The Ascension of The Lord

05-29-2022Weekly ReflectionFr. Manasseh Iorchir, VC

Ordinarily, we celebrate the Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord forty days after Easter Sunday, and this usually falls on the Thursday of the sixth week of our Easter celebration. This gives us ten days before the feast of Pentecost which comes up fifty days after Easter. However, most Dioceses in the United States now celebrate the Ascension of the Lord on the seventh Sunday of Easter in order to emphasize the solemnity of the day, and so, today is the day when we celebrate the return of the resurrected Jesus to heaven after spending forty days preparing His Apostles for the great outpouring of the Holy Spirit that would empower them to witness to the Gospel all over the world.

Forty days preparation habitually carries great symbolism in Scripture. Recall Noah’s forty days in the ark during which God purified the world, Moses’ forty days on Mount Sinai after which he and Israel were gifted the Decalogue, Elijah’s forty days of wandering in the desert in search of God’s presence, and Jesus’ forty days of fasting in the wilderness in preparation for His public ministry. The celebration of the Lord’s glorious Ascension forty days after His resurrection points us in the direction of preparedness for the future. We, like the Apostles, are to prepare in unity and prayer for the coming of the Holy Spirit to rekindle in us the the fire of love. We are to prepare to fulfill our Christ-given mandate to go into the world and make disciples of all nations through tireless preaching and uncompromising witnessing. We are also to prepare ourselves so we can render accounts of our witnessing to Christ when He returns in glory.

The Ascension of the Lord also affords us hope that diligent preparation will be matched with the gracious outpouring of the Holy Spirit, and unflinching fidelity to the Gospel will see us all, the mystical body of Christ, arrive in the kingdom of God where Christ our head has gone before us. Where the head has gone, the body will someday follow. Thus, the Ascension of the Lord does not evoke feelings of aloneness or abandonment, but rather reinforced hope and faith. Consequently, we are reminded that the earth and its fullness does not represent our permanent home, but is our temporary residence where every member of the body of Christ, through faith and witnessing, prepares for the final glorification of the faithful in heaven.

May each of us remain in the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church waiting for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. May we receive and listen to the Holy Spirit in our individual lives and in our faith community, and may we be prepared in hope for the final glorification of all of us in the new and heavenly Jerusalem.

Please be kind and may God bless you.

Fr. Manasseh

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