In the Spirit of the Feast of the Ascension (In Ascensione Domini)
Scripture: Acts 1:1–11 & Mark 16:14–20
As we celebrate the glorious mystery of the Ascension of Our Lord, we are drawn into the majestic culmination of His earthly ministry and the solemn inauguration of His heavenly reign. The readings from Acts 1:1–11 and Mark 16:14–20 reveal not merely a historical event, but a mystery of faith to be pondered in the heart, a triumph of our glorified Savior who ascends not to leave us, but to remain with us in a more profound way.
“And when He had said these things, while they looked on, He was raised up: and a cloud received Him out of their sight.” (Acts 1:9)
1. The Mystery of the Ascension in Acts: His Departure and Promise
St. Luke’s account in Acts opens with a deeply liturgical tone. Christ teaches the Apostles for forty days after His Resurrection, “speaking of the kingdom of God” (Acts 1:3), and then, in full view of them, He is lifted up, not by His own strength alone, but as one being gloriously received—“a cloud took Him out of their sight.”
St. John Chrysostom reminds us that this cloud is no ordinary mist of nature:
“The cloud was a token of the heavenly powers coming to meet Him. It was a royal chariot sent for Him” (Homily I on Acts).
The departure of Christ does not signify an absence. Rather, it inaugurates the Church’s mission. As the angels chide the Apostles—“Why stand you looking up to heaven?”—we are reminded that contemplation must lead to action, and devotion must flower into apostolic zeal. The Church is now to carry the Gospel “unto the uttermost part of the earth” (Acts 1:8).
2. The Commission in Mark: A Mandate for All Time
St. Mark’s Gospel closes with the commissioning of the Eleven:
“Go ye into the whole world, and preach the gospel to every creature” (Mark 16:15).
“And the Lord Jesus, after He had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of God.” (Mark 16:19)
This is not merely a farewell address, but the King’s charge to His ambassadors. Christ’s ascension is not an abdication, but an enthronement. He sits at the right hand of the Father as our Priest, King, and Intercessor.
St. Leo the Great, preaching on the Ascension, speaks with majestic clarity:
“Christ’s ascension is our exaltation. Where the Head has gone before in glory, the Body is called to follow in hope” (Sermon 1 on the Ascension).
Thus, the Ascension is not a conclusion, but a beginning. It is the feast of hope, the feast of the Church’s birth into mission. Christ’s physical departure prepares the way for the descent of the Holy Ghost at Pentecost and the birth of the sacramental life of the Church.
3. Doctrinal Riches: The Ascended Christ as Mediator and High Priest
St. Augustine, ever the master theologian, ties together the mysteries:
“He did not leave heaven when He came down to us, nor did He withdraw from us when He ascended again into heaven” (Sermon 263).
The presence of Christ is now sacramental, Eucharistic, and ecclesial. In His Ascension, He does not forsake us—rather, He becomes more intimately united to His Mystical Body, the Church. His humanity, now glorified, intercedes for us perpetually.
The Catechism of the Council of Trent, reflecting the traditional teaching, declares:
“By the Ascension we are taught to aspire to heaven, for where the head has gone, the body must also hope to follow” (Roman Catechism, Article I of the Creed).
4. Liturgical Echoes: The Ascension in the Traditional Roman Rite
The traditional Roman liturgy on this day bursts forth with chants of triumph. The Introit sings: “Viri Galilaei, quid admiramini aspicientes in caelum?”—“Ye men of Galilee, why wonder you looking up to heaven?” The chant compels us from wonder to mission.
The Offertory intones: *“Ascendit Deus in jubilatione”—*God is gone up with jubilation, a solemn sound of the trumpet marking the King’s procession. These are not empty rites, but sacramental participation in Christ’s royal victory.
5. Spiritual Application: Living the Ascension
The Ascension teaches us to live with our hearts lifted up—“Sursum corda”—as the priest exhorts in every traditional Mass. Our citizenship is in heaven (Phil. 3:20), and our life on earth must reflect that eternal destiny. As St. Gregory the Great teaches:
“He who is not mindful of the eternal cannot truly love the temporal” (Homily 29 on the Gospels).
Let us then, in the spirit of the early Church, turn to prayer, fasting, and expectant hope, awaiting the Holy Ghost anew at Pentecost. Let us go forth, as the Apostles did, to teach all nations, baptizing them, confident that “the Lord worked with them and confirmed the word with signs” (Mark 16:20).
Conclusion: Our Hope Is Ascended
The Feast of the Ascension is a feast of Christ’s glory—and our hope. In the words of St. Augustine, “Today our Lord Jesus Christ ascended into heaven; let our hearts ascend with Him.” May we, in fidelity to Tradition and in the strength of the sacraments, walk worthily of our heavenly calling.