcome back to Good News. I'm Deacon Al Lundy. If you have a question about
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the Catholic faith or Christianity and would like a deacon's point of view on it,
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please drop us an email at goodnews at catholicspiritradio.com,
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and we'll be glad to read your question on the air.
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I get a lot of questions, not so many from our mailbag, but a lot of people
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after Mass stopped by and asked some questions.
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I had a gentleman stop me last Sunday, right after Mass, who was visiting from
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a non-denominational Christian church. And I love that.
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When people come to Mass to learn what it's actually about.
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There's so many false teachings about the Catholic Church among our Protestant
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brothers and sisters that I'm always thrilled when someone from another Christian
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church comes to Mass just to see what it's actually about.
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And he was pretty surprised. It was not what he was expecting.
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There was far more theology involved in it, far more scripture involved in the
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Mass than he ever expected.
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And he had a question about purgatory, because that, of course,
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is a very Catholic and orthodox thing.
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You don't hear much about purgatory, nothing good about purgatory in non-Catholic churches.
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And so we stood outside the church and we talked about purgatory.
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And when we got done, he said, you know, that actually makes a lot of sense.
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So that was, it was good. So if you have questions, write in,
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be glad to talk about them. I'll tell you about purgatory sometime if you'd like.
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You can talk about our devotion to Mary. We can talk about the sacraments,
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why we have seven and many other churches only have two.
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So we can talk about those differences. If it's something that interests you,
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drop us a line, goodnewsatcatholicspiritradio.com.
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So our readings for this weekend, this is Ascension Weekend.
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We have our first reading is from the very beginning of the book of Acts.
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Our second reading is a letter from Paul to the church in Ephesus.
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And then our gospel is also from Luke. So let's begin because some of these are rather lengthy.
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So Luke writes at the beginning of Acts of the Apostles, In the first book,
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Theophilus, I dealt with all that Jesus did and taught until the day he was taken up.
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After giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had
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chosen, he presented himself alive to them, by many proofs after he had suffered,
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appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God.
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While meeting with them, he enjoined them not to depart from Jerusalem,
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but to wait for the promise of the Father, about which you have heard me speak.
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For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.
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When they had gathered together, they asked Him, Lord, are you at this time
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going to restore the kingdom to Israel?
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He answered them, It's not for you to know the time or the seasons that the
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Father has established by His own authority.
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But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you,
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and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, throughout Judea and Samaria,
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and to the ends of the earth.
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When He had said this, as they were looking on, he was lifted up,
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and a cloud took him from their sight.
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While they were looking intently at the sky as he was going,
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suddenly two men dressed in white garments stood beside them.
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They said, Men of Galilee, why are you standing there looking at the sky?
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This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will return in the same
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way as you have seen him going into heaven.
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The word of the Lord. So now Luke is describing to us through the testimony
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of witnesses what the ascension of Jesus actually looked like.
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But more important than what it looked like is the message that Jesus left them
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with, a reminder that they're never alone, that God in the form of the Holy
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Spirit is going to be with them always.
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But for that to happen, Jesus has to leave. He has to ascend.
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This, along with the resurrection, these two acts, the resurrection and the
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ascension, are really key elements in the witness of our church.
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I mean, if Jesus had not resurrected, if he had not had witnesses of his ascension,
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there really is no promise to the faith.
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There's no future. There'd be no reason for the apostles to give their lives
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to something that was never proven to them.
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It was the resurrection and the ascension that bore witness to the truth of Jesus.
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And so that witness still is the same today. That hasn't changed.
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They believe because they saw. We believe because they witnessed and left us that testimony.
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And that testimony is Scripture.
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So, when people threaten that the Catholic faith doesn't rely on Scripture,
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it relies almost totally on Scripture.
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Scripture is the promise of Christ. It's the promise from the very beginning,
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when Adam and Eve first separated themselves from God through their mortal sin.
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This was God's plan from the very beginning, that He would send His Son to prove
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the existence of God to man.
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And to prove the love of God to mankind.
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In our second reading is a letter from St. Paul to the Ephesians.
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And he writes, Brothers and sisters, May the God of our Lord Jesus Christ,
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the Father of glory, give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation resulting in knowledge of Him.
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May the eyes of your hearts be enlightened, that you may know what is hope that belongs to His call.
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What are the riches of glory in His inheritance among the holy ones?
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And what is the surpassing greatness of His power for us who believe,
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in accordance with the exercise of His great might, which He worked in Christ,
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raising Him from the dead and seating Him at His right hand in the heavens,
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far above every principality, authority, power, and dominion,
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and every name that is named, not only in this age, but also in the one to come.
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And He put all these things beneath His feet and gave Him as head over all things
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to the church, which is his body, the fullness of the one who fills all things
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in every way, the word of the Lord.
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Just one thing I want to clarify in here, when it talks about seating Jesus at his right hand.
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So, at that time, in any household or in any royal court.
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On the throne sat whoever was in power, the head of the household,
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the head of the region, the head of the government, but to their right sat the
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second in power, their right-hand man, as we call it today, right?
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So that was the position of second in authority.
