Saint Paul Speaks of This

Continued 👆🏽 Saint Paul speaks of this hope: “Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air” (1 Thess. 4:17). Do you see, beloved, how the Ascension is a pattern of our own glorification? V. The Place and the Day of the Ascension The mystery of the Ascension unfolded on the Mount of Olives, the very place where He taught His disciples and foretold His second coming. There, having gathered them to Himself, He lifted up His hands blessing them even as He was lifted and ascended before their eyes. Saint Luke bears witness: “He led them out as far as Bethany, and He lifted up His hands and blessed them. Now it came to pass, while He blessed them, that He was parted from them and carried up into heaven” (Luke 24:50–51). The Church, in her sacred rhythm, commemorates this great feast every year on the fortieth day after the Resurrection a Thursday always following the witness of Saint Luke: “He appeared to them during forty days and spoke of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God” (Acts 1:3). This day, then, is not a mere date, but a sacred covenant the book of the covenant in which the Risen Lord instructed His apostles, preparing them for the descent of the Holy Spirit and commissioning them to be witnesses to all nations. VI. Praise from the Mouths of the Saints How the righteous exult in His Ascension! Saint Jared, prophet of melody, sings: “He ascended to heaven in a pillar of cloud; He opened the womb of the Virgin; He brought down manna for little Israel; He saved the children of Israel from the hand of the serpent.” Do you hear, O soul, how the saving acts of God are bound together from the manna of the desert to the cloud of glory, from the womb of the Virgin to the throne of heaven? Conclusion: Let Us Ascend in Spirit! O you who bear His name, arise! Let not your hearts remain tethered to the dust. As Christ has ascended, so must our thoughts ascend. Let our minds be in heaven; let our lives be ordered toward the Kingdom. For His Ascension is not a tale of the past but the sure pledge of our future. Where the Head has gone, the Body shall follow. Where the Shepherd has risen, the sheep will ascend. Therefore, with trembling joy, let us bow before the glory of the Ascended Lord, proclaiming with the Church: “He ascended in glory, and sat at the right hand of the Father, and will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead. May the name of the Holy God be praised forever and ever in every tongue that He has created, today and always. May the blessings of God's mother, the virgin, and the cross be upon us. Amen. © John's Repentance Reach out to us on our social media platforms and share it with your friends: https://linktr.ee/johnsrepentance