19 MAY – SAINT CELESTINE V (Pope and Confessor)

Peter (who, from the name he took as Pope, was called Celestine) was born in 1221 at Isernia in the Abruzzi, Italy, of respectable Catholic parents. When quite a boy, he retired into solitude that he might be out of the reach of the world’s vanities. There he nourished his soul with holy contemplations, bringing his body into subjection and wearing a hair-shirt and an iron chain next to his skin, taking Saint John the Baptist as his role model. Peter was ordained a priest in Rome and on his way back received the Benedictine habit from the Abbot of Faizola who allowed him to resume his solitary life. He founded, under the Rule of Saint Benedict, the Congregation which in 1274 was approved by Pope Gregory X and became known later as the Congregation of Celestines after his papal name. The Roman Church having been for a long time widowed of its Pastor after the death of Pope Nicholas IV, Celestine was chosen, unknown to himself, to occupy the Chair of Peter, and was therefore compelled to quit his solitude, for he was a lamp that was set upon a candlestick and could not be hid. All men were filled with joy, as well as with surprise, at this unexpected choice. But thus exalted to the Pontificate, and finding that the multiplicity of cares rendered it almost impossible for him to continue his wonted contemplations, he resigned of his own accord the onerous honours of the Papal throne. He therefore resumed his former mode of life and slept in the Lord by a precious death, which was rendered still more glorious by the apparition of an exceedingly bright cross which hovered over the door of his cell. He was celebrated for many miracles, both before and after his death in 1926, which being authentically proved, he was canonised 11 years after his departure from this world by Pope Clement V in 1313.

Dom Prosper Guéranger:

Our Paschal Season which has already given us the admirable Doctor, Saint Leo, brings before us today the humble Peter Celestine — Sovereign Pontiff, like Leo, but who was no sooner throned on the Apostolic See than he left it and returned to solitude. Among the long list of sainted men who compose the venerable series of Roman Pontiffs our Lord would have one in whose person was to be represented the virtue of humility — that honour was conferred on Peter Celestine. He was dragged from the quiet of his solitude, compelled to ascend the throne of Saint Peter and made to hold, in his trembling hand, the Keys of the Kingdom of Heaven. The holy hermit whose eyes had been ever fixed on his own weakness had then to provide for the necessities of the whole Church. In his humility he judged himself to be unequal to so heavy a responsibility. He resigned the tiara and begged to be permitted to return to his dear hermitage. His Divine Master, Christ, had, in like manner, concealed his glory first in a thirty years of hidden life, and then, later on, under the cloud of His Passion and Sepulchre. The sunshine of the Pasch came. The gloom was dispersed and the Conqueror of Death arose in all His splendour. He would have His servants share in His triumph, but their share is to be greater or less, according to the measure in which they have, here on Earth, imitated His humility. Who then could describe the glory which Peter Celestine receives in Heaven as a recompense for his profound humility which made him more eager to be unknown than the most ambitious of men could be for honour and fame? He was great on the Pontifical throne and still greater in his solitude. But his greatness, now that he is in Heaven, surpasses all human thought.

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You obtained, Celestine, the object of your ambition. You were permitted to descend from the Apostolic throne and return to the quiet of that hidden life which, for so many years, had been your delight. Enjoy, to your heart’s content, the holy charm of being unknown to the world, and the treasures of contemplation in the secret of the face of God (Psalm xxx. 21). But this life of obscurity must have an end and then, the Cross — the Cross which you have loved above all earthly possessions — will rise up in brightness before your cell door and summon you to share in the Paschal triumph of Him who came down from Heaven to teach us this great truth — that he that humbles himself, will be exalted (Matthew xxiii. 12).

Your name, O Celestine, will for ever shine on the list of Roman Pontiffs. You are one of the links of that glorious chain which unites the Holy Church with Jesus, her Founder and her Spouse. But a still greater glory is reserved for you — the glory of being forever with this same Risen Jesus. Holy Church which, during the short period of your holding the Keys of Peter, was obedient to you, has now for centuries paid, and will continue, to the end of the world, to pay you the tribute of her devotion because she recognises in you one of God’s elect — one of the Princes of the heavenly court. And we, O Celestine, we also are invited to ascend where you are and contemplate, together with you, the most beautiful among the children of men (Psalm xliv. 3), the Conqueror of sin and Hell. But there is only one path that can lead us there. It is the path you trod — the path of humility. Pray for us that we may be solidly grounded in this virtue and desire it with all our earnestness, that we may change our unhappy self-esteem into an honest contempt of ourselves, that we may despise all human glory and be courageous and cheerful under humiliation, and that thus having drunk of the torrent as did our Divine Master, we may one day, like Him, lift up our heads (Psalm cix. 7) and cluster round His throne for all eternity.

19 MAY – TUESDAY IN THE OCTAVE OF THE ASCENSION

   

Dom Prosper Gueranger:

The Lord of glory has ascended into Heaven and, as the Apostle says, “He has gone there as our forerunner,” (Hebrews vi. 20), but how are we to follow Him to this abode of holiness, we whose path is beset with sin — we who are ever needing pardon, rather than meriting anything like glory? This brings us to another consequence of the exhaustless mystery of the Ascension. Let us give it our closest attention. Jesus has gone to Heaven not only that he may reign as King, but also that He may intercede for us as our High Priest, and, in this quality, obtain for us both the pardon of our sins and the graces we need for following Him to glory. He offered himself, on the Cross as a victim of propitiation for our sins. His Precious Blood was shed as our superabundant ransom: but the gate of Heaven remained shut against us until He threw it open by His own entrance into that sanctuary where he was to exercise His eternal office of Priest according to the order of Melchisedech (Psalms cix. 4). By His Ascension into Heaven His priesthood of Calvary was transformed into a priesthood of glory. He entered with the veil of His once passible and mortal flesh (Hebrews vi. 19; x. 20) within the veil of His Father’s presence, and there is He our Priest forever.

How truly is he called Christ, that is, “the Anointed!” for, no sooner was His Divine Person united to the Human Nature than He received a twofold anointing: He was made both King and High Priest. We have already meditated on His Kingship: let us now contemplate His Priesthood. He gave proofs of both during His life among us on Earth, but it was only by His Ascension that their unclouded splendour was to be declared. Let us then follow our Emmanuel and see Him as our High Priest.

The Apostle thus describes the office of a High Priest. He is taken from among men (Hebrews v. 1) and is ordained for men in the things that appertain to God that he may offer tip gifts and sacrifices for sins: he is appointed their ambassador and mediator with God. Jesus received this office and ministry, and He is fulfilling it in Heaven. But, that we may the better appreciate the grand mystery, let us study the figures given of it in the Holy Scriptures and developed by Saint Paul in his sublime Epistle. They will give us a precise idea of the grandeur of our Jesus’ Pontifical character. Let us go, in thought, to the Temple of Jerusalem. First of all, is the spacious uncovered court, with its porticoes. In the centre there stands the altar on which are slain the victims of the various sacrifices, and from the altar there radiate a number of conduits through which flows the blood. We next come to a more sacred portion of the edifice. it is beyond the altar of holocausts, is covered in, and is resplendent with all the riches of the East. Let us respectfully enter, for the place is Holy, and it was God Himself who gave to Moses the plan of the various fittings which adorn it with their mysterious and rich beauty:— he Altar of Incense, with its morning and evening cloud of fragrance; the seven- branched Candlestick, with its superb lilies and pomegranates; the Table of the Loaves of Proposition, representing the offering made by man to Him who feeds him with the harvests of the earth. And yet, it is not here, though the walls are wainscoted with the bright gold of Ophir, that is centred the great majesty of Jehovah. At the extreme end of the Temple there is a Veil of precious texture, richly embroidered with figures of the Cherubim, and reaching to the ground: it is there, beyond this Veil, that the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob has fixed the abode of His presence. It is there also that rests the Ark of the Covenant over which two golden Cherubim spread their wings. It is called the “Holy of Holies,” and no one, under pain of death, may draw aside the Veil, or look or enter within the hallowed precinct where the God of Hosts deigns to dwell. So then, man is banished from the place in which God dwells: he is unworthy to enter into so holy a presence. He was created that he might see God and be eternally happy with that vision, but because of sin he is never to enjoy the sight of God. There is a Veil between himself and Him who is his Last End. Neither can he ever remove that Veil. Such is the severe lesson given to us by the symbolism of the ancient Temple.

But there is a merciful promise, and it gives a gleam of hope. This Veil will one day be raised up and man will enter within: on one condition, however. Let us return to the figurative Temple, and we will learn what this condition is. As we have already noticed, none were allowed to enter the Holy of Holies. There was but one exception, and that was in favour of the High Priest who might once a year, penetrate beyond the Veil. Yet even he had certain conditions to observe. If he entered without holding in his hands a vessel containing the blood of two victims previously immolated by him for his own and the people’s sins, he was to be put to death. If, on the contrary, he faithfully complied with the divine ordinances, he would be protected by the blood he carried in his hands, and might make intercession for himself and all Israel. How beautiful and impressive are these figures of the first Covenant, but how much more so their fulfilment in our Jesus’ Ascension! Even during the period of His voluntary humiliations, he made His power be felt in this sacred Dwelling of God’s Majesty. His last breath on the Cross rent the Veil of the Holy of Holies, hereby signifying to us that man was soon to recover the right he had lost by sin, the right of admission into God’s presence.

We say soon, for Jesus had still to gain the victory over Death by His Resurrection. He had to spend forty days on earth during which He, our High Priest, would organise the true Priesthood that was to be exercised in His Church to the end of time, in union with the Priesthood He Himself was to fulfil in Heaven. The fortieth day came, and found all things prepared: the witnesses of the Resurrection had proclaimed the victory of their Master; the dogmas of faith had all been revealed; the Church had been formed; the Sacraments had been instituted: it was time for our High Priest to enter into the Holy of Holies, accompanied by the holy souls of Limbo. Let us follow Him with the eye of our faith. As He approached, the Veil that had closed the entrance for [thousands of] years, was lifted up. Jesus enters. Has He not offered the preparatory Sacrifice? Not the figurative Sacrifice of the Old Law, but the real one of His own Blood? And having reached the Throne of the Divine Majesty, there to intercede for us His people, He has but to show His Eternal Father the Wounds he received, and from which flowed the Blood that satisfied every claim of Divine Justice. He would retain these sacred stigmata of His Sacrifice in order that He might ever present them, as our High Priest, to the Father, and so disarm His anger. “My little children,” says Saint John in his first Epistle, “I write these things to you, that you may not sin; but, if any man does sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the Just” (1 John ii. 1). Thus, then, beyond the Veil, Jesus treats of our interests with His Father. He gives the merits of His Sacrifice their full efficacy. He is the eternal High Priest whose advocacy is irresistible.

