Daily Retreat 05/01/08
2008 May 1 Thu: ASCENSION THURSDAY
Acts 1: 1-11/ Ps 46(47): 2-3. 6-7. 8-9 (6)/ Eph 1:17-23/ Mt 28:16-20
(In some regions, the liturgical celebration of the Lord’s Ascension is transferred to Sunday)
From today’s readings: “[Jesus] presented Himself alive to them by many proofs after He had suffered, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God.... God mounts His throne to shouts of joy: a blare of trumpets for the Lord.... May the eyes of your hearts be enlightened, that you may know what is the hope that belongs to His call, what are the riches of glory in His inheritance among the holy ones, and what is the surpassing greatness of His power for us who believe. .... Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age!”
Where Christ, Our Head, Has Gone, We Hope to Follow!
The beginning of the Acts of the Apostles specifies that Jesus was on earth for forty days after His Resurrection, before ascending into Heaven. So today, forty days after Easter, the scriptures direct our attention to this mystery, which is unfortunately overlooked by many Christians in their celebrations of Eastertide. In Luke 9:51, Jesus begins His climatic journey to Jerusalem which was to culminate in His being “taken up.” In the original Greek, the same verb is used in this verse as Luke uses in the Acts of the Apostles to refer to Christ’s Ascension, so this day marks the corporeal completion of the Paschal mission. The First Eucharistic prayer especially highlights this importance of the Ascension, mentioning it at the anamnesis (right after the “mystery of faith” acclamation) along with the Passion and Resurrection as the completion of the Paschal triptych.
Since baptism makes a person a member of the Body of Christ, the members share in the destiny of Christ the Head. Since Christ has ascended into Heaven, that is the hope to which all the members of His Body press toward. As the Catechism of the Catholic Church mentions (§662):
"And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Myself." The lifting up of Jesus on the cross signifies and announces His lifting up by His Ascension into Heaven, and indeed begins it. Jesus Christ, the one priest of the new and eternal Covenant, "entered, not into a sanctuary made by human hands. . . but into Heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf." There Christ permanently exercises His priesthood, for He "always lives to make intercession" for "those who draw near to God through Him". As "high priest of the good things to come" He is the center and the principal actor of the liturgy that honors the Father in Heaven.
Acts 1: 1-11/ Ps 46(47): 2-3. 6-7. 8-9 (6)/ Eph 1:17-23/ Mt 28:16-20
(In some regions, the liturgical celebration of the Lord’s Ascension is transferred to Sunday)
From today’s readings: “[Jesus] presented Himself alive to them by many proofs after He had suffered, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God.... God mounts His throne to shouts of joy: a blare of trumpets for the Lord.... May the eyes of your hearts be enlightened, that you may know what is the hope that belongs to His call, what are the riches of glory in His inheritance among the holy ones, and what is the surpassing greatness of His power for us who believe. .... Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age!”
Where Christ, Our Head, Has Gone, We Hope to Follow!
The beginning of the Acts of the Apostles specifies that Jesus was on earth for forty days after His Resurrection, before ascending into Heaven. So today, forty days after Easter, the scriptures direct our attention to this mystery, which is unfortunately overlooked by many Christians in their celebrations of Eastertide. In Luke 9:51, Jesus begins His climatic journey to Jerusalem which was to culminate in His being “taken up.” In the original Greek, the same verb is used in this verse as Luke uses in the Acts of the Apostles to refer to Christ’s Ascension, so this day marks the corporeal completion of the Paschal mission. The First Eucharistic prayer especially highlights this importance of the Ascension, mentioning it at the anamnesis (right after the “mystery of faith” acclamation) along with the Passion and Resurrection as the completion of the Paschal triptych.
Since baptism makes a person a member of the Body of Christ, the members share in the destiny of Christ the Head. Since Christ has ascended into Heaven, that is the hope to which all the members of His Body press toward. As the Catechism of the Catholic Church mentions (§662):
"And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Myself." The lifting up of Jesus on the cross signifies and announces His lifting up by His Ascension into Heaven, and indeed begins it. Jesus Christ, the one priest of the new and eternal Covenant, "entered, not into a sanctuary made by human hands. . . but into Heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf." There Christ permanently exercises His priesthood, for He "always lives to make intercession" for "those who draw near to God through Him". As "high priest of the good things to come" He is the center and the principal actor of the liturgy that honors the Father in Heaven.
posted by FrPitstick | 4/30/2008
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