The Ascension of the Lord

Thursday in the Sixth Week of Easter, which is 40 days after Easter, is the traditional day for the celebration of the Ascension of the Lord. Many dioceses in the United States, including our Diocese of Richmond, transfer the celebration of the Ascension to the following Sunday--June 5th this year.

Forty Days after the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, the Acts of the Apostles records Jesus' ascension into heaven. The ascension is an important Christian feast attesting and celebrating the reality of the God-Man Jesus Christ's returning to the Father, to return again in the future parousia. The Ascension is the final component of the paschal mystery, which consists also of Jesus' Passion, Crucifixion, Death, Burial, Descent Among the Dead, and Resurrection. Along with the resurrection, the ascension functioned as a proof of Jesus' claim that he was the Messiah. The Ascension is also the event whereby humanity was taken into heaven. Finally, the ascension was also the "final blow" so-to-speak against Satan's power, and thus the lion (Jesus) conquering the dragon (Satan) is a symbol of the ascension. Early Christian art and iconography portrayed the ascension frequently, showing its importance to the early Church.

The Catholic Catechism summarizes three important theological aspects (with which most Christian churches agree) of the Ascension concisely:

Christ's Ascension marks the definitive entrance of Jesus' humanity into God's heavenly domain, whence he will come again (cf. Acts 1:11); this humanity in the meantime hides him from the eyes of men (cf. Col 3:3).

Jesus Christ, the head of the Church, precedes us into the Father's glorious kingdom so that we, the members of his Body, may live in the hope of one day being with him for ever.

Jesus Christ, having entered the sanctuary of heaven once and for all, intercedes constantly for us as the mediator who assures us of the permanent outpouring of the Holy Spirit (665-667).

Evidence from John Chrysostom, Egeria, Gregory of Nyssa, and Church historian Socrates, suggest that Ascension Day probably originated in the 4th century AD. However, Augustine says the festival is apostolic. Often the feast was celebrated with a procession, symbolizing Christ's journey to the Mount of Olives. Until rather recently, the Paschal Candle (lighted at the Easter Vigil) was extinguished on Ascension Day. It is often celebrated as an octave, the proper preface and Ascension collect being used until the Saturday before Pentecost. In many Catholic dioceses, the Ascension is celebrated on the 7th Sunday of Easter, which is the Sunday following the traditional date. Likely, this is done to make it easier for the faithful to fulfill their obligation to attend Mass on this day, but it removes the connection with the biblical chronology.

From ChurchYear.net

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