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| The Ascension, Giotto, 1305 |
At the
Ascension the Risen Christ speaks to the Apostles one last time about the
coming of the Holy Spirit. He says: “You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you and you
shall be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the
end of the earth” (Act. 1, 8).
…The coming of the Holy Spirit
at Pentecost marks the beginning of the
Church’s mission. The Apostles received this mission from Christ. The Holy
Spirit gave them the power to fulfill it by word and deed even to the shedding
of their blood. Martyrdom is the ultimate testimony to the truth about Christ
crucified and risen. Following in the footsteps
of the Apostles the Church has inherited the same mission, and she fulfills
it in the midst of all the nations.
-Saint John Paul II, 1989
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