The Ascension of the Lord (Year A) - 21 May

21st May 2023
The Ascension of the Lord (Year A) - 21 May
 
“Out of compassion for us He descended from Heaven, and although He ascended alone, we also ascend, because we are in Him by grace.” - St Augustine of Hippo
 
 
A reflection on the Ascension of Our Lord by the Venerable Archbishop Fulton J Sheen:
 
"Many of the other appearances of the Risen Saviour were sudden and startlingly unexpected; but there was one made by appointment before He entered into His agony. He told the Apostles that He would go before them into Galilee. After the Resurrection, first the angel and then the Lord Himself made the same appointment, which set it off as one of extraordinary importance. The exact place of Galilee was not recorded nor is it of importance whether it was on the Mount of the Beatitudes or on the Mount of Thabor. Neither is it known how many were present besides the Apostles, but it is distinctly stated that the eleven were there, indicating the loss of one from the apostolic college that would not be filled up until Pentecost. In the Old Testament, God had made appointments on mountains. Mount Moria was the place of appointment with Abraham; Mount Horeb, the place of appointment with Moses. When the Apostles kept this appointment on the mountain where the Risen Saviour had bidden them meet Him: ‘They fell down to worship’ (Matthew 28:17).
 
"He said to them: ‘All authority in heaven and on earth, has been given to Me.’ When He said that all power was given to Him in heaven and on earth, He did not mean it as the Son of God, for that belonged already to Him by nature. Rather it was a power that He had merited by His Passion and His death and which was foretold by Daniel, who saw in a prophetic vision the Son of Man having everlasting dominion and glory. The power that was given to Him was foretold in Genesis, namely, that He Who was the seed of a woman would bruise the serpent’s head. The kingdoms of the earth which Satan promised Him if He would be a political saviour were now declared to be His own. His authority extended over the earth, all souls having been bought by His Blood. This authority as the Son of Man extended not only on earth but also in heaven. His Words combined the Resurrection and the Ascension; as the Resurrection gave Him power upon earth conquering both its sin and its death, so the Ascension gives Him power in heaven to act as mediator between God and man.
 
"Christ’s next utterance was a corollary of the first. If all authority was given to Him in heaven and on earth, then He had the right to delegate that authority to whomsoever He pleased. It was important that the authority He delegated be given to those who were contemporaneous with Him in order that He might pass it on to them. An electric wire that is fifteen hundred or two thousand miles away from a dynamo cannot communicate current. Any authority to act in Christ’s name must needs be given by Christ Himself and then passed on through the centuries by those who immediately received it.
 
"While on earth He exercised the triple office of Priest, Prophet or Teacher, and King. Now as He prepared to leave them for heaven whence He came, He deputed that triple office to His Apostles: the priestly office in bidding them renew the Memorial of His death and by conferring on them the power to forgive sins; the prophetic or teaching office, by promising to send them the Spirit of Truth Who would recall to their minds all things He had taught them and would keep them one in faith; and the kingly office, by giving them a Kingdom (as His Father had given Him a Kingdom), over which they had the powers of binding and loosing. Leaving no doubt that the purpose of His coming was to prolong His Priesthood, His Truth and His Kingship, He consigned His Apostles to the world (Matthew 28:19-20).
 
"If this commission were given solely for the time span of the Apostles, it is evident that they could not possibly go to all nations. The dynamism or current that was passed into the Apostles under the headship of Peter was to continue until Christ’s Second Coming. No doubt was left concerning the authority and the work of the Church when the Master would leave the earth. That day the Propagation of the Faith came into being. No longer were the Apostles and their successors to consider themselves solely as masters in Israel; from now on the whole world was theirs. Nor were they merely to teach; for He Who gave the commission was not just a teacher. They were to make disciples in every nation; and discipleship implied surrender of heart and will to the Divine Master. The power of His redemptive Cross would be in vain unless His servants used it to incorporate other human natures unto Himself. As Mary gave Him the human nature which was now glorified in His Person, so men were to give their human natures to Him, dying as He died, in order that they might enter into glory.
 
"This incorporation to Himself was to be initiated by baptism, as He told Nicodemus. Unless a man be born of water and the Holy Spirit he could not enter into the Kingdom of God. As being born of the flesh made a man flesh, so being born of the Spirit would make him a participant of His Divine nature. The baptism was to be administered not in 'the names' of the three Persons of the Blessed Trinity, since it would imply three gods, rather, it was to be given in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, because the Three Persons are one, having the nature of God. A most imperfect analogy is that our living, our knowing, and our loving are all rooted in human nature; so too the Power of the Father, the Wisdom of the Son, and the Love of the Holy Spirit are all One in the nature of God. As the three angles of a triangle do not make three triangles but one; as ice, water, and steam are different manifestations of the one nature, H2O, so infinitely beyond all finite comparison the Power, Wisdom, and Love are but one God.
 
"This authority which He gave them and which was to be extended throughout the entire earth might still have left in the minds of the Apostles a doubt concerning His Presence with them. This doubt was straightway cleared up when He assured His Church: ‘I am with you all through the days that are coming, until the consummation of the world.’ The promise was without limit; it would endure until the end of the world. God had told Abraham that He would be with him; Moses and Aaron were told that He would be in their mouths; Joshua and Moses were promised that God would be with them; and Solomon was assured that God would be with him in the building of His house. Jeremiah, when he pleaded ignorance, was assured that God would put words into his mouth. But in these cases, the Divine Presence lasted only during the lifetime of the persons to whom it was given. No such limitation of Divine Protection and Presence was mentioned in the case of the Apostles. 'The Gates of Hell will not prevail against My Church,' He told Peter once. Confirmation of that promise was given again in the words: 'I am with you through the days that are coming, until the consummation of the world.' (Life of Christ)
 
 
Ascension Prayer
 
We Beseech you, Almighty God, that we who believe Your only-begotten Son our Redeemer to have ascended this day into Heaven, may ourselves dwell in spirit and heavenly things. Amen. 💖💐🙏
 
 
Food for thought
 
Christ told us not to be afraid or anxious. We are to have confidence in Him and trust in His mercy. When we think He is far away, that is when He is often closest to us. At His request God the Father sent the Holy Spirit to be our comforter. Therefore trust in God always, in times of prosperity and trial. He will never abandon us for He loves each precious soul He creates with an infinite love.