The Ascension of the Lord is more than a farewell farewell; it is the crowning of Easter and the beginning of the Church's mission. Forty days after his Resurrection, Jesus ascends to heaven to sit at the right hand of the Father, reminding us that our final destiny is not this earth, but eternity and the joy of heaven with the Trinity.
The Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord commemorates the entrance of the humanity of Jesus Christ into the glory of God. As the catechism explains well in point 665: «The Ascension of Jesus Christ marks the definitive entrance of the humanity of Jesus into the heavenly dominion of God from which he is to return (cf. Acts 1:11), although in the meantime he hides it from the eyes of men (cf. Col 3:3).» This mystery constitutes the second moment of the glorification of the Son, which began with the Resurrection.
Christ does not leave the world to disengage himself from us. As he ascends to heaven with his glorious body, he takes our own nature with him. As I mentioned St. Josemaría in one of his homilies: «The Lord responds to us by ascending to heaven. Like the Apostles, we are both amazed and saddened to see him leave us.
It is not easy, in fact, to get used to the physical absence of Jesus. I am moved to remember that, in a display of love, he has gone and stayed; he has gone to Heaven and is given to us as nourishment in the Holy Host. We miss, however, his human word, his way of acting, of looking, of smiling, of doing good. We would like to look at him again, when he sits by the well, weary from the hard journey, when he weeps for Lazarus, when he prays at length, when he pities the crowd.
It has always seemed logical to me and has filled me with joy that the Most Holy Humanity of Jesus Christ ascends to the glory of the Father, but I also think that this sadness, peculiar to Ascension Day, is a sign of the love we feel for Jesus, Our Lord. He, being perfect God, became man, perfect man, flesh of our flesh and blood of our blood. How can we not miss him? Jesus is the guarantee that where He is, we will also be.
The promise of the Holy Spirit
Before leaving, Jesus leaves a clear mission to his disciples: «Go into all the world and preach the Gospel». But he does not leave them alone. The Ascension of the Lord to heaven is the necessary prelude to Pentecost. Christ ascends so that the Paraclete can come and dwell in the hearts of the faithful, allowing the Church to be, from then on, his mystical body on earth.
To understand the magnitude of the march to heaven, we must analyze three pillars that stand out in this festivity:
The members, benefactors and friends of the CARF Foundation, The priests of our parishes know that, for this presence of Christ to reach every corner of the world, the solid and integral formation of priests who strive to be saints is vital. A well-formed priest is the link that unites Christ with the faithful in parishes around the world.
According to the account in the book of the Acts of the Apostles (1:3-12), the Ascension occurs 40 days after Easter Sunday. Traditionally, this date falls on a Thursday. However, in the vast majority of dioceses, in order to facilitate the participation of the faithful, the liturgical celebration is moved to the following Sunday (the VII Sunday of Easter).
This time of waiting between Ascension and Pentecost is lived by the Church as an intense prayer, asking for the gifts of the Holy Spirit. The tradition of the Decennial to the Holy Spirit begins ten days before (May 15) and will end on Sunday 24 with the celebration of Pentecost.
It might be common to think that the disciples remained gazing longingly at heaven, blocked, not knowing what to do. The Gospel account is clear: two angels appear to tell them: «As they were gazing into heaven, while he was going away, two men in white stood by them and said to them, "Men of Galilee, why do you stand there gazing into heaven? The same Jesus who was taken up from among you and carried up to heaven will return as you have seen him go into heaven." Then they returned to Jerusalem, from the mountain which is called the Mount of Olives, which is as far from Jerusalem as it is permitted to walk on the Sabbath.».
A few verses later, we find the reaction of Peter and the other apostles. «On one of those days Peter stood up in the midst of the brethren (there were about one hundred and twenty people gathered together) and said, »Brethren, what the Holy Spirit, by the mouth of David, had foretold in the Scripture, must be fulfilled.'" As we read, he launches into evangelization.
For this reason, the Ascension could be considered the starting signal for the universal mission. From that moment on, the Church set out to transmit the good news to the whole world. Today, this mission continues through the work of tens of thousands of seminarians and priests, religious men and women, not forgetting all the laity, who, supported by institutions such as the CARF Foundation, They dedicate their lives to bringing the love of Christ and the grace of the Holy Spirit to the geographic and existential peripheries.
The joy of return
St. Luke relates in Acts that the disciples, after seeing Jesus ascend, returned to Jerusalem with great joy. How is it possible to be joyful at such a farewell? The answer lies in faith. They knew that Christ was not abandoning them, but was inaugurating a new form of closeness. From heaven, He intercedes for us as our High and Eternal Priest.
The Christian before this mystery of heaven
According to St. Josemaría: «The feast of our Lord's Ascension also suggests another reality to us: the Christ who encourages us in this task in the world is waiting for us in heaven. In other words: life on earth, which we love, is not definitive; we do not have a permanent city here, but we are in search of a future one. (Heb XIII, 14) immutable city». (Christ is passing by, 126).
And the Ascension of the Lord could be considered a feast of priestly hope. Christ ascends to intercede for us. And the priests act on earth in persona Christi. In the CARF Foundation we are convinced that helping a seminarian or a diocesan or religious priest to be formed in Rome or Pamplona is to perpetuate the presence of Jesus, perfect God and perfect man.
Through our social networks (@fundacioncarf), we share testimonies of young people who have seen that call to go around the world to preach the Gospel. And for this they strive to prepare themselves humanly, intellectually and spiritually to be the feet and hands of Christ on earth. A theological training quality is essential for the message of Ascension to be transmitted with fidelity and ardor. The contents and articles that are published and promoted in media such as Omnes help lay and consecrated people to improve their formation.
Every time a person collaborates with the CARF Foundation, he or she is participating in a metaphorical and real way in the mandate of the Ascension.
«He said to them, »It is not for you to know the times or moments which the Father has set by His own authority; instead, you will receive the power of the Holy Spirit who is to come upon you, and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.' When he had said this, in their sight he was lifted up to heaven, until a cloud took him out of their sight.".
Not all of us can go to distant missions, but we can ensure that those who live there are prepared. The formation of a priest is an investment for the salvation of many souls of both believers and non-practicing people.
Christ's Ascension has opened the way to heaven. Our task now is to travel it with joy, sanctifying our daily work and human relationships, knowing that every small act of love brings us closer to that glory which Jesus already possesses.
Are we looking too much to the ground, concerned only with the immediate, or do we raise our eyes hopefully to heaven? Ascension invites us to do so.
On this feast of the Ascension, we invite you to be part of the evangelizing mission of the Church. Your tax-deductible donation to the CARF Foundation enables priests from all over the world to receive the necessary education to better serve their brothers.
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