Saint John, who was granted a sight of the interior of Heaven, gives us a sublime description of this twofold character of our Divine Head — Victim and yet King, Sacrificed and yet Immortal. He shows us the Throne of Jehovah, round which are seated the Four-and-Twenty Ancients, the four symbolical living creatures, and then the seven Spirits burning like lamps before it. But the Prophet does not finish his description here. He bids us look at the right hand of Him who sits on the Throne. There we perceive a Lamb standing and as it were slain — slain and yet standing, for He is radiant with glory and power (Apocalypse iv. 5). We should be at a loss to understand the vision had we not our grand mystery of the Ascension to explain it, but now all is clear. We recognise in the Lamb, portrayed by the Apostle, our Jesus, the Word Eternal, who, being consubstantial to the Father, is seated on the same Throne with Him. Yet is He, also, the Lamb, for He has assumed to Himself our flesh, in order that He might be sacrificed for us as a victim. And this character of Victim is to be forever upon Him. Oh, see Him there, in all His majesty as Son of God, standing in the attitude of infinite power, yet withal, He will not part with His resemblance of the Immolated. The sword of Sacrifice has left Five Wounds upon Him, and He would keep them for eternity. Yes, it is identically the same meek Lamb of Calvary, and He is to be forever consummating in glory the immolation He perfected on the Cross.

Such are the stupendous realities seen by the Angels within the Veil (Hebrews vi. 19), and when our turn comes to pass that Veil, we also will be enraptured with the sight. We are not to be left outside, as were the Jewish people when, once each year, their High Priest entered into the Holy of Holies. We have the teaching of the Apostle: The Fore-runner, Jesus, our High Priest, has entered within the Veil for us (Hebrews iv. 20). For us! O what music there is in these two words: For us! He has led the way. We are to follow! Even at the commencement He would not go alone. He would have the countless legion of the souls of Limbo to accompany Him, and ever since then the procession into Heaven has been one of unbroken magnificence. The Apostle tells us that we, poor sinners as we are, are already saved by hope (Romans viii. 24), and what is our hope, but that we are one day to enter into the Holy of Holies? Then will we blend our glad voices with those of the Angels, the four-and-twenty Ancients, the myriads of the Blessed, in the eternal Hymn: “To the Lamb that was slain, power, and divinity, and wisdom, and strength, and glory, and benediction, for ever and ever! Amen.” (Apocalypse v. 12, 13).

18 MAY – SAINT VENANTIUS (Martyr)

Venantius was born at Camerino near Ancona in Italy. At the age of 15 years he was accused of being a Christian and was brought before Antiochus, the governor of the city under the emperor Decius. After being coaxed and threatened, he was scourged and condemned to be chained. But he was miraculously unfettered by an angel, and was then burned with torches, and was hung, with his head downwards, over a fire, to be suffocated by the smoke. One of the officials, Anastasius, noticed the courage with which Venantius suffered his torments, and saw an angel walking in a white robe above the smoke, and again liberating Venantius. He believed in Christ and with his family was baptised by the priest Porphyrius with whom he later was to suffer martyrdom.

Venantius was again brought before the governor but refusing to renounce his faith, he was put in prison. A herald, Attalus, was sent to tell him that he also had once been a Christian, but had renounced the faith when he discovered that it was false, and that Christians were tricked into giving up the good things of the present life by the vain hope of what was to follow in the next life. Venantius rejected the herald, upon which he was yet again again led before the governor and all his teeth were beaten out, and his jaws broken. After that he was thrown into a dung pit. But being delivered by an angel once again, he stood before the judge, who, while Venantius was addressing him, fell from his judgment-seat and died exclaiming “The God of Venantius is the true one! Destroy our gods!”

When the Governor found out, he ordered Venantius to be exposed to the lions, but the animals bowed down before him. Venantius instructed people in the Christian faith and was again imprisoned. On the following day, Porphyrius told the governor that he had had a vision in which he saw that those bathed with water by Venantius were brilliant with a splendid light, but that the governor was covered with a thick darkness. The governor ordered Porphyrius to be beheaded, and Venantius to be dragged, until evening, along places covered with thorns and thistles. Venantius was left there half dead but again presented himself to the governor who condemned him to be thrown from a rock. Venantius was miraculously preserved in his fall, and was once more dragged, for a mile, over rough places.

Seeing that the soldiers were tormented with thirst, Venantius made the sign of the cross, and water flowed from a rock, which was in a neighbouring dell. Many were moved by that miracle, to believe in Christ, and were all beheaded, together with Venantius, on that very spot, by the governor’s orders. Lightning and earthquakes followed the killings and a few days after taking flight, the governor met divine justice by a humiliating death. Christians gave honourable burial to the martyrs outside the city. In the fifth century a basilica was built in honour of Saint Venantius and a spring nearby was used by lepers and people with ulcers to cure themselves. Venantius replaced Saint Ansovinus as patron saint of Camerino.

Dom Prosper Gueranger:

Today’s martyr carries us back to the persecutions under the Roman Emperors. It was at Camerino, in Italy, that he bore his testimony to the true Faith. And the devotion with which he is honoured by the people of those parts... has occasioned his feast being kept throughout the Church. Let us, therefore, joyfully welcome this new champion who fought so bravely for our Emmanuel. Let us congratulate him upon his having the privilege of suffering martyrdom during the Paschal Season, all radiant as it is with the grand victory won by Life over Death.

The account given by the Liturgy upon Saint Venantius, is a tissue of miracles. The omnipotence of God seemed, on this and many other like occasions, to be resisting the cruelty of the executioners, in order to glorify the martyr. It served also as a means for converting the by-standers, who, on witnessing these almost lavish miracles, were frequently heard to exclaim that they too wished to be Christians, and embrace a religion which was not only honoured by the superhuman patience of its martyrs, but was so visibly protected and favoured by Heaven.

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Dear youthful Martyr, loved of the Angels, and aided by them in your combat, pray for us! Like yourself, we too are soldiers of the Risen Jesus, and must give testimony before the world to the divinity and the rights of our King. The world has not always in its hands those material instruments of torture, such as it made you feel, but it is always fearful in its power of seducing souls. It would rob us also of that New Life which Jesus has imparted to us and to all them that are His members. Holy martyr, protect us under these attacks! You had partaken, during the days of your last Easter, of the divine Flesh of the Paschal Lamb, and your courage in martyrdom redounded to the glory of this heavenly nourishment. We also have been guests at the same holy Table. We also have partaken of the Paschal Banquet. Like you, we have known our Lord in the breaking of bread (Luke xxiv. 35). Obtain for us the appreciation of the divine mystery of which we received the first-fruits at Bethlehem, and which has been gradually developed within our souls, as well as before our eyes, by the merits of the Passion and Resurrection of our Emmanuel. We are now, at this very time, preparing to receive the plenitude of the divine gift of the Incarnation. Pray for us, Holy Martyr, that our hearts may more than ever fervently welcome and faithfully preserve the rich treasures which are about to be offered us by the sublime mysteries of the Ascension and Pentecost.

Also on this day according to the ROMAN MARTYROLOGY:

In Egypt, St. Dioscorus, a lector, who was subjected by the governor to many various torments, such as the tearing off of his nails and the burning of his sides with torches, but a light from heaven having prostrated the executioners, the saint finally consummated his martyrdom by having red-hot metal applied to his body.

At Spoleto, St. Felix, a bishop, who obtained the palm of martyrdom under the emperor Maximian.

In Egypt, St. Potamon, bishop, a confessor under Maximian Galerius, and afterwards a martyr under the emperor Constantius and the Arian governor Philagrius.

At Ancyra in Galatia, the martyrs St. Theodotus, and the saintly virgins Thecusa, his aunt, Alexandra, Claudia, Faina, Euphrasia, Matrona and Julitta. They were at first taken to a place of debauchery, but the power of God having preserved them from evil, they had stones tied to their necks and were plunged into a lake. For gathering their remains and burying them honourably, Theodotus was arrested by the governor, and after being horribly lacerated, was put to the sword and thus received the crown of martyrdom.

At Upsalla in Sweden, St. Eric, king and martyr.

At Rome, St. Felix, confessor, of the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin, celebrated for his evangelical simplicity and charity. He was inscribed on the roll of saints by Pope Clement XI.

And in other places, many other holy martyrs, confessors and virgins.

Thanks be to God.

18 MAY - MONDAY IN THE OCTAVE OF THE ASCENSION

Dom Prosper Gueranger:

The Kingship over men is not the only diadem given to our Emmanuel at His Ascension. The Apostle expressly tells us that He is, moreover, the Head of all Principality and Power (Colossians ii. 10). Noble indeed is man, but nobler far are the glorious Choirs of the Angelic Hierarchy. We have already seen that in the great trial by which God tested the love of His Angels, many rebelled and were cast into Hell. The rest, who were faithful, entered at once into the possession of their sovereign good and began, round the throne of God, their ceaseless hymns of adoration, love and thanksgiving. But a portion of their happiness was reserved till the fulfilment of one of God’s decrees. Laden as they are with the most magnificent gifts, they await another. It is to be the completion of their joy and glory. God revealed to them, at the first instant of their coming into existence, that He intended to create other beings, of a nature inferior to their own, and that of these beings, who were to be composed of body and soul, there should be one whom the Eternal Word would unite to Himself in unity of Person. It was also revealed to them that this human nature (for whose glory and for God’s, all things were made), was to be the FIRST-BORN “of every creature” (Colossians i. 15); that all Angels and men would have to bend their knee before Him; that after suffering countless humiliations on Earth, He would be exalted in Heaven; and, finally, that the time would be when the whole hierarchy of heaven, the Principalities and Powers, yes, even the Cherubim and Seraphim, would have Him placed over them as their King.

The Angels, then, as well as men, looked forward to the coming of Jesus. The Angels awaited Him as He that was to confer on them their final perfection, give them unity under Himself as their head, and bring them into closer union with God by the union of the Divine and created natures in His own Person. As to us men, we awaited Him as our Redeemer and our Mediator: as our Redeemer, because sin had closed Heaven against us and we needed one that would restore us to our inheritance; as our Mediator because it was the eternal decree of God to communicate His own glory to the human race, and this was to be by union with Himself. While, therefore, the just ones on earth who lived before the Incarnation were pleasing to God by their faith in this future Redeemer and Mediator, the Angels in heaven were offering to the Divine Majesty the homage of their proffered service of this Man-God, their future King, who, in virtue of the eternal decree, was ever present to “the Ancient of Days” (Daniel vii. 9).

