The Image of Man Has Been Raised Up: On the Feast of the Ascension

The Image of Man Has Been Raised Up: On the Feast of the Ascension | Carl E. Olson | May 21, 2009

"You ascended into glory, O Christ our God, and You delighted the disciples with the promise of the Holy Spirit. Through this blessing, they were assured that You are the Son of God, the Redeemer of the World." —Troparion for the Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, Feast of the Ascension of our Lord Jesus Christ

"Christ's Ascension is therefore not a spectacle for the disciples but an event into which they themselves are included. It is a sursum corda, a movement toward the above into which we are all called. It tells us that man can live toward the above, that he is capable of attaining heights. More: the altitude that alone is suited to the dimensions of being human is the altitude of God himself. Man can live at this height, and only from this height do we properly understand him. The image of man has been raised up, but we have the freedom to tear it down or to let ourselves be raised." — Joseph Ratzinger, from Images of Hope: Meditations On Major Feasts (Ignatius Press, 2006)

---

"As he blessed them he parted from them and was taken up to heaven." (Lk 24:51)

With these simple, matter-of-fact words, Luke describes the Ascension of Jesus, expressed even more concisely in the Creed: "He ascended into heaven." This event is so important for Luke that the Acts of the Apostles opens with a description of the same event. As the disciples looked on, Luke records, Jesus "was lifted up, and a cloud took him from their sight" (Acts 1:9). Mark's account, heard today, is equally direct and succinct: "So then the Lord Jesus, after he spoke to them, was taken up into heaven and took his seat at the right hand of God" (Mk. 16:19).

Read the entire essay...

Comments

[Ed Peters]

The simple solution to the Ascension observance issue is to leave the feast exactly where it should be in the calendar, and to lift the oblgiation of attending Mass.

This one, more than any other, drives me nuts to see it transferred.

[Mark Brumley]

You probably don't even need to lift the obligation--just instruct people better about how it applies to them. But better to keep the day when it should be observed, even without the obligation, than to move it to Sunday.

[Fr. Andrew]

Great pull from Ratzinger!