The Ascension of the Lord

This coming Sunday our local church celebrates the Ascension of the Lord. Historically, the Church celebrates this feast on the 40th day after Easter, which is always a Thursday. However, many dioceses (including our Diocese of Toledo) decided to move this feast to the following Sunday to make it easier for the whole Church to celebrate it.

This feast is one that is often overlooked by many as they prepare for Pentecost the following Sunday. However, as the creeds of the Church all attest to, the Ascension is a vital and important pillar of our faith. The core teaching is that the resurrected Christ ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of God, the Father. It is significant because of the very fact that Jesus' HUMAN body and soul are there! The Church's teaching about Christ states that he is fully human and fully divine, and so Jesus himself has a body and a soul, like any other human being. So, we have in heaven an intercessor at God's right hand who can sympathize with our humanity! He knows what it's like to be human, not just because he is God and knows everything, but because he experienced what it is to be a human being.

As we hear the stories of Jesus' ascension, both from the Acts of the Apostles and the Gospel of Mark, they both make it clear what Jesus demanded of his disciples: to go forth as his witnesses, proclaiming the Gospel to the world! May we too take this last command of Christ on earth to heart and remember that this wasn't just meant for those men and women there at that time, but still applies to us today! So, as we often hear as the closing words of Mass much like Jesus' own last words, "go forth, glorifying the Lord by your life!"

Want to prepare your heart and mind for the Feast of the Ascension? Click here to find the readings.