At length, “the fullness of time came” (Galatians iv. 4), and God, as the Apostle expresses it, “brought into the world His first-begotten” (Hebrews i. 6), the prototype of creation. The first to adore the New-born King were not men, but the Angels, as the same Apostle assures us. The Royal Prophet had foretold that it would be so (Psalms xcvi. 7). And was it not just? These blessed Spirits had preceded us in their longings, not indeed of a Redeemer — for they had never sinned — but of a Mediator, who was to be the link of their closer union with infinite Beauty — the object of their eternal delight — in a word, the realization of the want there seemed to be even in Heaven, that is, of Jesus’ taking and filling up the place destined for Him.

Then was accomplished that act of adoration of the Man-God, which was demanded of the Angels at the first moment of their creation and which, according to its being complied with or refused, decided the eternal lot of those noble creatures. With what love did not the faithful Angels adore this Jesus, the Word made Flesh, when they beheld Him in His Mother’s arms at Bethlehem? With what transport of joy did they not announce to the shepherds, and to us through them, the Glad Tidings of the Birth of our common King. As long as He lived on this Earth and submitted to every humiliation and suffering in order to redeem us from sin and make us worthy to become His Members, the Blessed Spirits ceased not to contemplate and adore Him. The Ascension came and, from that day forward, it is on the throne prepared at the Father’s right hand that they behold and adore their Lord and King. At the solemn moment of Jesus’ Ascension, a strange joy was felt in each choir of the heavenly hierarchy, from the burning Seraphim to the Angels who are nearest to our own human nature. The actual possession of a good, whose very expectation had filled them with delight, produced an additional happiness in those already infinitely happy Spirits. They fixed their enraptured gaze on Jesus’ beauty, and were lost in astonishment at seeing how Flesh could so reflect the plenitude of grace that dwelt in that Human Nature as to outshine their own brightness. And now, by looking on this nature (which, though inferior to their own, is divinised by its union with the Eternal Word), they see into further depths of the uncreated Sea of Light. Their love is more burning, their zeal is more impetuous, their hymns are more angelic. For, as the Church says of them, the Angels and Archangels, the Powers and Dominations, the Cherubim and Seraphim, praise the majesty of the Father through His Son, Jesus Christ: per quem majestatem tuam laudant Angeli.

Add to this the joy these heavenly Spirits must have experienced at seeing the immense multitude that accompanied Jesus from Earth to Heaven. According to their respective merits, they were divided among the various choirs, and placed on thrones left vacant by the fallen angels. Their bodies are not yet united to their souls but, is not their flesh already glorified in that of Jesus? When the time fixed for the general Resurrection comes, the trumpet of the great Archangel will be heard (1 Thessalonians iv. 15), and then these happy souls will again put on their ancient vesture, the mortal made immortal. Then will the holy Angels, with fraternal enthusiasm, recognise in Adam’s features a likeness of Jesus, and in those of Eve a likeness of Mary, and the resemblance will even be greater than it was when our First Parents were innocent and happy in the Garden of Eden.

Come quickly, glorious day on which the bright mystery of the Ascension is to receive its final completion, and the two choirs of Angels and men are to be made one in love and praise under the one head, Christ Jesus!

17 MAY – SAINT PASCHAL BAYLON (Confessor)

Paschal Baylon was born of poor and pious parents at Torre-Hermosa, a small town of the Diocese of Seguenza in Aragon, Spain. Even from his infancy he gave many signs of future sanctity. Being endowed with a good disposition and having a great love for the contemplation of heavenly things, he passed the years of boyhood and youth in tending flocks. He loved this kind of life more than any other because it seemed to him best for fostering humility and preserving innocence. He was temperate in his food and assiduous in prayer. He had such influence over his acquaintance and companions and was so dear to them, that he used to settle their disputes, correct their faults, instruct their ignorance, and keep them out of idleness. He was honoured and loved by them as their father and master and even then, was often called the Blessed Paschal. Thus did this flower of the valley bloom in the world — that desert and parched land. But once planted in the house of the Lord, he shed everywhere around him a wondrous odour of sanctity.

Having embraced the severest sort of life by entering the Order of the Discalced Friars Minor of strict observance, Paschal rejoiced as a giant to run his way. Devoting himself wholly to the service of his God, his one thought, both day and night, was how he could further imitate his Divine Master. His brethren, even they that were most advanced, soon began to look on him as a model of seraphic perfection. As for him, he put himself in the grade of the Lay-Brothers. Looking on himself as the off-scouring of all, he, with humility and patience, cheerfully took on himself the most tiring and menial work of the house which work he used to say belonged to him by a special right. He mortified and brought into subjection his flesh which, at times, would strive to rebel against the spirit. As to his spirit, by assiduous self-denial he maintained its fervour and daily stretched himself forward to the things that were more perfect. He had consecrated himself, from his earliest years, to the Blessed Virgin Mary. He honoured her as his Mother by daily devotions, and prayed to her with filial confidence.

His devotion to the most holy Sacrament of the Eucharist seemed to linger in his body even after his death, When laid in his coffin his eyes were seen to open and shut twice during the elevation of the sacred host. He publicly and openly professed before heretics his faith in the dogma of the Real Presence, and had much to suffer on that account. His life was frequently attempted, but by a special providence of God he was rescued from those who sought to kill him. Frequently, when at prayer he was in ecstasy and swooned away with the sweetness of love. On these occasions he was supposed to have received that heavenly wisdom by which, though uneducated and illiterate, he was able to give answers on the profoundest mysteries of Faith and write several books. Being rich in merit, he passed to Heaven at the hour which he had foretold: on the sixteenth of the Calends of June (May 17), on the Feast of Pentecost (the same on which he was born), being in his fifty-second year in 1592. These and other virtues having procured him a great reputation and being celebrated for miracles both before and after his death, he was beatified by Pope Paul V and canonised by Alexander VIII.

Dom Prosper Guéranger:

The Seraph of Assisi was sure to depute some of his children to pay their court to his Risen Master. The one he sends today is the humblest and most unknown of men. Another will follow, three days hence, powerful in word and work and holding a palm in his hands, as a most devoted preacher of the Gospel. Paschal BayIon was a simple peasant. He was a shepherd boy, and it was in tending his flock that he found the Lord Jesus. He had a great love for contemplation. Forests and fields spoke to him of their great Creator and, in order that he might be the more closely united with him, he resolved to seek him in the highest paths of perfection.

He was ambitious to imitate the humble, poor and suffering life of the Man-God. The Franciscan cloister offered him all this, and he flew to it. On that blessed soil he grew to be one of Heaven’s choicest plants, and the whole Earth has now heard the name of the humble Lay-Brother of a little convent in Spain. Holy Church brings him before us today, and shows him enraptured in the contemplation of his Jesus’ Resurrection. He had trod the path of humiliation and the cross. It was but just that he should share in his Master’s triumph. It was of him, and of such as he, that this Divine Saviour spoke, when He said: “Ye are they that have continued with me in my temptations; and I dispose to you, as my Father has disposed to me, a Kingdom; that ye may eat and drink at my table, in my Kingdom, and may sit upon thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel” (Luke, xxii. 28, 29, 30).

*****

Heaven opened to receive you, Paschal! Even when here below, the fervour of your contemplations often gave you a foretaste of the delights of eternal bliss. But now every veil is drawn aside and you are face-to-face with Him you so ardently desired to possess. You have no further need to unite yourself with Him by humiliation and suffering. What you enjoy, and what He, for all eternity, will have you to enjoy, is His own glory, His own happiness, His own triumph. Deign to cast an eye of pity on us who have not the eagerness you had to walk in our Redeemer’s footsteps and who, as yet, have but the hope of being united with Him for eternity. Get us courage. Get us that love which leads straight to Jesus, which surmounts every obstacle of flesh and blood and gives to man an admirable resemblance to his Divine Model. The pledge of this happy transformation has been given to us by our being permitted to partake of the Paschal Mystery. Oh that it might be perfected by our fidelity in keeping close to our Divine Conqueror and Lord! Though He leaves us some time further in this vale of tears, His eye is ever on us, He longs to see us persevere in our loyalty to Him. Yet a little while, and we will see Him! “Behold!” says he, “come quickly. Hold fast that which you have. Behold! I stand at the gate, and knock. If any man will hear my voice and open to me the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me” (Apocalypse iii. 11, 20). Thus will the Pasch of time be changed into the Pasch of eternity. Pray for us, O Paschal, that, like you, we may hold fast that which by the grace of our Risen Jesus we already possess.

Also on this day according to the ROMAN MARTYROLOGY:

At Pisa in Tuscany, the holy martyr Torpes who filled a high office in the court of Nero and was one of those of whom the blessed Apostle St. Paul wrote from Rome to the Philippians: “All the saints salute you, especially those that are of the house of Caesar.” For the faith of Christ, he was, by order of Satellicus, buffeted, cruelly scourged and delivered to the beasts to be devoured, but being uninjured, he at last terminated his martyrdom by decapitation on the twenty-ninth of April. His feast, however, is kept on this day on account of the translation of his body.

The same day, St. Restituta, virgin and martyr, who was subjected to various kinds of tortures in Africa by the judge Proculus in the reign of Valerian, and then put in a boat filled with pitch and tow, to be burnt to death on the sea. But the flame turned on those who had kindled it, and the saint yielded her spirit to God in prayer. Her body was, by divine Providence, carried in the boat to the island of Ischia near Naples, where it was received by Christians with great veneration. A church was afterwards erected in her honour in that city by Constantine the Great.

At Noyon, the holy martyrs Heradius, Paul, and Aquilinus, with two others.

At Chalcedon, the holy martyrs Solochanus and his companions, soldiers under the emperor Maximian.

At Alexandria, the holy martyrs Adrio, Victor and Basilla.

At Wurzburg, St. Bruno, bishop and confessor.

And in other places, many other holy martyrs, confessors and virgins.

Thanks be to God.

17 MAY – SUNDAY AFTER THE ASCENSION

Dom Prosper Gueranger:

Jesus has ascended into Heaven. His divinity had never been absent. But, by the Ascension, His humanity was also enthroned there, and crowned with the brightest diadem of glory. This is another phase of the Mystery we are now solemnising. Besides a triumph, the Ascension gave to the sacred humanity a place on the very throne of the Eternal Word, to whom it was united in unity of Person. From this throne it is to receive the adoration of men and Angels. At the name of Jesus, Son of Man, and Son of God — of Jesus who is seated at the right hand of the Father Almighty, “every knee will bend, in Heaven, on Earth and in Hell” (Philippians ii. 10).

