Sunday
Luke 24:36 Now as they said these things, Jesus Himself stood in the midst of them, and said to them, “Peace to you.” 37 But they were terrified and frightened, and supposed they had seen a spirit. 38 And He said to them, “Why are you troubled? And why do doubts arise in your hearts? 39 Behold My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself. Handle Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see I have.”

40 [j]When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His feet. 41 But while they still did not believe for joy, and marveled, He said to them, “Have you any food here?” 42 So they gave Him a piece of a broiled fish [k]and some honeycomb. 43 And He took it and ate in their presence.

Prayer:  O Gentle Light of the holy glory of the immortal, heavenly, holy, blessed Father, O Jesus Christ: Having come to the setting of the sun, having beheld the evening light, we praise the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit: God. Meet it is for Thee at all times to be hymned with reverent voices, O Son of God, Giver of life. Wherefore, the world doth glorify Thee.
*Eastern Vesper Hymn

Monday
Commentary on Jesus’ appearance:

Jesus appears all of a sudden, when the doors are closed (cf. Jn 20:19), which explains their surprised reaction. St Ambrose comments that “he penetrated their closed retreat not because his nature was incorporeal, but because he had the quality of a resurrected body” (Expositio Evangelii sec. Lucam, in loc.). “Subtility,” which is one of the qualities of a glorifed body, means that “the body is totally subject to the soul and ever ready to obey its wishes” (Catechism of the Council of Trent, I, 12, 13), with the result that it can pass through material obstacles without any difficulty.41-43 Although his risen body is incapable of suffering, and therefore has no need of food to nourish it, our Lord confirms his disciples’ faith in his Resurrection by giving them these two proofs — inviting them to touch him and eating in their presence. “For myself, I know and believe that our Lord was in the flesh even after the Resurrection. And when he came to Peter and his companions, he said to them: ‘Here, feel me and see that I am not a bodiless ghost.’ They touched him and believed, and were convinced that he was flesh and spirit. … Moreover, after the Resurrection, he ate and drank with them like a man of flesh and blood, though spiritually one with the Father” (St Ignatius of Antioch, Letter to the Christians at Smyrna, III, 1-3).

Prayer:  Saint Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle, be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil. May God rebuke him, we humbly pray; and do thou, O Prince of the heavenly host, by the power of God thrust into hell Satan and all the evil spirits who prowl about the world seeking the ruin of souls. Amen.

Tuesday
Luke 24:44 Then He said to them, “These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me.” 45 And He opened their understanding, that they might comprehend the Scriptures.

46 Then He said to them, “Thus it is written, [l]and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day, 47 and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. 48 And you are witnesses of these things. 49 Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city [m]of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high.”

Prayer:  Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world: have mercy upon us. Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world: have mercy upon us. Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world, grant us peace.
*Agnus Dei

Wednesday
Commentary on Jesus’ teaching:

St Matthew stresses that the Old Testament prophecies are fulfilled in Christ, because his immediate audience were Jews, who would accept this as proof that Jesus was indeed the promised Messiah. St Luke does not usually argue along these lines because he is writing for Gentiles, however, in this epilogue he does report, in a summarized way, Christ’s statement to the effect that everything foretold about him had come true. By doing so he shows the unity of Old and New Testaments and that Jesus is truly the Messiah.

St Luke also refers to the promise of the Holy Spirit (cf. Jn 14:16-17:26; 15:26; 16:7ff), whose fulfilment on the day of Pentecost he will narrate in detail in the book of the Acts

Prayer:  O Lord, save Thy people and bless Thine inheritance. Grant victory over their enemies to Orthodox Christians, and protect Thy people with Thy Cross.

Thursday
More on Jesus’ teachings:

From St Luke’s account we have seen how slow the Apostles were to grasp Jesus’ prophecy of his Death and Resurrection (cf. 9:45; 18:34). Now that the prophecy is fulfilled Jesus reminds them that it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead (cf. Acts 2:1-4).

The Cross is a mystery, in our own life as well as in Christ’s: “Jesus suffers to carry out the will of the Father. And you, who also want to carry out the most holy Will of God, following the steps of the Master, can you complain if you meet suffering on your way?” (J. Escrivá, The Way, 213).

49 “I send the promise of my Father upon you”, that is, the Holy Spirit who, some days later, at Pentecost, would come down upon them in the cenacle

Prayer:  O my God relying on Thy infinite goodness and promises, I hope to obtain pardon of my sins, the help of Thy grace, and life everlasting, through the merits of Jesus Christ, my Lord and Redeemer.
*Act of Hope

Friday
Luke 24:50 And He led them out as far as Bethany, and He lifted up His hands and blessed them. 51 Now it came to pass, while He blessed them, that He was parted from them and carried up into heaven. 52 And they worshiped Him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, 53 and were continually in the temple [n]praising and blessing God. [o]Amen.

Prayer:  O my God I am heartily sorry for having offended Thee, and I detest all my sins, because I dread the loss of heaven and the pains of hell, but most of all because they offend Thee, my God, who art all-good and worthy of all my love. I firmly resolve, with the help of Thy grace, to confess my sins, to do penance, and to amend my life.
*Act of Contrition

Saturday
Commentary on the Ascension from the Navarre commentary:

“Our Lord’s Ascension also reminds us of another fact. The same Christ, who encourages us to carry out our task in the world, awaits us in heaven. In other words our life on earth, which we love, is not definitive. ‘Here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city which is to come’ (Heb 13:14), a changeless home, where we may live forever.

“Christ awaits us. We are ‘citizens of heaven’ (Phil 3:20), and at the same time fully-fledged citizens of this earth, in the midst of difficulties, injustices and lack of understanding, but also in the midst of the joy and serenity that comes from knowing that we are children of God (J. Escrivá, Christ is passing by, 126)

Prayer:  O my God I love Thee above all things, with my whole heart and soul, because Thou art all-good and worthy of all love. I love my neighbor as myself for the love of Thee. I forgive all who have injured me, and ask pardon of all whom I have injured. (Act of Charity)