Thoughts on the Ascension

 

Sacred Scripture reveals to us that Jesus appeared to the Apostles and spoke to them about the kingdom of God for forty days after His Resurrection (Acts 1:3). Then, forty days after the Resurrection, the Lord ascended into Heaven and is seated at the right hand of God the Father. For this reason, the Church has long celebrated the Ascension of Christ on Thursday, forty days after Easter, which is indeed today.

The Ascension is often overlooked but in fact, it is a key part of the Creed, central to Christ’s saving work, and the Second Glorious Mystery. With the intercession of Our Blessed Mother to aid us, we would do well to take some time and ponder the significance of this great event. Despite our failures and weaknesses, God Almighty is so good and gracious that the divine Word humbly took on human flesh and dwelt among us. The great mystery of the Incarnation not only reveals more about who our Savior is, but it is also how our humanity is most perfectly joined to God’s divinity via the hypostatic union. Thus, Jesus truly is the Way, the Truth, and the Life and no one goes to the Father except through him (John 14:6). This divine work of drawing humanity to God is even more deeply fulfilled when the risen Jesus, who is both fully God and fully man, ascends entirely, including bodily, into Heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. In doing so, human nature has now perfectly entered Heaven and we can now dare to hope to someday join as members of Christ’s Mystical Body where He, our Head has already ascended to. As beautiful as this ascent of human nature into Heaven is, there is still more to marvel at. The Church in reflecting on the Letter to the Hebrews tells us that Jesus is the true High Priest, who has ascended, and who has and will assuredly continue to intercede for us before the Father. We have every reason to hope for salvation with such a perfect High Priest and Intercessor. Thus, while we continue to live in a world plagued by sin as Our Lady of Fatima warned, no matter how bad things become, we must never lose faith in the Lord Jesus Christ who intercedes on our behalf. Rather, let us heed our Blessed Mother’s advice, contemplate the mystery of the Ascension by praying the Rosary, and keep our hearts centered on the Lord. In the Hearts of Jesus and Mary, Christopher P. Wendt International Director Confraternity of Our Lady of Fatima

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