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.