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Whoever sat at the right carried the same authority as the name of the person in charge.
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So we're being told that Jesus sits at God's right hand, giving him equal authority with God.
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And then when it says raising him above principality, authority,
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power, dominion, those are classes of angels that are listed elsewhere in the Bible.
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Those are all different types of angels. So they're saying that Jesus is not
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an angel, as there's one faith in particular who classifies Jesus as just another
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angel. In fact, they think he's the angel Michael.
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Scripture tells us that that's not true, that Jesus is beyond the angels.
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In fact, the angels are a creation of God, and Jesus, we're taught throughout
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Scripture, is not created, but came forth from God, but was not created.
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And the other part was that he's given total authority, including head over the church.
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The Pope is not the head of the Catholic Church. Christ is the head of the Catholic Church.
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The Pope is his steward. The Pope simply sits in the chair of Peter,
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who Christ left as his proxy on earth.
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So it's Christ who's the head of the Church. And the Church is his body.
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We are his hands and his heart and his mouth and his feet.
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We carry on the healing ministry that Christ began when he became incarnate.
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In our final reading is the Holy Gospel according to Luke.
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And Jesus said to His disciples, Thus it is written that the Christ would suffer
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and rise from the dead on the third day, and that repentance for the forgiveness
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of sins would be preached in His name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.
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You are witnesses to these things.
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Behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you, but stay in the city
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until you are clothed with the power from on high.
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Then He led them out and said, as far as Bethany, raised his hands and blessed them.
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And as he blessed them, he parted from them and was taken up to heaven.
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They did him homage, and they returned to Jerusalem with great joy,
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and they were continually in the temple praising God.
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So, the Gospel of Luke is just a continuation of what Luke wrote in Acts.
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This is just a little further explanation of what happened at the moment of Ascension.
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And what I love about this is the command to stay where you are until you receive the Holy Spirit.
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And at that point, you'll be ready to go out and evangelize to the entire world.
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And the church says the same thing to its members.
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Wait until confirmation. Wait until you receive all of the gifts of the Holy Spirit.
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So we receive the Holy Spirit at baptism, but we're strengthened in all the
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gifts of the Holy Spirit at confirmation.
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And after confirmation, you really should be prepared to go out and defend your
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faith, to go out and tell people what you believe about Christ.
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And I'll offer this to you, and I know this isn't true in all dioceses, but it is in several.
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In some dioceses, you're confirmed at a certain age.
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You get to a certain grade level or a certain age, and then you're confirmed,
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usually after about a two-year preparation program.
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I'm really fond of what's done in some diocese where they say,
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you'll be confirmed when you're ready to be confirmed.
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You come to the church and say, I am ready to accept my role as a disciple and an evangelist.
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I know my faith, and I'm ready to talk to people about my faith.
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And that's the point where you're confirmed.
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So I would ask all of you, what do you feel about your faith?
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Are you ready to defend it?
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Do you know your Catholic faith well enough to be able to stand up and say,
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this is what the Catholic Church teaches, this is what I believe?
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Because if you're not confident in doing that, I'd like to offer you the opportunity
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to gain that confidence, even if you've already been confirmed.
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Come back to your parish and start taking part in some of the educational programs
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that are offered, especially OCIA, the Order of Christian Initiation for Adults.
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Normally, that's used for people who are looking to become Catholic.
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But you know, if you are Catholic, and maybe your Catholic education ended with
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confirmation back in the eighth grade or ninth grade, maybe it's time for you
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to come back and say, I need to learn more.
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I need to be stronger in my faith. And certainly, when you look at the world today,
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most of the problems we face could be solved if we had more Christians,
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more believing Christians, more Christians who acted according to the teachings of Christ.
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But maybe, maybe you've forgotten some of them.
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Maybe you're not confident in them. Then it's time for you to come back to the
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church and say, teach me again.
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Teach me more. Fill me with the knowledge of the Holy Spirit.
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And that's what God's waiting for, is your cooperation.
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Confirmation isn't magic. The graces of God are free gifts, but require your cooperation in them.
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So think about that and decide if maybe you could be a better model of your Christian faith.
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And if you feel there's room for improvement, and there probably is,
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contact your local parish, ask about OCIA and other programs they have to teach
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you again about the faith of yours and the faith of your parents and probably
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the faith of their parents and come back home to the Catholic Church.
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That's my message for Ascension. I hope you have a wonderful weekend.
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Next weekend, Pentecost, another beautiful celebration in the church.
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And so I hope you'll join us again Saturday and Sunday evening at 8 o'clock
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here on Catholic Spirit Radio.
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Until then, may Almighty God bless you, protect you from all evil,
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and bring you to everlasting life.
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Good night. You've been listening to Good News on Catholic Spirit Radio,
26:21
a program for teens and almost teens to better understand that the gospel of
26:24
Jesus Christ is relevant in your life.
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Submit your questions to Deacon Al at goodnewsatcatholicspiritradio.com.
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That's goodnewsatcatholicspiritradio.com.
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Deacon will answer your questions about faith and religion.
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Thank you. Thank you for listening to Good News on Catholic Spirit Radio.