Give ear, you inhabitants of Earth! This is the man Jesus, who heretofore, was a little babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, who went through Judea and Galilee not having where to lay his head, who was bound by the sacrilegious hands of His enemies, was scourged, crowned with thorns, nailed to a Cross, who while men thus trampled Him as a worm beneath their feet, submitted His will to that of His Father, accepted the chalice of suffering and, that He might make amends to the divine glory, shed His Blood for the redemption of you sinners. This man Jesus, child of Adam through Mary the Immaculate, is the masterpiece of God’s omnipotence. He is the most beautiful of the sons of men (Psalms xliv. 3). the Angels love to fix their gaze on Him (1 Peter i. 12). The Blessed Trinity is well-pleased with Him. The gifts of grace bestowed on Him surpass all that men and angels together have ever received: but He came to suffer, and suffer for you, and though He might have redeemed you at a much lower price, yet would He generously overpay your debts by a superabundance of humiliation and suffering. What reward will be given to Him? The Apostle tells it us in these words: “He humbled Himself, becoming obedient unto death, even to the death of the Cross; for which cause God also has exalted Him, and has given Him a Name which is above all names” (Philippians ii. 8, 9).

You, then, who compassionate with Him in the suffering by which He wrought your redemption: you who devoutly follow Him in the stages of His sacred Passion: now raise up your heads and look up to the highest Heaven! Behold this Jesus crowned with glory and honour because He suffered death! (Hebrews ii. 9). How the Father has magnified Him in return for His having emptied Himself taking the form of a servant, He who, in His other nature, was equal with God (Psalms xx. 4). His Crown of Thorns is replaced by a crown of precious stones (Isaias ix. 6). The Cross that was laid on His shoulders is now the ensign of His power. The Wounds made by the Nails and the Spear are now like five bright suns that light up all heaven. Glory, then, be to the justice of the Father, who has dealt thus with His Son! Let us rejoice at seeing the man of sorrows (Isaias liii. 3) become now the King of Glory, and let us, with all the transport of our souls, repeat the Hosanna with which the Angels welcomed Him into Heaven.

Nor must we suppose that the Son of Man, now that He is seated on the throne of His Divinity, is inactive in His glorious rest. No, the sovereignty bestowed on Him by the Father is an active one. First of all, He is “appointed Judge of the living and of the dead” (Acts x. 42), “before whose judgement-seat all must all stand” (Romans xiv. 10). No sooner will our soul have quitted the body, than she will be presented before this tribunal and receive from the lips of the Son of Man the sentence she will have deserved. O Jesus, by the glory you received on the day of your Ascension, have mercy on us at that moment on which depends eternity!

But the Judgeship of our Lord Jesus Christ is not to be confined to this silent exercise of His sovereign power. The Angels who appeared to the Apostles after His Ascension told us that He is to come again upon the earth, that He is to descend through the clouds as He ascended, and that then will be the Last Judgement at which the whole human race is to be present. Throned on a cloud and surrounded by the Angelic host, the Son of Man will show Himself to mankind and, this time, with all Majesty. Men will see Him “whom they pierced” (Zacharias xii. 10). The imprints of those Wounds, which will give additional beauty to His sacred Body, will be an object of terror to the wicked, while to the good they will be a source of unspeakable consolation. The Shepherd, seated on His ethereal throne, will separate the goats from the sheep. His voice, after so many ages of silence, will make itself once more heard upon this Earth. He will speak to impenitent sinners, condemning them to eternal torments. He will speak to the just, calling them to approach Him and ascend, body and soul, into the region of everlasting bliss.

Meanwhile, He exercises over all nations the royal power which He received as Man on the day of His Ascension. He redeemed us all by His Blood. We are therefore His people, and He is our King. He is, and He calls Himself, “King of Kings and Lord of Lords” (Apocalypse xix. 16). The kings of the Earth reign not either by their own prowess, or by the boasted social compact. They lawfully reign by Christ alone. Peoples and nations are not their own masters: they belong to Christ and are His subjects. His law requires no sanction from man: it is above all human laws, and should be their guide and controller. “Why have the nations raged, and the people devised vain things? The kings of the earth stood up and the princes met together, against the Lord and against His Christ. They said: Let us break their bonds asunder, and let us cast away their yoke from us” (Psalms ii. 2, 3). How vain all these efforts, for, as the Apostle says, “He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet” (1 Corinthians xv. 25), that is, until His Second Coming, when the pride of man and Satan’s power will both be at an end.

Thus, then, the Son of Man, crowned at His Ascension, must reign over the world to the end of time. But, it will be objected: “How can He be said to reign in these our times, when Kings and Emperors and Presidents acknowledge that their authority comes from the people, and when the people themselves, carried away with the ideas of self-government and liberty and independence, have lost all idea of Authority?” And yet, He reigns. He reigns in His justice, since men refused to be guided by His clemency. They expunged His law from their statutes. They gave the rights of citizenship to error and blasphemy: then did He deliver them up, both people and rulers, to their own follies and lies. Authority and power are become ephemeral: and as they scorn to receive the consecration of the Church, the hand that holds them today may be empty tomorrow. Then anarchy, then a new Ruler, and then a fresh Revolution. This will be the future, as it is the present history of nations, until they once more acknowledge Jesus as their King, and resume the Constitution of the Ages of Faith: “It is Christ that conquers! It is Christ that reigns! It is Christ that commands! May Christ preserve His people from all evil!”

ON this your Coronation Day, receive our devoted homage, Jesus, our King, our Lord, our Judge! By our sins we were the cause of your humiliations and sufferings. So much the more fervently, then, do we unite with the acclamations made to you by the Angels when the royal diadem was placed on your head by the Eternal Father. As yet we but faintly see your grandeur, but the Holy Spirit whom you are about to send on us will teach us more and more of your sovereign power for we are, and wish to be eternally, your humble and faithful subjects!

In the Middle Ages the Sunday within the Octave of the Ascension, was called “The Sunday of Roses” because it was the custom to strew the pavement of the churches with roses as a homage to Christ who ascended to Heaven when Earth was in the season of flowers. How well the Christians of those times appreciated the harmony that God has set between the world of grace and that of nature! The Feast of the Ascension, when considered in its chief characteristic, is one of gladness and jubilation, and Spring’s loveliest days are made for its celebration. Our forefathers had the spirit of the Church. They forgot, for a moment, the sadness of poor Earth at losing her Emmanuel, and they remembered how He said to His Apostles: “If you loved me, you would be glad, because I go to my Father! (John xiv. 28) Let us do in like manner. Let us offer to Jesus the roses with which He has beautified our Earth: their beauty and fragrance should make us think of Him who made them, of Him who calls Himself “The Flower of the field and the Lily of the valleys” (Canticles ii. 1) He loved to be called Jesus of Nazareth, for Nazareth means a flower: and the symbol would tell us what a charm and sweetness there is in Him we serve and love as our God.

Epistle – 1 Peter iv. 7‒11

Dearly beloved, be prudent and watch in prayers. But before all things, have a constant mutual charity among yourselves, for charity covers a multitude of sins. Using hospitality one towards another without murmuring. As every man has received grace, ministering the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold, grace of God. If any man speak, let him speak as the words of God. If any man minister, let him do it as of the power which God administers; that in all things God may be honoured through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Thanks be to God.

Dom Prosper Gueranger:

The Prince of the Apostles who presided over the holy assembly that awaited in the Cenacle the descent of the Divine Spirit here addresses us who are in expectation of the same great gift, and recommends us to practise fraternal charity. This virtue, says he, covers a multitude of sins. Could we make any better preparation for receiving the Holy Ghost? This Paraclete is coming that He may unite all men into one family. Let us, then, put an end to all our dissensions, and prove ourselves to be members of the brotherhood established by the preaching of the Gospel. During these days of our preparing to receive the promised Comforter, the Apostle bids us he prudent and watch in prayers. Let us follow his instruction. We must show our prudence by excluding everything that might be an obstacle to the Holy Ghost entering our hearts. And as to prayer, it is the means which will open our hearts to Him, that He may make them His own forever.

Gospel – John xv. 26, 27; xvi. 1‒4

At that time Jesus said to His disciples, “When the Paraclete comes, whom I will send you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, He will give testimony, because you are with me from the beginning. These things have I spoken to you, that you may not be scandalised. They will put you out of the synagogues; yes, the hour comes that whoever kills you will think that he does a service to God. And these things they will do to you because they have not known the Father nor me. But these things I have told you, that, when the hour is come, you may remember that I told you.”

Praise be to you, O Christ.

Dom Prosper Gueranger:

Here we have our Jesus telling us the effects which the coming of the Holy Ghost will produce in our souls. These words were first addressed to the Apostles at the Last Supper. He told them that the Paraclete would give testimony of Him, that is, would instruct them upon His divinity, and teach them to be faithful to Him, even so as to lay down their lives for Him. A few moments before His Ascension, Jesus again spoke to them concerning the Paraclete, and called Him “the Power from on high” (Luke xxiv. 49).

Severe trials were awaiting these Apostles. They would have to “resist unto blood” (Hebrews xii. 4). Who would be their support — for, of themselves, they were but weak men? The Holy Ghost, who was to abide with them. By Him they would conquer, and the Gospel would be preached to all nations. Now, this Spirit of the Father and Son is about to descend on us, and what is the object of His visit, but that of arming us for the combat, and strengthening us against the attacks of our enemies? As soon as this holy Season of Easter is over, and we no longer have the celebration of its grand mysteries to enlighten and cheer us, we will find ourselves at the old work of battling with the three enemies — the devil,who is angered by the graces we have received; the world, to which we must unfortunately return; and our passions, which, after this calm, will again awaken, and molest us. If we be endued with the Power from on high, we will have nothing to fear. Let us therefore ardently desire to receive Him. Let us prepare Him a worthy reception. Let us use every endeavour to make Him abide with us, and we will gain the victory, as did the Apostles.

16 MAY – SAINT UBALDUS (Bishop and Confessor)

Ubald (or Ulbadus) was born to noble parents in Gubbio in Umbria, Italy (then a Papal State). On reaching adulthood he was frequently urged to marry, but nothing could shake his resolution of leading a life of celibacy. He was appointed Prior of the Cathedral Chapter by the bishop, who was his uncle. The condition of the chapter being scandalous, Ubald reformed it despite opposition from some of the canons. He lived with them in strict discipline and visited the Canons Regular instituted by Peter de Honestis in the territory of Ravenna to learn how to run a religious house. But after a fire in which the cathedral and cloisters were reduced to ruins, he left the cathedral. The fame of his virtue spread far and wide. Pope Honorius II compelled him to accept the charge of the Church of Gubbio and accordingly he was consecrated Bishop in 1128.

