Father Eugenio Bujalance offers this article on the feast of the Ascension of the Lord.

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“No one has ascended into heaven except the one who descended from heaven,” Saint Augustine.

From the 4th century onwards, the Church fixed this date, forty days after  Easter , to celebrate the Ascension. Logically, it always falls on a Thursday. Why? Because this feast is celebrated forty days after Easter Sunday, the day of the Lord’s Resurrection. For pastoral reasons, it has been moved to the following Sunday. This figure of forty days comes from the Book of Acts, in which Luke writes that Jesus “presented himself to them after his suffering and gave them many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God” (Acts 1:3).

There is a parallel between the forty days and forty nights of the flood, the forty years the people of Israel spent wandering toward the Promised Land, and Lent, Jesus’ forty days in the desert, culminating in the Ascension—after forty days of prayer and fasting, followed by forty days of celebration and joy! The number four in the Bible represents the material universe, and when followed by zeros, it signifies the time of our life on Earth. It is a time of testing in which God strengthens us, the necessary time God gives us to draw closer to Him, to be converted, and to be touched by His mercy.  Benedict XVI  explained it as “the time of waiting, of purification, of returning to the Lord and of becoming aware that God is faithful to His promises.”

How enriching it is to follow the liturgical journey! During Christmastime, we celebrated Jesus Christ being sent to Bethlehem by God the Father, and now it’s time to return. The Ascension is the proof that guarantees the success of God’s plan. Jesus fulfills everything his Father had asked of him.

During his earthly life and after the Resurrection, the glory of Jesus was somewhat veiled, obscured. That is why God receives him with honor; Jesus is the one in whom the Father is well pleased. He ascends to the Father to prepare a place for us. In this way, Jesus becomes the mediator between God and humanity.

The Ascension of Jesus is important because it marks the end of his time on Earth. For the Church, death and Resurrection are inextricably linked. The expression “ascending into heaven” signifies the beginning of supernatural life; that is why the Lord, speaking to his disciples about his death, says, “I am going to the Father” (John 16:28). Furthermore, by ascending into Heaven, Jesus is explaining to us what it means to rise from the dead, to enter into the glory of God. Saint Augustine tells us, “You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you.”

This is also our future: to enter into the glory of the Father, which has been promised to us all. The human heart can only be truly satisfied by contemplating the Father. The Ascension places us at our goal: our desire for fulfillment can only be quenched when we behold God face to face. We are made for God, and only He can quench humanity’s thirst.

This event may awaken in us a feeling of sadness, born of the love we feel for Jesus, as Saint Josemaría Escrivá once wrote: “He, being perfect God, became man, perfect man, flesh of our flesh and blood of our blood. And He departs from us to go to Heaven. How can we not miss Him?” But He Himself promised us that He would be with us until the end of days. That is our hope.

Furthermore, with his departure, Jesus leaves us a mission: “Go into all the world and proclaim the good news to all creation” (Mark 16:15-20). Through our lifestyle and witness, we are called to announce the resurrection of Jesus, so that others may encounter him and believe! This is possible because he promises us his Holy Spirit; he does not leave us alone, his Spirit will always accompany us. “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8).

Therefore, this event in the life of Christ is yet another sign that nothing is impossible for God. Following the path laid out by God the Father for each of us here on earth will have repercussions, just as it did for Jesus, the Virgin Mary, the Saints, and all the Angels; we too will enjoy that dwelling place that has been prepared for us. May it be that, in the same way that Our Lord Jesus Christ ascended to heaven, our hearts may also one day ascend with Him.

Prayer:

My God, Christ Jesus, who opened heaven to earth.

You have forgiven me, you have saved me, with your immense love. You have shown me the way to reach you; to give my whole life for love.

Lord, that’s all I want, I ask for nothing more than to live eternally with you.

May the happiness of knowing that you are preparing a place for me in heaven nourish my hope, my faith to continue every day sharing with everyone what you have taught me.

Let fear not overcome me, let difficulties not stop me, let misunderstanding not debase me. Wherever I go, let everything I do bear witness to your love, that you have conquered death and that you lead us to Eternal Life. Amen.