THE ASCENSION OF THE LORD
The Risen Lord in the World
- He used to teach them. The Emmaus Journey is an example of this (Luke 24:13-35).
- He could enter into the closed rooms; He didn't need any doors to be opened to enter into the rooms. "On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” (John 20:19-20).
- He fed the disciples. "When they landed, they saw a fire of burning coals there with fish on it, and some bread... Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast”" (John 21:9-12).
- He ate with them. On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about" (Acts 1:4).
The Event of the Ascension
- The Transfiguration (cf. Matthew 17:5, Mark 9:7; Luke 9:34-35).
- The hour of the encounter between the Blessed Virgin Mary and Angel Gabriel, who announced to her the "overshadowing" with the power of the Most High (cf. Luke 1:35).
- The holy tent of God in the Old Testament - "Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. 35 Moses could not enter the tent of meeting because the cloud had settled on it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle" (Exodus 40:34-35).
- The Lord, in the form of a cloud, led the people of Israel during their journey through the desert. "By day the Lord went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so that they could travel by day or night. Neither the pillar of cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night left its place in front of the people" (Exodus 13:21-22).
"This reference to the cloud is unambiguously theological language. It presents Jesus' departure, not as a journey to the stars, but as his entry into the mystery of God. It evokes an entirely different order of magnitude, a different dimension of being." - Pope Benedict XVI, "Jesus of Nazareth"
How does the Risen Lord, seated at the right hand of the Father look? What is the kind of body He has? The Second Person of the Most Holy Trinity assumed human nature. The divine Person took human nature and became Man. He took flesh from the Blessed Virgin Mary. He was like us in every way but sin as the Scriptures say, "For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin" (Hebrews 4:15). He lived, suffered, died, buried, rose from the dead, and ascended into heaven in the same body. Jesus had the signs of the wounds in His resurrected body as well as He said to St. Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe” (John 20:27). The Risen Lord has the same body that He took from His Mother, the Blessed Virgin Mary. As seen above, He has the signs of the wounds in His Body.
Jesus seated at the Right hand of God
- It is to abide in the Father's glory and to reign together with the Father.
- It belongs to Christ as God to have, equally with the Father, the identical divine glory.
- It does not indicate a secondary place, nor a place merely next to the Father.
- It means that Christ as God rules in absolute equality with the other two Persons of the Most Holy Trinity - the Father and the Holy Spirit.
"His presence is not spatial, but divine. "Sitting at God's right hand" means participating in this divine dominion over space." - Pope Benedict XVI, "Jesus of Nazareth"
The Christians Place in Heaven
Out of compassion for us He descended from heaven, and although He ascended alone, we also ascend, because we are in Him by grace.- St. Augustine
The Mission of the Disciples
Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.
Mark 16: 15
That was the last command of Jesus, the Head to His mystical Body. The disciples are to carry on the Mission of Christ, for which the Father sent the Son. The Holy Spirit is the unifier and advocate for the disciples in their ministry. There are many passages that testify to this fact. The Holy Spirit was sent to work through the disciples. Jesus said to His disciples, “When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who comes from the Father, he will testify on my behalf. 27 You also are to testify because you have been with me from the beginning" (John 15:26-27).
The Church, as the presence of God in the world, has to perpetuate the Mission of Christ. The Holy Spirit, the Third Person of the Most Holy Trinity, animates the Church. The First Council of Jerusalem, the First ever Council of the Church, said, For it has seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to impose on you no further burden than these essentials" (Acts 15:28). Again in the same book, we read, "God exalted him at his right hand as Leader and Savior that he might give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. And we are witnesses to these things, and so is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey him” (Acts 5:31-32).
We, as the members of the Church, the Mystical Body of Christ, are with Christ in heaven, and Christ, as the Head of the Body, is present in the world.
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