Having taken possession of his See, he changed little or nothing of his mode of life but he began to apply himself more than ever to the practice of every virtue, in order that he might the more effectually, both by word and example, procure the salvation of souls, for he was a pattern of the flock in all earnestness. His food was scanty, his dress unpretending, his bed hard and most poor. While always hearing about, in his body, the mortification of the Cross, he every day refreshed his spirit with prayer, in which he seemed insatiable. The result of such a life was meekness of so admirable a nature, that he not only bore the worst injuries and insults with patience but treated his persecutors with surprising affection, and showed them all possible kindness.

During the last two years of his life, Ubald suffered much from sickness. In the midst of the most acute pains he ceased not to give thanks to God. He died in 1160 on the feast of Pentecost and was canonised by Pope Celestine III in 1192. God has given him a special power for driving away unclean spirits. His body, which has remained uncorrupt for several centuries, is honoured with much devotion by the faithful of the city of Gubbio which he has more than once rescued from the calamities that threatened it.

Dom Prosper Gueranger:

In order to honour her Eternal High Priest, the Church presents to Him this day the merits of a Pontiff, who, after his mortal career, was admitted into a happy immortality. Ubaldus, here on Earth was the image of our Lord Jesus Christ. Like his Divine Master, he received the holy Anointing of Priesthood. He was a Mediator between God and man. He was the Shepherd of a flock. And now he is united with our Risen Jesus — the great Anointed, the Mediator, the Shepherd. In proof of his influence in Heaven, our Ubaldus has had given to him a special power against the wicked spirits who lay snares for our perdition. It has frequently happened that the simple invocation of his name has sufficed to foil their machinations. It is with the view of encouraging the faithful to have recourse to his protection that the Church has fixed this day as his feast.

O blessed Pontiff, be our protector against the spirits of Hell. They are devoured by envy at seeing how man, that lowly and feeble creature, has become the object of God’s predilection. The Incarnation of the Son of God, His Death on the Cross, His glorious Resurrection, the Sacraments which give us the life of Grace — all these sublime means by which the infinite goodness of God has restored us to our lost dignity, have excited the rage of the old enemy, and he seeks revenge by insulting, in us, the Image of our Creator. At times, he attacks man with all the frenzy of angry jealousy. To mimic the operations of Sanctifying Grace — which, so to speak, makes us the instruments of God’s good pleasure — Satan sometimes takes possession of our fellow creatures, and makes them his slaves. Your power, O Ubaldus, has often manifested itself by rescuing these unhappy victims of the Devil’s jealousy, and holy Church, on this day, celebrates the special prerogative conferred on you by our Heavenly Father. Relent not in the exercise of your charitable office. And yet, O holy Pontiff, you know that the snares of the wicked spirits are more injurious to the souls than to the bodies of men. Have pity, then, on the unhappy slaves of sin, who, though the divine Sun of the Pasch has risen upon them, are still in the darkness of guilt. Pray for them that they may become once more Children of the Light, and share in the Easter Resurrection which Jesus offers to all.

16 MAY – SATURDAY AFTER THE ASCENSION

Dom Prosper Gueranger:

Jesus, then, the Man who dwelt on the Earth and was perfect in all holiness, has ascended into Heaven. This earth, accursed of God as it was, has produced the fairest fruit of Heaven, and Heaven, with its gates shut against our race, has had to open them for the entrance of a Son of Adam. It is the mystery of the Ascension, but it is only a part, and it imports us to know the mystery in its fullness. Let us give ear to the Apostle of the Gentiles: “God who is rich in mercy, through His exceeding charity with which He loved us even when we were dead in sin, has quickened us together with Christ; and has raised us up together with Him, and has made us sit in the heavenly places together with Him” (Ephesians ii. 4-6). We have celebrated the Pasch of our Saviour’s Resurrection as our own Resurrection. We must, agreeably to the Apostle’s teaching celebrate also His Ascension as our own. Let us weigh well the expression: God has made us sit in the heavenly places together with Christ. So, then, in the Ascension, it is not Jesus only who ascends into Heaven. We ascend there with Him: it is not He only that is enthroned there in glory. We are enthroned through and together with Him.

That we may the better understand this truth, let us remember that the Son of God did not assume our human nature with a view to the exclusive glorification of the flesh which he united to His own Divine Person. He came to be our Head. We, consequently, are His Members, and where He is, we also are to be; at least, such is His intention as He implied at the Last Supper when He said: “Father! I will that where I am, they also whom you have given me may be with me, that they may see my glory which you have given me” (John xvii. 24). And what is the glory given to Him by His Father? Let us hearken to the Royal Prophet, who, speaking of the future Ascension, says: “The Lord said to my Lord: Sit you at my right hand” (Psalms cix. 1) It is, then, on the very throne of the Eternal Father, it is at His right hand, that we will see Him whom the Apostle calls our fore-runner (Hebrews vi. 20). We will be united with this Jesus, as Members to our Head. So that His glory will be ours, we will be kings. With His Kingship He would make us partake of all that He Himself has, for He tells us that we are His joint-heirs (Romans viii. 17).

From this, it follows that the august mystery of the Ascension, which began on the day of Jesus’ entering into Heaven, is to be continued, and will continue, until His mystical body has received its completion by the ascension of the last of the elect. Look at that countless host of holy souls who were the earliest companions of His triumph: foremost are our First Parents, then the Patriarchs, the Prophets, and the Just of every generation!... They had been imprisoned in Limbo, but He liberated them, gave them of His own brightness, and made them His partners in the glory of His Ascension. They were His trophy. They formed His court as He passed from Earth to Heaven. Well did we exclaim in the words of holy David: “Sing to God, ye kingdoms of the earth! Sing ye to the Lord; Sing ye to God, who mounts above the Heaven of heavens, towards the East” (Psalm lxviii. 33, 34). The angels were ready to receive our Emmanuel, and then began that sublime dialogue which the Royal Psalmist was permitted to hear and prophesy. The glad countless legion of the holy souls who escorted the Divine Conqueror cried out to the guardians of the heavenly Jerusalem: “Lift up your gates, ye Princes! Be ye lifted up, eternal gates! and the King of glory will enter in.” The faithful Angels replied: “Who is this King of glory? It is the Lord, responded the elect of earth: it is the Lord who is strong and mighty; the Lord mighty in battle.” Well might they say this of our Jesus, who had vanquished Satan, Death and Hell, and brought themselves to the City’s Gate as a sample of His stupendous conquest. The Angels repeated their question. The Saints re-echoed their reply: the Eternal Gates were thrown open, and the King and His Courtiers entered into Heaven.

The Gates, then, are opened to receive our Redeemer, and opened He would have them remain for us to follow Him. Admirable Ascension! Oh let us linger in its contemplation. Jesus inaugurates the grand mystery by His own entrance into Heaven, and then perpetuates it by the Ascension of His elect of each successive generation. There is a ceaseless procession up to Heaven, for some happy souls are ever finishing their purification in Purgatory, while some still happier ones are winging their rapid flight direct from this earthly vale of sorrows. Hail, then, glorious Mystery! Fruit of the flowers of so many mysteries! Term, fulfilment, perfection of our Creator’s decree! Alas! You had a long interruption by Adam’s sin, but Jesus’ triumph restored your reign on Earth, and this Earth will live in your beauty and grace till that word will be uttered by the Angel: “Time will be no more!” (Apocalypse x. 6) Mystery, of joy and hope, be you accomplished in me!”

Permit us, then, Jesus, to apply to ourselves what you said to your Apostles: “I go to prepare a place for you” (John xiv. 2). This has been your aim in all you have done for us: you came into this world to open Heaven for us. Your holy Spouse, the Church, bids us fix our eyes on Heaven. She points to its opened gates and shows us the bright track through which is passing up, from Earth, an unbroken line of souls. We are still in exile, but the eye of our faith sees you in that land above, you “the Son of Man” throned at the right hand of “the Ancient of days” (Daniel vii. 13). How are we to reach you, dear Jesus? We cannot, as you did, ascend by our own power: you must needs fulfil your promise, and our desire, of “drawing us to yourself” (John xii. 32). It was the object after which your Blessed Mother also sighed when you left her on Earth. She longed for the blissful hour of your taking her to yourself and awaited your call with faith, labouring meanwhile for your glory, and living with you, though not seeing you. Give us to imitate the faith and love of this your Mother, that so we may apply to ourselves those words of your Apostle: “We are already saved, by hope” (Romans viii. 24). Yes, we will be so if you send us, according to your promise, the Holy Spirit whom we so ardently desire to receive, for He is to confirm within us all that your mysteries have produced in our souls. He is to be to us a pledge of our future glorious ascension.

15 MAY – SAINT JOHN BAPTIST DE LA SALLE (Confessor)

Jean-Baptiste was born in 1651 at Reims in France to the noble parents Louis de la Salle and Nicolle de Moet de Brouillet. He entered Holy Orders in 1662 and in 1667 was installed as a canon of the Metropolitan See of Reims. After graduating in 1669 with a Master of Arts degree from the University of Reims, Jean-Baptiste entered the Seminary of Saint-Sulpice, but while he was studying there both his parents died and he returned home to care for his brothers and sisters. In 1678 he was ordained a priest and in 1680 he graduated as a Doctor of Theology.

Jean-Baptiste founded the Institute of the Brothers of Christian Schools (Fratres Scholarum Christianarum) for the Christian education of youth. With patience he overcame the many obstacles which stood in the way of the establishment of his institute, which was formally approved by the Holy See a few years after his holy death on Good Friday in 1719. Jean-Baptiste de La Salle was canonised by Pope Leo XIII in 1900 and the Venerable Pope Pius XII declared him the patron saint of teachers in 1950.

Also on this day according to the ROMAN MARTYROLOGY:

In Spain, the Saints Torquatus, Ctesiphon, Secundus, Indaletius, Caecilius, Hesychius and Euphrasius, who were consecrated bishops at Rome by the holy Apostles and sent to Spain to preach the word of God. When they had evangelised various cities and brought innumerable multitudes under the yoke of Christ, they rested in peace in various parts of that country: Torquatus at Cadiz, Ctesiphon at Vierco, Secundus at Avila, Indaletius at Portilla, Caecilius at Elvira, Hesychius at Gibraltar, and Euphrasius at Anduxar.

At Evora in Portugal, St. Mancius, martyr.

In the island of Chio, the birthday of blessed Isidore, martyr, in whose church is a well into which he is said to have been thrown. By drinking of the water from this well the sick are frequently cured.

At Lampsacum in Hellespont, the martyrdom of the Saints Peter, Andrew, Paul and Dionysia.

At Fausina in Sardinia, in the time of Diocletian and the governor Barbarus, St. Simplicius, a bishop, who consummated his martyrdom by being transpierced with a lance.

At Clermont in Auvergne, the holy martyrs Cassius, Victorinus, Maximus and their companions.

In Brabant, St. Dympna, virgin and martyr, daughter of an Irish king. By order of her father she was beheaded for the faith of Christ and the preservation of her virginity.

