Ascension
by VP
Posted on Thursday May 09, 2024 at 01:00AM in Tradition
Image source: Prince of Glory digitized by google public domain
"Our Savior ascended into Heaven in order to leave Priests upon earth as stewards and dispensers of the gifts which (as St. Thomas says) He sends from His eternal throne in Heaven, where He sits as God and Lord.
If visible miracles are less frequent in these days than they were in the first ages of Christianity, yet spiritual miracles are still of frequent occurrence; for says St. Gregory Holy Church now works in spiritual things what the Apostles did in corporal things. In truth, Her ministers cast our the devil from the souls of the Faithful; they speak with that tongue of the Apostles which is not spoken by others; they take up serpents, that is to say, those vices which creep about the world, and would induce penitents to fall again into sins; in Sacramental Confession they drink in with the ear the poison of sinful narratives, and this poison does not hurt them; they cure the sick, that is to say, those who are tormented with spiritual maladies, so says St. Bernard. And these miracles are greater than corporal miracles, inasmuch as they are concerned with men's souls, with grace, with eternity; which are more precious than the body, and nature, and time, says St. Gregory.
Therefore, let us rejoice in the Lord that we (priests) are destined to such great works! Source: Meditations for the use of the Clergy, Fr. Angelo Scotti
On the Ascension of our Lord, by Bishop Richard Challoner:
"CONSIDER first, that our Lord, after having employed forty days upon earth, to comfort and encourage his disciples, to confirm them in the faith of his Resurrection, and to instruct them in the mysteries of His kingdom, on the fortieth day taking them out with him to Mount Olivet, lifted up His hands and gave them His blessing, and so ascended up visibly to Heaven before their eyes, till a cloud interposed, and took Him out of their sight. Bow thyself down, my soul, to receive with joy and gratitude this blessing of thy Saviour ascending now to His Father, and to thy Father; follow Him in spirit, and contemplate the triumphs and joy of all the heavenly legions that come out to meet Him, and attend Him to His Father's throne: see how He brings along with Him all the patriarchs, prophets, and spirits of the just, into those regions of eternal bliss, and presents them to His Father as the first fruits of His purchase, which He had made upon earth, with His precious Blood. See with joy thy human nature, in the person of thy Lord, raised above all the Cherubims and Seraphims, and seated at the right hand of God; and exercise thyself upon this occasion in acts of love, in the way of congratulation, and of rejoicing at the exaltation and triumphs of thy Saviour.
Consider 2dly that our Lord by His Ascension, has taken possession of the kingdom of Heaven, not only for Himself, but also for us. He purchased this kingdom for us with His own blood, He opened the gates of it by His death, He showed us the way to it by His resurrection, and by His ascension He has given us, as it were, an earnest of our coming one day to reign there with Him. He is our head, we are His members; it is but natural that where the head is, there the members should also be; it would be unnatural, it would be keeping them in a state of violence, to keep them separate from their head. What comfort then to Christian souls to see their head, by this mystery of His Ascension unto Heaven, raised to the highest seat in that eternal kingdom, in order to draw them thither after Him, and in the midtime, preparing a place for them there, that He may in proper time, come and "take them to Himself, that where He is they also may be !" St. John xiv.
Consider 3dly, what further motives we have for rejoicing in the Ascension of our Lord, when we reflect that He has entered into Heaven in quality of our parent, of our friend, of our advocate and mediator, of our high priest, &c. Oh what encouragements are here to raise our hopes! We have a tender Father in Heaven, the true parent of our souls, Who has also power in the court of Heaven, and takes exceedingly to heart our true interest; we have there in the person of our Redeemer, a most affectionate friend, who loves us with an incomparable love; we have a most faithful mediator and advocate, who ever pleads for us with the powerful eloquence of His sacred wounds, which He continually presents to His Father in our behalf; we have a high priest, who to make atonement for us, has carried into this heavenly sanctuary, not the blood of oxen, or of goats, but His own most sacred Blood, shed for obtaining for us an everlasting redemption. O see my soul, upon how many accounts thou oughtest to rejoice on the festival of the Ascension of our Lord, if thou either lovest Him or thyself."
Conclude to consider this festival of the Ascension of our Lord, as one of the principal solemnities of the year. The Church of God considers it as such, and therefore, daily commemorates in a particular manner, in the most sacred mysteries, not only the Passion and Resurrection, but also the Ascension of our heavenly Spouse, as the mystery which put the last seal as it were, to the great work of our redemption, and placed this flesh of ours in heaven, even at the right hand of the Father, which, at the fall of our first parents, had been sentenced to return to its original earth."
