Ascension Thursday
Malachi, Chapter 3, verse 19-21
19
For the day is coming, blazing
like an oven, when all the arrogant and all evildoers will be stubble, And the
day that is coming will set them on fire, leaving them neither root nor branch,
says the LORD of hosts. 20 But for you who fear my name, the sun of
justice will arise with healing in its wings; And you will go out leaping like
calves from the stall 21 and
tread down the wicked; They will become dust under the soles of your feet, on
the day when I take action, says the LORD of hosts.
We
should pray today for those who use drugs and we should pray for our country
which is also in a drug induced stupor. Likewise today, I ask you to pray for
the souls of those who die from cancer and for their families. Our world nowadays
is full of cancers in our education, government, labor management, and in our
media. Our Lord asks us to not be afraid. He asks us to go out and proclaim His
name. We can change the world! We can all become bearers of Christ by becoming
a Christopher.[1]
Forty days after
Easter, our Lord ascends into heaven. The Paschal candle is extinguished.
Today
we celebrate the occasion of Christ being taken up into heaven to be with the
Father and to intercede for us.
For
forty days after His resurrection, Jesus remained with His disciples, to
convince them of the truth of His resurrection, to teach them in regard to His
kingdom, that is, His Church, and their vocation; and as they were still
thinking of an earthly kingdom to be established by Christ, He referred them to
the instruction of the Holy Ghost, and then ascended to heaven, whence He shall
come to be our judge. Rejoice over the instructions which are preserved for you
through the Church; but rejoice especially that Jesus has taken possession of
the glory gained by His most profound humiliations, for now He is there an
intercessor for you; there He prepares for you a mansion; there is now your
home. To-day look up to heaven where Christ is, hope, suffer, love, and pray.
In
the early centuries the Church celebrated the Feast of the Ascension with
elaborate processions that imitated Christ's conducting His Apostles to Bethany
(Lk. 24.50). Eventually, however, these liturgical processions became
nonliturgical pageants, and the pageants, in turn, became plays. Ascension
Thursday was a day for special effects. This could happen in a dignified way
during the Mass, as when in Germany the priest would lift a crucifix during the
Gospel at the words, "He was taken up into heaven," or it could
happen in a dramatic way after Mass with a theatrical representation of the
Ascension event. Statues of the risen Christ would be hoisted by pulleys into
the air and then either concealed by white silk representing clouds or pulled
through an opening in the ceiling. The audience would then be showered with
roses, lilies, and wafers. The flowers symbolized the various gifts of the Holy
Spirit promised by Christ before He left, while the wafers reminded all that
Jesus is still present to us in the Blessed Sacrament.
Ascension commemorates the day that Jesus ascended
into Heaven (Acts 1:1-11) after spending 40 days appearing to his disciples
after his resurrection. The disciples thought Jesus was going to restore
the earth to the Kingdom of Heaven, but instead, as he promised to send the
Holy Spirit to give them power, he ascended into Heaven and disappeared in a
cloud. Ascension is the 40th day after Easter, celebrated on the
sixth Sunday of the Easter season in Protestant churches and on the 40th day
after Easter in Roman Catholic churches.
Ascension Facts
& Quotes
·
The
Apostle's Creed, one of the statements of faith in the Christian Church,
mentions Jesus' ascension:
·
I
believe in God the Father, Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth; And in Jesus
Christ, his only begotten Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead and
buried. The third day he rose from the dead. He ascended into heaven and
sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty.
·
An
ancient custom in England, called the Beating of the Bounds, is often performed
on or near Ascension. Before maps, this was the day that people would
mark the boundaries of their property with stones marked with chalk. Some
English churches still perform the custom, led by the vicar. Church
members carry sticks to wick at weeds as they process.
·
In
the Orthodox tradition, celebration of the Jesus' Ascension starts with an
all-night vigil or vespers (evening) service beginning on Saturday.
·
Jesus'
ascension into heaven does not mean his absence, but that he is alive among us
in a new way, close to each one of us. - Pope Francis via Twitter on
4/17/2013
Ascension Top
Events and Things to Do
·
Johann
Sebastian Bach wrote several pieces related to both Easter and the Ascension.
