The Church and the apostolic mission. Reflections on the Gospel on this Ascension Sunday (Mark 16:15-20) from the Navarre Bible:

"Jesus summarizes the apostle's mission, which is now the mission of the Church- to preach salvation to the whole world, with Baptism the necessary gateway to that salvation. The Church's teaching is this: 'Above all else, it must be firmly believed that the Church, a pilgrim now on earth, is necessary for salvation; he is present to us in his body which is the Church. He himself explicitly asserted the necessity of faith and baptism (c.f. MK 16:16, Jn 3:5), and thereby affirmed at the same time the necessity of the Church through which men enter through baptism as through a door' (Vatican II, Lumen genitium, 14)."