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Ascension of The Lord
Ascension of The Lord

Ascension of The Lord

Feast Day
May 09, 2024
Patronage
<p>The Catechism of the Catholic Church (Item 668) states, &ldquo;Christ&rsquo;s Ascension into Heaven signifies his participation, in his humanity, in God&rsquo;s power and authority&rdquo;.&nbsp; Referring to Mark 16:19, &ldquo;So then the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken unto them, was received up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God&rdquo;.&nbsp; Pope John Paul II stated that Scripture positions the significance of the Ascension in two statements, &ldquo;Jesus gave instructions, and then Jesus took his place&rdquo;.&nbsp; He also seperately emphasized that Jesus had foretold of his Ascension several times in the Gospels, John 16:10 at the Last Supper, &ldquo;I go to the Father, and you will see me no more&rdquo;, and John 20:17 after his resurrection tells Mary Magdalene, &ldquo;I have not yet ascended to the Father, go to my brethren and say to them, I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God&rdquo;. &nbsp;</p><p>The Feast of the Ascension is on of the great feasts in the Christian Liturgical Calendar that commemorates the bodily Ascension of Jesus into Heaven.&nbsp; He was not &ldquo;Assumed&rdquo; by the Father&rsquo;s power, but the &ldquo;Ascension&rdquo; signifies by his own.&nbsp; The Ascension of the Lord is traditionally celebrated on a Thursday, the fortieth day from Easter Sunday.&nbsp; However, some Roman Catholic Provinces have moved the observance to the following Sunday.&nbsp; The feast is one of the Ecumenical Feasts, ranking with the feasts of the Passion, Easter, and Pentecost. &nbsp;</p><p>Acts 1:9-12 tells us that the Ascension took place on Mount Olivet, the &ldquo;Mount of Olives&rdquo;, on which the village of Bethany sits.&nbsp; After the Ascension the Apostles are described as returning to Jerusalem from the mount that is called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, within a Sabbath day&rsquo;s journey.&nbsp; Tradition has consecrated this site as the &ldquo;Mount of Ascension&rdquo;.&nbsp; The Gospel of Luke tells us that the event took place &ldquo;in the vicinity of Bethany&rdquo; and the Gospel of Mark specifies no location. &nbsp;</p><p>Before the conversion of Constantine in 312, early Christians honored the Ascension of Christ in a cave on the Mount of Olives.&nbsp; By 384, the place of the Ascension was venerated on an open site, uphill from the cave.&nbsp; The Chapel of the Ascension in Jerusalem today is a Christian and Muslim Holy site, now believed to mark the place where Jesus ascended into Heaven. In the small round Church is a stone imprinted with what some claim to be the very footprints of Jesus. &nbsp;</p>