Written by Benoît Santos - Updated on Oct 27, 2024
The Ascension or Elevation of Christ to Heaven
The Ascension is a Christian holiday commemorating the elevation of Christ to heaven . According to biblical accounts, Jesus ascended to heaven during his lifetime. This belief is one of the greatest foundations of the Christian faith. This feat closes Jesus' time on earth . After that, he no longer manifested himself directly to his followers. His disciples took over and continued to teach his teachings throughout the world.
The Feast of the Ascension is full of symbolism and traditions. Churches pay special attention to this special event. The idea that Jesus ascended to heaven while he was still alive may seem disturbing. However, it is precisely because it is an unprecedented feat that it has become such a special event.
Ascension Day celebrations take place 40 days after Easter. They take place on a Thursday.
Jesus continues to operate even though he is no longer physically present on Earth
The Ascension marks the end of Christ's physical presence on this Earth. But that does not mean that he has stopped intervening in our lives. The ascension symbolizes this new form of his presence. Jesus can operate from within each and every one of us. He is not limited by time or space. He intervenes through the sacraments, such as the Eucharist.
The Ascension is a prefigurement of the eternal life to which men aspire so much. The ascension of Jesus into heaven is a kind of representation of the joy that awaits them.
Why is it important to pray?
Prayer is the only way believers can connect with God. The commemoration of the Ascension is a great time to reconnect with the Lord. Jesus has returned to the Creator to prepare for our coming. On the day of our death, He will be ready to welcome us. It is important that the connection between God and His children never be broken. Jesus is the bond that unites us to Him, and prayer helps us to strengthen that bond.
Prayer on the morning of the Ascension
Lord Jesus,
when you ascended to heaven,
The angels said to the Eleven:
“Don’t just stand there looking up at the sky!”
But fifteen days before,
Near the tomb, these same angels
had they not said to the women:
“Don’t look down!”
He is not here.
He is risen?
Are angels capricious?
that they change their minds so quickly?
What to do Lord Jesus:
Looking down to earth,
or up, towards the sky?
To both of them, You say to us:
“I am in heaven,
So look up to me and pray.
But I am also on earth
in all the poor, the little ones,
the sick and the sinners.
There's so much left for you to do down there,
for them
and for me.
"Temporarily at least."
Lord Jesus,
make us look towards the sky,
without forgetting the earth,
and vice versa.
Because everything we do on earth
to those who are yours
We do it to you.
Cardinal Godfried Danneels
You, the resurrected one
Lord Jesus, we have just followed you in your Passion:
You have been confronted with absolute evil, with unjust violence.
You agreed to die, to be buried and put in the tomb.
But God has not abandoned you to the power of death.
He resurrected you.
The Father's Love is stronger than death:
“Christ having been raised from the dead, he dies no more;
Death no longer has any power over him. […]
He who lives, lives for God.” (Rom 6:9-10)
Praised be You our God, alleluia!
You the Risen One, You who passed from death to life,
You communicate to us your new life and invite us to trust in the future, to joy and to hope:
Jesus, like some of your disciples, we may have difficulty understanding your presence as the Risen One.
But, by the Holy Spirit, You indwell us and You say to each one of us:
“Come follow me, I have opened a path of life for you.”
Brother Roger, from Taizé
Lord, the Ascension of your Son is our own elevation. Our human nature truly participates in your divine Life.
Our earthly life has its extension in heaven where we are awaited by the saints and the angels. It is there where we live in hope.
Lord, You disappear from our sight without us ceasing to acclaim your Name raised above every name. Like the disciples, we are filled with great joy because You never leave us alone: You promise us the Holy Spirit, the force from on high that will teach us everything. Jesus, strengthen the faith of our family as You strengthened that of the apostles for forty days.
Before passing from this world to your Father , you announced to them the coming of the promised Spirit, so that they might proclaim the Gospel: strengthen our witness of faith, hope and charity.
Risen Jesus, You send us to bear witness to your Presence in the world.
Here we are to follow in the footsteps of all those who have gone before us in faith.
We live our life by walking with confidence.
Dispel our doubts, extinguish our ignorance.
By making us attentive to the little ones, by letting ourselves be guided by the Holy Spirit, grant that our family may be a sign of Your presence in the world.
So be it.
Excerpt from 100 family prayers by Father Ludovic Lécuru, Benedictine monk
Prayer on the morning of the Ascension
He ascends to You, God our Father.
All our silences, our songs and our words, are directed towards You and participate in the praise of all creation.
You have called to Yourself Your Son Jesus Christ , through whom Your Salvation was given to us.
He returns today to share your glory.
In this movement which carries him with Him, so that it may be given
Your breath to our humanity.
Thus we enter into the mystery of your Son.
Our eyes can no longer see, but we know that his return has already begun.
His disappearance creates in us the emptiness of love, but we know that through our love we give him back his face.
By this love we abide in Him and through Him we abide in you.
He gathers us together on this day, and it is by his Spirit that our communion acclaims your glory. Truth of faith inaccessible to human reason alone
The Ascension and Psalm 46
With the evocative words of Psalm 46, let us contemplate Christ who rises, who ascends towards his Father and our Father.
God rises among the ovations. Ring for our King, ring!
For God is the King of the earth. (v. 7-8)
Jesus, King of glory, is confirmed, from the height of heaven, as King of the earth, because he is still and always God-with us.
God is seated on his sacred throne…
God who exalts himself above all! (v. 9-10)
It is Jesus, the one we met on earth through the stories of the Gospel, who sits at the right hand of the Father. He is God and Man to the end. He humbled himself during his life on earth, today he is exalted and we proclaim his glory.
The Master Rises
-
The Master rises to Heaven this day!
Among us his work of love ends.
Savior full of grace and almighty King,
He flees into space blessing us.
-
He ascends to his Father followed by the elect.
Men on earth will see him no more:
This King of victory will only come,
In the same glory for judgment.
-
After so much pain, he deserved
The serene glories of eternity.
His Father gives him power and splendor;
And the sky sings a victorious hymn!
- Towards our once lowered misery,
At the right hand of the Father his throne is placed.
This is where he helps us; his humble and gentle heart,
In heaven, intercede for us forever.
Preparing to receive the Holy Spirit
After ascending into heaven, Jesus sent down the Holy Spirit to guide his followers. The descent of the Holy Spirit is commonly known as the Feast of Pentecost . Although believers can no longer interact directly with Christ, they can still enjoy his loving care.
On our website you can find prayers that you can say to celebrate Pentecost. The descent of the Holy Spirit is the event that completes the Christian faith. Therefore, it should be celebrated as worthily as other Christian holidays .
God is a very special divine being. He is one single entity, but made up of three very distinct personalities. God the Father, God the Son, and the Holy Spirit are the many facets of the same person. Each of these personalities plays a specific and particular role. This is why believers devote celebrations and prayers to each of them.
For more prayers, we invite you to discover our prayer articles available online on our site. Here is an article on the prayer to the Immaculate Conception that you can discover with also many other prayer texts published in the news of the site.
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