Listen to Bach's the Ascension
Oratorio, Lobet Gott in seinen Reichen (Praise God in His Kingdoms) on
YouTube.
·
Go
bird watching. A custom in Sweden, is to get up early in the morning of
Ascension and venture out into the woods to listen for the call of a cuckoo.
It is considered good luck to hear one on this holiday.
·
Go
to church and learn about why Jesus' ascension is important to the Christian
faith. Jesus is considered to be both human and divine, and the ascension
is an illustration of Christ's divine nature.
·
View
paintings that depict the ascension. One of the most famous works is The
Ascension Of Christ by Rembrandt Van Rijn.
On Ascension Day the Lumen Christi is taken from the
dining room table to signify that the Lord has ascended. In the days when the
Faith was flourishing, the Sunday after the feast of the Ascension was called
"The Sunday of the Roses," the name given from the custom of strewing
the pavements of the churches with roses, as an homage to Christ who ascended
into heaven when the earth was in the season of flowers. Why cannot we in our
day have roses in our homes, make an offering of flowers to our church, or take
roses from our gardens to one infirm or sick? Here are some prayers and
meditations to be said in the family between the Ascension and Pentecost
Sunday.
Prayer:
Meditations before Pentecost
One of the simplest ways we have found for young
children to prepare for Pentecost is by meditating on the mysteries of the
Chaplet of the Holy Spirit. We reflect on one mystery a day.
Opening Prayer:
Sign of the Cross-Act of Contrition
First Mystery: Jesus is conceived by the Holy
Spirit of the Virgin Mary.
Meditation: The Holy Spirit shall come upon thee and
the power of the Most High shall overshadow thee. Therefore the Holy One to be
born shall be called the Son of God (Luke 11:35).
Prayers: One Our Father and Hail Mary; seven Glory be to the Father.
Prayers: One Our Father and Hail Mary; seven Glory be to the Father.
Second Mystery: The Spirit of the Lord rests upon
Jesus.
Meditation: When Jesus was baptized, He immediately came up from the water. And behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending as a Dove and coming upon Him (Matthew 3:16). Prayers: One Our Father and Hail Mary; seven Glory be to the Father.
Meditation: When Jesus was baptized, He immediately came up from the water. And behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending as a Dove and coming upon Him (Matthew 3:16). Prayers: One Our Father and Hail Mary; seven Glory be to the Father.
Third Mystery: Jesus is led by the Spirit into
the desert.
Meditation: Now Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan, and was led by the Spirit about the desert for forty days, being tempted the while by the devil (Luke 4:11). Prayers: One Our Father and Hail Mary; seven Glory be to the Father.
Meditation: Now Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan, and was led by the Spirit about the desert for forty days, being tempted the while by the devil (Luke 4:11). Prayers: One Our Father and Hail Mary; seven Glory be to the Father.
Fourth Mystery: The Holy Spirit in the Church.
Meditation: Suddenly there came a sound from heaven,
as of a violent wind blowing, and it filled the whole house where they were
sitting. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak of
the wonderful works of God (Acts 2:2, 4, 11). Prayers: One Our Father and Hail
Mary; seven Glory be to the Father.
Fifth Mystery: The Holy Spirit in the souls of
the Just.
Meditation: Or, do you not know that your members are the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you? Do not extinguish the Spirit. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God in whom you were sealed for the day of redemption (1 Cor. 6:19; 1 Thess. 5:19; Eph. 4:30).
Prayers: One Creed, Our Father, Hail Mary; seven Glory be to the Father.
Meditation: Or, do you not know that your members are the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you? Do not extinguish the Spirit. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God in whom you were sealed for the day of redemption (1 Cor. 6:19; 1 Thess. 5:19; Eph. 4:30).
Prayers: One Creed, Our Father, Hail Mary; seven Glory be to the Father.
Daily Devotions
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Please
pray for me and this ministry
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