And in other places, many other holy martyrs, confessors and virgins.

Thanks be to God.

15 MAY – FRIDAY AFTER THE ASCENSION

Dom Prosper Gueranger:

The Feast of the Ascension shows us the work of God in its completion. Hence it is that the Church in her daily offering of the holy Sacrifice thus addresses the Eternal Father: the words occur immediately after the Consecration, and contain the motives of her confidence in the divine mercy: “Wherefore, Lord, we your servants, as also your holy people, calling to mind the blessed Passion of Christ your Son our Lord, His Resurrection from the dead, and His admirable Ascension into Heaven, offer to your most excellent Majesty a pure, holy, and unspotted Host.” It is not enough for man to hope in the merits of His Redeemer’s Passion which cleansed him from his sins. It is not enough for him to add to the commemoration of the Passion that of the Resurrection by which our Redeemer conquered death: man is not saved, he is not reinstated, except by uniting these two mysteries with a third, the Ascension of that Jesus who was crucified and rose again. During the forty days of His glorified life on Earth, Jesus was still an exile and, like Him, we also are exiles until such time as the gate of Heaven... will be thrown open, both for Him and for us.

God in His infinite goodness made man for a nobler end than that of being mere lord of creation. He gave him a higher destiny than that of knowing such truths as his natural powers could grasp, and of practising virtues that were in reach of his moral capabilities, and of paying to His Creator an imperfect worship. In His omnipotence and love, He gave to this frail creature an end far above his nature. Though inferior to the Angel, and uniting in himself the two natures of matter and spirit, yet was Man created to the same end as the Angel. Both were to dwell for eternity in Heaven. Both were to be eternally happy in the face-to-face vision of God, that is, in the closest union with the sovereign good. Grace — that wondrous and divine power — was to fit them for the supernatural end prepared for them by the gratuitous goodness of their Creator. This was the design which God had decreed from all eternity: to raise up to Himself these creatures that He had drawn out of nothingness, and to enrich them, agreeably to their sublime destiny, with the treasures of His love and His light.

We know the history of the fallen Angels. They revolted against the commandment given them by God as a test of their fidelity, and as a condition of their being admitted into eternal happiness. Rebels were found in each of the Choirs. They fell, but the fall and its punishment were personal, and injured none but the actual transgressors. The Angels who remained faithful were at once rewarded with the beatific vision and possession of the Sovereign Good. Thus did God vouchsafe to make created beings partake of His own infinite happiness: the first elect were the good Angels of the nine Choirs.

Man was created after the Angels. He too fell, and his sin severed the link which united him with God. The human race was, at that time, represented by one man and woman. When they fell, all fell. The gate of Heaven was then shut against mankind, for the fall of Adam and Eve implicated us their children. Neither could they transmit to us an inheritance which they themselves had lost. Instead of a quick and happy passage through this world, and then a glorious ascension into heaven, we were to have a life — short indeed, but full of misery — a grave, and corruption. As to our soul, even had she aspired to the supernatural happiness for which she was created, she could never have attained to it. Man had preferred Earth for his portion, and the Earth was given to him: but this only for a few short years, after which others would take his place, disappear in their turn, and so on to the end, as long as it should please God to perpetuate this fallen portion of his creation. Yes, it was thus we deserved to be treated, but our merciful Creator had compassion on us. He hated sin, but He had created us that He might make us partakers of His own glory, and He would not have His design frustrated. No, the Earth was not to be an abode for man to be merely born, live a few days, and then die. When the fullness of time should come, there was to appear in the world a Man, not indeed the first of a new creation, but one like ourselves and of our own race, or, as the Apostle expresses it, “made of a woman” (Galatians iv. 4) This Man, who was to be heavenly and yet of earth, would share our misfortunes with us. He would die like us, He would be buried like us. But on the third day He would rise again, and men would see Him resplendent with glory and immortality. What a joy for us who have within us the answer of death to see such a victory gained by One who is one of ourselves,— “flesh of our flesh!”

Thus were the divine intentions to be realised in our regard. This Earth of ours presents to her Creator a New Adam. He cannot stay here, for He has conquered Death. He must ascend to Heaven, and if her gates be closed, she must open them and receive Him. “Lift up your gates, O you Princes, and be you lifted up, O eternal gates! And the King of glory will enter in!” (Psalms xxiii. 7) O that He would take us there with Him, for He is our brother, and assures us that His “delight is to be with the children of men” (Proverbs viii. 31) But what a joy it is for us to see our Jesus ascend to Heaven! He is the holiest, the purest, the loveliest, of our race. He is the Son of a spotless Mother: let Him go and represent us in that kingdom of our inheritance. It is our own Earth that sends Him. She is no longer a desert now that she has produced such a flower and such a fruit for Heaven. A flood of light poured into this lowly vale of tears when the gates of Heaven were raised up to receive Him. “Be you exalted, Lord, in your own strength! And we,” who are still on the Earth, “we will sing and praise your power!” (Psalms xx. 14) Receive, Eternal Father, the brother whom we send to you. Sinners as we are, this brother of ours is infinitely holy and perfect. Where is the curse that once fastened on our earth? “The Earth has given her fruit” (Psalm lxvi, 7) And if we may presume so far as to see in Him the first-fruits of a future harvest to be gathered into your House, may we not rejoice in the thought that the Ascension of our Jesus was the day on which your primal work was restored to you?

14 MAY – SAINT BONIFACE (Martyr)

 

Boniface, a citizen of Rome, had held illicit sexual relations with a rich lady, by name Aglaë. He afterwards was so grieved for this immoral conduct that, by way of penance, he devoted himself to the looking for and burying the bodies of martyrs. In one of his travels he left his companions and finding, on arriving at Tarsus, that many were being put to various tortures for the Christian Faith, he approached them, kissed their chains, and did all in his power to urge them to bear patiently the short labour of sufferings which were to be followed by eternal rest.

 

For this he was seized, and his flesh was torn by iron hooks. Sharp reeds were also thrust up his fingernails, and melted lead was poured into his mouth. His only exclamation, in the midst of these tortures, was: “I give you thanks, Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God!” He was then put, head foremost, into a cauldron of boiling pitch, and when he was taken out, and found to be unhurt, the judge, in a fit of anger, ordered him to be beheaded. During his execution a great earthquake was felt, and many of the pagans were converted to the Faith of Christ our Lord.

 

On the day following, his companions, who were in search of him, were told that he had suffered martyrdom. They bought his body for five hundred pieces of silver, and having embalmed and shrouded it, they had it taken to Rome. All this was made known to Aglaë, who had devoted herself to penance and good works. She therefore went to meet the martyr’s relics. She built a Church which was named after the Saint, and in which he was buried on the Nones of June (June 5). The martyr’s soul passed into Heaven on the day before the Ides of May (May 14), at Tarsus in Cilicia under the emperors Diocletian and Maximian.

Dom Prosper Guéranger:

The Apostle of the Gentiles, explaining the mystery of the Pasch, tells us that Baptism is the sepulchre of our sins, and that we rise from it together with our Redeemer, having our souls radiant with the life of grace (Romans vi.). Our holy Faith teaches us that he who gives his life for Christ or his Church, washes away, in his own blood, every stain from his soul and rises to life everlasting: it is as though he received a second Baptism which reproduces all the effects belonging to the great Sacrament of Regeneration. We have today a sinner who, being purified by martyrdom and re-baptised in his own blood, is numbered among the privileged ones who share in the glory of our Risen Jesus. Boniface, by his immoralities, had scandalised the city where he lived. But his repentance was most complete. He longed to suffer the crudest tortures for the love of the God he had offended, and thus make atonement for the sinful pleasures in which he had indulged. His wish was granted, suffering transformed him into the Saint whose feast is kept on this day, and whose virtues are a homage to the Divine Conqueror of sin and death.

* * * * *

The Angels rejoiced more at your conversion, O Boniface, than at the fidelity of the ninety-nine just. But their joy was redoubled when they found that Heaven gained in you, not only a Penitent, but a Martyr too. Receive, also, the congratulations of holy Church which celebrates the memory of your victory. Rome is still in possession of thy holy relics which repose in the Church on Mount Aventine where once stood the house of her that imitated your repentance. In both her and you, we have a proof of the infinite mercy of our Risen Jesus who called the two sinners from spiritual death to the life of grace. Have compassion, O holy Martyr, on those poor sinners, whom this Easter has not yet brought back to their Redeemer. The Alleluia has resounded through the whole universe, and yet it has failed to rouse them from their sleep of sin. Pray for their resurrection. Their days are numbered and perhaps they are not to see another Easter. Yet do we hope in the Divine Mercy which has shown us its power by making you and Aglaë to be vessels of election.

We, therefore, unite our prayers with yours, O Boniface, that our Lord may grant a resurrection to our brethren. Hope is our armour in this peaceful contest with Divine Justice which delights in being vanquished by prayer. Present our prayer before the throne of God, and many of those that are now spiritually dead will come to life again, and their conversion will cause joy to the Angels, as yours did.

Also on this day according to the ROMAN MARTYROLOGY:

In France, St. Pontius, martyr. Having by his preaching and his zeal converted to the faith of Christ the two Caesars Philip, he obtained the palm of martyrdom under the emperors Valerian and Gallienus.

In Syria, the holy martyrs Victor and Corona, under the emperor Antoninus. Victor was subjected to various horrible torments by the judge Sebastian. As Corona, the wife of a certain soldier, was proclaiming him happy for his fortitude in his sufferings, she saw two crowns falling from heaven, one for Victor, the other for herself. She related this to all present, and was torn to pieces between two trees. Victor was beheaded.

In Sardinia, the holy martyrs Justa, Justina and Henedina.

At Rome, Pope St. Paschal who took up from the crypts many bodies of the holy martyrs and placed them honourably in various churches.

At Ferentino in Tuscany, the holy bishop Boniface who was renowned from his childhood for holiness and miracles, as was related by Pope St. Gregory.

At Naples in Campania, St. Pomponius, bishop.

In Egypt, St. Pachomius, an abbot, who erected many monasteries in that country, and wrote a monastic rule which was dictated to him by an angel.

And in other places, many other holy martyrs, confessors and virgins.

Thanks be to God.

14 MAY – THE ASCENSION OF OUR LORD

Dom Prosper Gueranger:

The sun of the fortieth day has risen in all his splendour. The earth which shook with gladness at the birth of our Emmanuel (Psalms xcv. xcvi. xcvii.)now thrills with a strange emotion. The divine series of the mysteries of the Man-God is about to close. Heaven has caught up the joy of earth. The Angelic Choirs are preparing to receive their promised King, and their Princes stand at the Gates, that they may open them when the signal is given of the mighty Conqueror’s approach. The holy souls that were liberated from Limbo on the morning of the Resurrection are hovering round Jerusalem, waiting for the happy moment when Heaven’s gate, closed by Adam’s sin, will be thrown open and they will enter in company with their Redeemer: a few hours more, and then to Heaven! Meanwhile, our Risen Jesus has to visit His Disciples and bid them farewell, for they are to be left for some years longer in this vale of tears.

