June 1 – Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord
The Ascension of the Lord is already our victory! Jesus ascends to the highest Heaven to reign over the Seraphim, Cherubim, Principalities and Powers. He goes before us to prepare a place for us, to then come back and take us with Him (cf. Jn 14:2-3).
Now, if our Head is there, it makes perfect sense that the Liturgy urges us, as the baptized and members of the Mystical Body of the Redeemer, to keep our eyes always fixed on Heaven, as the Apostle says: “If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God” (Col 3:1).
However, the fact that Our Lord went to Heaven and is now so high above us does not mean that He has distanced Himself from us, as would happen, for example, with a ruler who climbed to the top floor of a building from which he could oversee the entire area He administers. If someone up there were to ask him who the people on the street were, he would have to reply that he does not know, since he directs all the people and makes general decisions for the good government and well-being of all, but he cannot know each one individually.
Not so with Jesus! As Msgr. João Scognamiglio Clá Dias teaches, the Ascension could not mean “that He was abandoning those for whom He had become Incarnate and died on Calvary. His return to the Father can only have resulted from His immeasurable love for each one of us.”1 Thus, Our Lord continues to be at the side of those for whom He suffered; He knows our name, the trials we have been through, and the difficulties we have faced.
What is more, Jesus found a way, devised with divine ingenuity, to truly be with us until the end of time (cf. Mt 28:20). Dr. Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira2 said that if he were told the whole of Our Lord’s life, concluding with the Ascension, but heard nothing about the Eucharist, he would not believe that the Son of God had ascended to Heaven, abandoning His own, and would start looking for Him all over the earth.
Such is Our Lord’s love for redeemed men that He wished to remain with us in the Eucharist, establishing an intimate conviviality within us, through which He continues to advise, forgive and strengthen us on our way to Heaven.
Furthermore, He gave the Apostles an inheritance which, so to speak, summarized His entire work: “I send the promise of my Father upon you” (Lk 24:49). Jesus declares that He will send the Holy Spirit! But what was the condition? “Stay in the city, until you are clothed with power from on high” (Lk 24:49).
The Apostles had learned that, in the absence of the Divine Master, the only refuge where they could find strength and encouragement was close to Our Lady. For this reason, after their Lord’s ascension, they persevered united in prayer with “Mary the Mother of Jesus” (Acts 1:14): Pentecost was to be preceded by days of recollection with the Blessed Virgin!
Thus, the Ascension teaches us that Our Lord is always with us and that whoever wishes to receive the Holy Spirit, whoever desires a new infusion of graces for their life, needs to remain united with Mary: She is the pledge given by Jesus for our victory! ◊
Notes
1 CLÁ DIAS, EP, João Scognamiglio. The Ascension of the Lord. In: New Insights on the Gospels. Città del Vaticano: LEV; Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 2012, v.V, p.353.
2 Cf. CORRÊA DE OLIVEIRA, Plinio. Conference. São Paulo, 30/10/1971.
