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Dear Sister and Brothers in the Lord:
Not many
years ago we celebrated the Ascension of the Lord on a Thursday, forty
days after Easter Sunday. It has since been moved in Illinois and the
Archdiocese of Chicago (and elsewhere) to the 7th Sunday of
Easter. In marking the ascension on the fortieth day of the Easter
season, the church took literally Luke’s account of events in Acts 1:3.
Liturgical history indicates that the Lord’s ascension and the giving of
the Holy Spirit were originally celebrated together on the solemnity of
Pentecost. It was not until the end of the fourth century that the
Ascension became a separate feast from Pentecost.
Celebrating
the Ascension on a Sunday of Easter time helps give this solemnity its
rightful orientation. The Ascension is neither a farewell nor a time of
sadness at Jesus’ departure from this world. The earlier practice of
extinguishing the paschal candle on this day is therefore quite
inappropriate. Like every Christian festival the Ascension celebrates
the on-going presence of the risen Christ in our midst.
As always the
readings and prayers of the Mass help us to find the focus of this
special day. The first reading is from Luke’s prologue to the book of
Acts. Just as Jesus traveled to Jerusalem to his passion and death, so
the Church will take the Good News out to the world, beginning in
Jerusalem and reaching to the ends of the earth. The Gospel reading from
Matthew reassures the followers of Christ that, although Jesus is no
longer physically present, He is with them, even to the end of time.
The Preface
of the Ascension provides a rich insight into the meaning of the feast:
Christ the mediator between God and the human race,
judge of the world and Lord of all,
has passed beyond our sight,
not to abandon us but to be our hope.
Christ is the beginning, the head of the Church;
where he has gone, we hope to follow.
What we
celebrate is not just a past event or the hope of our own glorious
future destiny but the life we share now with the risen Lord.
Happy
Easter! Alleluia! Alleluia! Let’s give our minds and hearts to the Lord!
Father Joe |