They are in the Cenacle impatiently awaiting His coming. Suddenly He appears in their midst. Of the Mother’s joy, who would dare to speak? As to the Disciples and the holy women, they fall down and affectionately adore the Master who has come to take His leave of them. He deigns to sit down to table with them. He even condescends to eat with them, not, indeed, to give them proof of His Resurrection, for He knows that they have no further doubts of the mystery, but now that He is about to sit at the right hand of the Father, He would give them this endearing mark of familiarity. Admirable repast, in which Mary, for the last time in this world, is seated side by side with her Jesus, and in which the Church (represented by the Disciples and the holy women), is honoured by the visible presidency of her Head and Spouse.

What tongue could describe the respect, the recollected mien, the attention of the guests? With what love must they not have riveted their eyes on the dear Master? They long to hear Him speak. His parting words will be so treasured! He does not keep them long in suspense. He speaks but His language is not what they perhaps expected it to be — all affection. He begins by reminding them of the incredulity wherewith they heard of His Resurrection (Mark xvi. 14). He is going to entrust His Apostles with the most sublime mission ever given to man. He would, therefore, prepare them for it by humbling them. A few days hence, and they are to be the lights of the world. The world must believe what they preach, believe it on their word, believe it without having seen, believe what the Apostles alone have seen. It is by faith that man approaches His God: they themselves were once without it, and Jesus would have them now express their sorrow for their former incredulity, and thus base their Apostolate on humilty. Then, assuming a tone of authority, such as none but a God could take, He says to them: “Go into the whole world, and preach the Gospel to every creature. He that believes and is baptised, will be saved: but he that believes not will be condemned” (Mark xvi. 15, 16). And how will they accomplish this mission of preaching the Gospel to the whole world? How will they persuade men to believe their word? By miracles. “And these signs,” continues Jesus, “will follow them that believe: in my name they will cast out devils; they will speak with new tongues; they will take up serpents; and if they shall drink any deadly thing, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands upon the sick, and they will recover” (Mark xvi. 17, 18). He would have miracles to be the foundation of His Church, just as He had made them the argument of His own divine mission. The suspension of the laws of nature proves to us that it is God who speaks. We must receive the word and humbly believe it. Here, then, we have men unknown to the world and devoid of every human means, and yet commissioned to conquer the earth and make it acknowledge Jesus as its King! The world ignores their very existence. Tiberius, who sits on the imperial throne, trembling at every shadow of conspiracy, little suspects that there is being prepared an expedition which is to conquer the Roman Empire. But these warriors must have their armour, and the armour must be of Heaven’s own tempering. Jesus tells them that they are to receive it a few days hence. “Stay,” says He, “in the City, till you be indued with power from on high” (Luke xxiv. 49). But what is this armour? Jesus explains it to them. He reminds them of the Father’s promise, “that promise,” says He, “which you have heard by my mouth; for John indeed, baptised with water; but you will be baptised with the Holy Ghost not many days hence” (Acts i. 4, 5).

But the hour of separation is come. Jesus rises: His blessed Mother and the hundred and twenty persons assembled there prepare to follow Him. The Cenacle is situated on Mount Sion, which is one of the two hills within the walls of Jerusalem. The holy group traverses the city, making for the eastern G-ate, which opens on the Valley of Josaphat. It is the last time that Jesus walks through the faithless city. He is invisible to the eyes of the people who denied Him, but visible to His Disciples, and goes before them, as heretofore, the pillar of fire led on the Israelites. How beautiful and imposing a sight! Mary, the Disciples, and the Holy Women, accompanying Jesus in His Heavenward journey, which is to lead him to the right hand of His Eternal Father! It was commemorated in the Middle Ages by a solemn Procession before the Mass of Ascension Day. What happy times were those, when Christians took delight in honouring every action of our Redeemer. They could not be satisfied as we are, with a few vague notions, which can produce nothing but an equally vague devotion. They reflected on the thoughts which Mary must have had during these last moments of her Son’s presence. They used to ask themselves which of the two sentiments was uppermost in her maternal heart — sadness, that she was to see her Jesus no more, or joy, that he was now going to enter into the glory He so infinitely deserved. The answer was soon found: had not Jesus said to his Disciples: “If you loved me, you would indeed be glad, because I go to the Father” (John xiv. 28). Now, who loved Jesus as Mary did? The Mother’s heart, then, was full of joy at parting with Him. How was she to think of herself when there was question of the triumph of her Son and her God? Could she that had witnessed the scene of Calvary do less than desire to see Him glorified, whom she knew to be the Sovereign Lord of all things — Him whom, but a short time ago, she had seen rejected by His people, blasphemed, and dying the most ignominious and cruel of deaths? The holy group has traversed the Valley of Josaphat. It has crossed the brook Cedron and is moving onwards to Mount Olivet. What recollections would crowd on the mind! This torrent, of which Jesus had drunk on the day of His humiliation, is now the path He takes to triumph and glory. The Royal Prophet had foretold it (Psalms cix. 7). On their left are the Garden and cave where He suffered His agony and accepted the bitter chalice of His Passion. After having come as far as what Saint Luke calls the distance of the journey allowed to the Jews on a Sabbath day (Acts i. 12), they are close to Bethania, that favoured village where Jesus used to accept hospitality at the hands of Lazarus and his two sisters. This part of Mount Olivet commands a view of Jerusalem. The sight of its temple and palaces makes the disciples proud of their earthly city: they have forgotten the curse uttered against her. They seem to have forgotten, too, that Jesus has just made them citizens and conquerors of the whole world. They begin to dream of the earthly grandeur of Jerusalem, and, turning to their Divine Master, they venture to ask Him this question: “Lord, will you, at this time, restore again the kingdom to Israel?”

Jesus answers them with a tone of severity: “It is not for you to know the times or moments which the Father has put in His own power” (Acts i. 7). These words do not destroy the hope that Jerusalem is to be restored by the Christian Israel, but, as this is not to happen till the world is drawing towards its end, there is nothing that requires our Saviour’s revealing the secret. What ought to be uppermost in the mind of the disciples is the conversion of the pagan world, the establishing the Church. Jesus reminds them of the mission He has just given to them: “You will receive,” says He, “the power of the Holy Ghost coming upon you, and you will be witnesses unto me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and Samaria, and even to the uttermost part of the Earth” (Acts i. 8).

According to a tradition which has been handed down from the earliest ages of Christianity, it is midday, the same hour that He had been raised up, when nailed to His Cross. Giving His Blessed Mother a look of filial affection, and another of fond farewell to the rest of the group that stand around Him, Jesus raises up His hands and blesses them all. While thus blessing them, He is raised up from the ground on which He stands and ascends into Heaven (Luke xxiv. 51). Their eyes follow Him until a cloud comes and receives Him out of their sight (Acts i. 9).

Yes, Jesus is gone! The Earth has lost her Emmanuel — for [thousands of] years had He been expected: the Patriarchs and Prophets had desired His coming with all the fervour of their souls: He came: His love made him our captive in the chaste womb of the Virgin of Nazareth. It was there He first received our adorations. Nine months after, the Blessed Mother offered Him to our joyous love in the stable at Bethlehem. We followed Him into Egypt. We returned with Him. We dwelt with Him at Nazareth. When He began the three years of His public life, we kept close to His steps. We delighted in being near Him, we listened to His preaching and parables, we saw His miracles. The malice of His enemies reached its height, and the time came in which He was to give us the last and grandest proof of the love that had brought Him from Heaven — His dying for us on a Cross. We kept near Him as he died, and our souls were purified by the Blood that flowed from His Wounds. On the third day, He rose again from His grave, and we stood by exulting in His triumph over Death, for that triumph won for us a like Resurrection. During the Forty days He has deigned to spend with us since His Resurrection, our faith has made us cling to Him: we would fain have kept Him with us forever, but the hour is come. He has left us. Yes, our dearest Jesus is gone! Happy the souls that He had taken from Limbo! They have gone with Him and, for all eternity, are to enjoy the Heaven of His visible presence.

The Disciples are still steadfastly looking up towards heaven, when lo! two angels, clad in white robes, appear to them, saying: “You men of Galilee! Why stand you looking up to Heaven? This Jesus, who is taken up from you into Heaven, will so come as you have seen Him going into Heaven! (Acts i. 10, 11) He has ascended a Saviour. He is to return as Judge. Between these two events is comprised the whole life of the Church on Earth. We are therefore living under the reign of Jesus as our Saviour, for He has said: “God sent not His Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved by Him” (John iii. 17), and to carry out this merciful design He has just been giving to His Disciples the mission to go throughout the whole world and invite men, while yet there is time, to accept the mystery of salvation.

What a task is this he imposes on the Apostles! And now that they are to begin their work, He leaves them! They return from Mount Olivet, and Jesus is not with them! And yet, they are not sad: they have Mary to console them. Her unselfish generosity is their model, and well do they learn the lesson. They love Jesus. They rejoice at the thought of His having entered into His rest. “They went back into Jerusalem with great joy” (Luke xxiv. 52). These few simple words of the Gospel indicate the spirit of this admirable Feast of the Ascension: it is a Festival, which, notwithstanding its soft tinge of sadness, is, more than any other expressive of joy and triumph. During its Octave we will endeavour to describe its mystery and magnificence: we would only observe, for the present, that this Solemnity is the completion of the Mysteries of our Redemption, that it is one of those which were instituted by the Apostles, and finally, that it has impressed a character of sacredness on the Thursday of each week — the day already so highly honoured by the institution of the Eucharist.

We have alluded to the procession by which our Catholic forefathers used, on this Feast, to celebrate the journey of Jesus and His Disciples to Mount Olivet. Another custom observed on the Ascension was the solemn blessing given to bread and to the new fruits: it was commemorative of the farewell repast taken by Jesus in the Cenacle. Let us imitate the piety of the Ages of Faith when Christians loved to honour the very least of our Saviour’s actions and, so to speak, make them their own by thus interweaving the minutest details of His life into their own. What earnest reality of love and adoration was given to our Jesus in those old times when His being Sovereign Lord and Redeemer was the ruling principle of both individual and social life! Nowadays we may follow the principle, as fervently as we please, in the privacy of our own consciences or, at most, in our own homes, but publicly, and when we are before the world, no! To say nothing of the evil results of this modern limitation of Jesus’ rights as our King, what could be more sacrilegiously unjust to Him who deserves our whole service, everywhere and at all times? The Angels said to the Apostles: “This Jesus will come, as you have seen Him going into Heaven”: happy we if during his absence we will have so unreservedly loved and served Him as to be able to meet Him with confidence when He comes to judge us!

