Scripture: Acts 1:1–11 and Mark 16:14–20
Theme: The Lord’s Ascension and Our Apostolic Call
As the Church enters the days between the glorious Ascension of Our Lord and the coming of the Holy Ghost at Pentecost, Holy Mother Church draws our eyes to the mystery of Christ’s exaltation and the mission He entrusts to His Apostles. The Monday after Ascension (Feria II post Ascensionem) presents us with Acts 1:1–11 and Mark 16:14–20—two accounts that speak not only of Christ’s return to the Father, but also of the Church’s commission to preach and baptize all nations.
“Men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up to heaven?” (Acts 1:11)
These words of the angel to the Apostles pierce the silence after the Lord has vanished from their sight. They had just witnessed a mystery so profound: the same Jesus who had walked with them, suffered, died, and rose again now ascends in His glorified Body to sit at the right hand of the Father. And yet, the angel’s question rouses them from wonder into purpose.
St. John Chrysostom, in his homilies on the Acts of the Apostles, comments:
“He ascended, not to remove Himself from our sight merely, but to begin a new dispensation. Now begins the mission of the Church, now the Spirit will descend, and now shall faith go out to all the earth.”
The Fathers consistently saw the Ascension not as an absence but as a fulfillment—the Lord, having completed His redemptive work, now entrusts it to His Mystical Body, the Church.
“Go ye into the whole world, and preach the gospel to every creature.” (Mark 16:15)
St. Mark’s Gospel underscores this missionary mandate. Though the Apostles had been timid and even unbelieving at first (Mark 16:14), the Lord does not discard them. Rather, He rebukes them and sends them—thus showing that grace perfects weakness. The Church Fathers viewed this moment as the true beginning of the Church’s public mission.
St. Leo the Great, in his Sermon on the Ascension, writes:
“Our Redeemer’s visible presence has passed into the sacraments… and faith now takes the place of sight. The strength of the faithful is increased by the Ascension, for unless the mind is raised to the heights, it falls into the abyss.”
St. Leo sees the Ascension as a necessary transition: Christ, now reigning in heaven, draws our hearts upward, while simultaneously sending us outward. We are not left orphaned, but strengthened by His Spirit and nourished by His sacraments.
The Apostolic Witness
As Acts 1:8 makes clear, “you shall be witnesses unto Me… even to the uttermost part of the earth.” This witness is not passive observation but active proclamation, sealed by martyrdom for many.
St. Augustine, in his Tractates on the Gospel of John, teaches:
“The Lord ascended into heaven, but He is still here. He sits at the right hand of the Father, yet He is also with us; by His divinity, by His power, by His love.”
This mystery—that Christ is both enthroned in glory and present in His Church—sustains our hope. The Apostles did not remain gazing into the sky; they returned to Jerusalem in joy, awaiting the Spirit. So too must we turn from mere admiration of heavenly things to earthly obedience to His divine commission.
Reflection and Application
As we meditate on these sacred texts during this post-Ascension octave, the question remains for each of us: Are we still standing and gazing, or are we going and proclaiming? The Lord is ascended, yes—but He has also sent us forth.
Let us then, like the Apostles:
- Trust in the power of the Spirit who comes to strengthen our witness.
- Preach the Gospel—in word and in life—to those around us.
- Raise our hearts to Heaven, where Christ is seated, interceding for us.
May these days of waiting prepare us for a deeper reception of the Holy Ghost, and may we, inspired by the witness of the Church Fathers, take up our place in the unbroken mission of the Church—to make Christ known, loved, and obeyed unto the ends of the earth.
Suggested Prayer:
O King of Glory, Lord of Hosts, who didst this day ascend in triumph far above all heavens: leave us not orphans, but send us the Promise of the Father, the Spirit of Truth. Through the intercession of the Apostles and the witness of Thy saints, inflame in us the fire of Divine Charity, that we may be Thy witnesses in this age and share in Thy glory in the next. Amen.