Epistle – Acts i. 1‒11

The former treatise I made, O Theophilus, of all things which Jesus began to do and to teach, until the day on which, giving commandments by the Holy Ghost to the Apostles whom He had chosen, He was taken up. To whom also He showed Himself alive after his Passion, by many proofs, for forty days appearing to them and speaking of the kingdom of God. And eating together with them, He commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but should wait for the promise of the Father, which you have heard (said He) by my mouth: for John indeed baptised with water, but you will be baptised with the Holy Ghost, not many days hence. They, therefore, who were come together, asked Him, saying, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” But He said to them, “It is not for you to know the times or moments which the Father has put in his own power; but you will receive: the power of the Holy Ghost coming upon you, and you will be witnesses to me in Jerusalem and in all Judea, and Samaria, and even, to the uttermost part of the earth.” And when He had said these things, whiles they looked on He was raised up and a cloud received Him out of their sight. And while they were beholding Him going up to heaven, behold, two men stood by them in white garments, who also said, “You men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up to heaven? This Jesus who is taken up from you into heaven, will so come, as you have seen Him going into heaven.”

Thanks be to God.

Dom Prosper Gueranger:

This admirable description of our Jesus’ Ascension brings the mystery so vividly before us that we almost seem to see the happy group on Mount Olivet. With what affection the Disciples gaze on the Divine Master as they see Him rising up towards Heaven, and stretching out His hand to bless them! Their eyes, though full of tears, are riveted on the cloud which has come between themselves and Jesus. They are alone on the Mount. Jesus’ visible presence is taken from them. How wretched would they not feel in the desert land of their exile, were it not for His supporting grace, and for that Holy Spirit who is about to come down and create within them a new being? So then, it is only in Heaven that they can ever again see the face of Jesus, who, God as He is, deigned to be their Master for three long happy years, and, on the evening of the Last Supper, called them His friends!

Neither are they the only ones who feel this separation. Our Earth leaped with joy as the Son of God walked upon it. That joy is now past. It had looked forward, for [thousands of] years, for the glory of being the dwelling-place of its Creator. That glory is now gone. The nations are in expectation of a Deliverer and though, with the exception of the people of Judea and Galilee, men are not aware that this Deliverer has come and gone again, it will not long be so. They will hear of His birth, and His life, and His works. They will hear of His triumphant Ascension too, for holy Church will proclaim it in every country of the earth. [Two thousand] years have elapsed since He left this world, and our respectful and loving farewell blends with that which His Disciples gave Him when He was mounting up to Heaven. Like them, we feel His absence. But like them, we also rejoice in the thought that He is seated at the right hand of His Father, beautiful in His kingly glory.

You, dear Jesus, have entered into your rest! We adore you on your throne, we are redeemed and the fruit of your victory! Bless us! Draw us to yourself, and grant that your Last Coming may be to us a source of joy rather than of fear!

Gospel – Mark xvi. 14‒20

At that time Jesus appeared to the eleven as they were at table, and He upbraided them for their incredulity and hardness of heart because they did not believe those who had seen Him after He had risen again. And He said to them, “Go into the whole world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptised will be saved, but he who believes not will be condemned. And these signs will follow those who believe: in my Name they will cast out devils; they will speak with new tongues; they will take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover.” And the Lord Jesus, after He had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven and sits at the right hand of God. But they going forth preached everywhere, the Lord working still and confirming the word with signs that followed.

Praise be to you, O Christ.

Dom Prosper Gueranger:

Alas, how short was His stay here below! At least, how quickly the time passed! How many ages have gone by, and how many must still come over this poor Earth of ours before she can again behold His face. The Church languishes after Him in this dreary exile of the vale of tears, taking care of us, the children her Jesus has given her by His Holy Spirit. She feels His absence and, if we are Christians, we will feel it too. Oh when will the day come, that re-united to our bodies, “we will be taken up in the clouds to meet Christ, and be with our Lord forever!” (1 Thessalonians iv. 16) Then, and then only, will we have attained the end for which we were created.

All the mysteries of the Word Incarnate were to close with His Ascension. All the graces we receive are to end with ours. This world is but “a figure that passes away” (1 Corinthians vi. 31), and we are hastening through it to rejoin our Divine Leader. In Him are our life and happiness: it is vain to seek them elsewhere. Whatever brings us nearer to Jesus is good. Whatever alienates us from Him is evil. The mystery of the Ascension is the last ray of light given to us by our Creator, by which He shows us the path to our heavenly country. If our heart is seeking its Jesus, and longs to come to Him, it is alive with the true life. If its energies are spent upon created things, and it feels no attraction for its Jesus, it is dead.

Let us, therefore, lift up our eyes, as did the disciples, and follow, in desire. Him who this day ascends to Heaven, and prepares a place there for each of his faithful servants. Sursum corda! Hearts on Heaven! It is the parting-word of our brethren who accompany the Divine Conqueror in His Ascension. It is the hymn with which the Angels, coming down to meet their King, invite us to ascend and fill up the vacant thrones: Sursum corda!

A tradition handed down from the early ages and confirmed by the revelations of the saints, tells us that the Ascension of our Lord took place at the hour of noon. The Carmelites of St. Teresa’s Reform honour this pious tradition by assembling in the choir at the hour of midday on the Ascension, and spend it in the contemplation of this last of Jesus’ mysteries, following Him, in thought and desire, to the throne of His glory. Let us also follow him, but before looking on the bright noon which smiles on His triumph, let us go back in thought to His first coming among us. It was at midnight, in the stable of Bethlehem. That dark and silent hour was an appropriate commencement to the three and thirty years of His life on earth. He had come to accomplish a great mission: year by year, and day by day, He laboured in its fulfilment. It was nigh to its fulfilment when men laid their sacrilegious hands on Him and nailed Him to a Cross. It was midday when He was thus raised up in the air, but the Eternal Father would not permit the sun to shine on Jesus’ humiliation. Darkness covered the face of the earth, and that day had no noon. Three hours after, the sun re-appeared. Three days after, the Crucified rose again from the tomb, and it was at the early dawn of light. On this day, yes, at this very hour, His work is completed. He has redeemed us by His Blood from our sins. He has conquered death by His Resurrection to life: had he not a right to choose, for His Ascension, the hour when the sun is pouring forth his warmest and brightest beams?

Hail, holy hour of Noon, sacred with your double consecration which reminds us daily of the mercy and of the Triumph of our Emmanuel, of salvation by His Cross, and of Heaven by His Ascension! But are you not, Jesus, Sun of Justice! Are you not yourself the noontide of our souls? Where are we to find that fullness of Light for which we were created — where that burning of eternal Love which alone can satisfy our longing hearts — but in you, who earnest down upon the earth to dispel our darkness and our cold? It is in this hope that we venture to address you in the sublime words of your faithful spouse Gertrude:

“O Love, Noontide, whose ardours are so soothing! You are the hour of sacred rest, and the unruffled peace I taste in you is all my delight. You whom my soul loves, you who are my chosen and my elect above all creatures, tell me, show me, where you feed your flock, where you lie to rest in the midday. My heart kindles with rapture at thought of your tranquil rest at Noon! That it were given me to come so near to you, that I might be not only near you, but in you! Beneath your genial ray, Sun of Justice, the flowers of all the virtues would spring forth from me, who am but dust and ashes. Then would my soul, rendered fruitful by you, my Master and my Spouse, bring forth the noble fruit of every perfection. Then should I be led forth from this valley of sorrows and be admitted to behold your face, so long, so wistfully longed for. And then would it be my everlasting happiness to think that you have not disdained, you spotless Mirror, to unite yourself to a sinner like me!”

The Lord Jesus has disappeared from our Earth, but His memory and His promises are treasured in the heart of the Church. She follows, in spirit, the glorious triumph of her Spouse, a triumph so well deserved by his having accomplished the world’s Redemption. She keenly feels her widowhood, but she awaits with unshaken confidence, the promised Comforter.

O JESUS our Emmanuel! Your work is done, and this is the day of your entering into your rest. In the beginning of the world you spent spend six days in harmonising the varied portions of the creation, after which you entered again into your rest. When later on you would repair your work which Satan’s malice had deranged, your love induced you to live among us for three and thirty years, during which you worked our redemption and restored us to the holiness and honour from which we had fallen. Whatever had been assigned you in the eternal decrees of the Blessed Trinity, whatever had been foretold of your by the Prophets, all was done, dear Jesus. Not an iota of it all was forgotten. Your triumphant Ascension was the close of the mission you had so mercifully undertaken. It was your second entrance into your rest, but this time it was with our Human Nature which you had assumed, and which was now to receive divine honour. You would have companions in your Ascension — the souls you had liberated from Limbo. And when about to leave us, you said this word of consolation to us: “I go go to prepare a place for you!” (John xiv. 2). Confiding, Jesus, in this promise, resolved to follow you in all the mysteries achieved by you for our sakes — in the humility of your birth at Bethlehem, in your sufferings on Calvary, in the joy of your Resurrection — we hope, also, to imitate you when our mortal course is run, in your glorious Ascension. Meanwhile, we unite with the holy Apostles who rejoiced at your triumph, and with the ransomed captives of Limbo who entered Heaven in your company. Watch over us, Divine Shepherd, while we are in our exile! Tend your faithful sheep. Let none be lost. Lead them all to your fold. The mystery of your Ascension shows us the object of our existence. it re-animates us to study more attentively and love more warmly all your other mysteries: our one ambition, then, our one desire, will henceforth be our own Ascension to Heaven and to you It was for this you came into the world: by humbling yourself to our lowliness, to exalt us to your own majesty, and by making yourself Man, to make man a partaker of your divinity. But until the happy day of our union with you, what would become of us without that power of the Most High which you have promised to send us, that He may bring us patience during our pilgrimage, fidelity to our absent King, and that solace of a heart exiled from its God, love? Come, then, Holy Spirit! Support our weakness. Fix the eye of our souls on the heaven where our King awaits us, and never permit us to set our hearts on a world which, had it every other charm, has not the infinite one of Jesus’ visible presence!

Only Begotten Son of God who, having conquered death, passed from Earth to Heaven: who, as Son of Man, are seated in great glory on your throne, receiving praise from the whole Angelic host, grant that we, who in the jubilant devotion of our faith, celebrate your Ascension to the Father, may not be fettered by the chains of sin to the love of this world, and that the aim of our hearts may unceasingly be directed to the Heaven to which you ascended in glory after your Passion. Amen.