3 May, Antonio, Cardinal Bacci: Meditations for Every Day

The Ascension of Jesus

1. After His glorious resurrection from the dead, Jesus appeared to His Apostles. For forty days He instructed them concerning the kingdom of God. When He had announced to His followers that He would send the Holy Spirit to give them the enlightenment and courage to preach the Gospel, they gathered together on the Mount of Olives and saw Him taken away from them and borne upwards until a bright cloud hid Him from their view. The mystery of the Ascension contains a lesson for us. We must be detached from the world and brought closer to Heaven, which is our true home. We are so attached to earthly things because money, reputation and pleasure are closer to our hearts than the thought of God or of eternity. We shall have to leave all these things behind soon enough, however. When death comes, the world will slip away from us and the soul will stand alone before God. Let us begin to detach ourselves from worldly affairs and to make Heaven the object of our desires. Why should we be sorry or afraid to leave this earth? Remember the teaching of St. Paul. “Here we have no permanent city, but we seek for the city that is to come.” (Heb. 13:14) “For me to live is Christ,” he said, “and to die is gain... (Phil. 1:21) desiring to depart and to be Christ, a lot by far the better.” (Phil. 1:23) Let us pray in the beautiful words of the Church: “Lord, grant that while we are living in this changing world we may aspire to the true happiness of Heaven, so that in the midst of earthly vicissitudes our hearts may be content in this ambition.” (Roman Breviary) Let us not be afraid of death, for it is only the gate of Heaven.

2. Meditate on the thoughts of St. Augustine concerning the mystery of the Ascension. “Dearly beloved brethren, our Saviour has ascended into Heaven. We who remain on earth should not be too troubled about this. Rather let us raise our thoughts to Heaven and we shall find rest there. Our hearts can ascend with Christ in the expectation that one day our bodies can also ascend. Let us remember, however, that our pride, avarice and sensuality cannot go up to Christ. None of our vices can find a place alongside our divine Healer. Therefore, if we wish to ascend to our divine Healer, we must cast off vice and sin. These are like fetters which hold us back and tie us to the ground... Even as the Resurrection of Christ is our hope, so His Ascension should be the beginning of our glorification... God is high above us. If you seek to reach Him with pride, He flies from you. If on the other hand you are humble, He comes down to meet you...” (Sermo 2 de Ascens. Dom.) When we meditate on the Ascension, we should humbly ask God to give us the grace to strip ourselves of our sins and defects. Then we shall be able to fly towards Him with love and hope in this life, and when our soul has been set free from the body which imprisons it on earth we shall be able to set out on our last joyful flight into His presence. These are the reflections which should be in our minds around the feast of the Ascension. These are the desires which we should foster and the resolutions which we should form. Let us ask Our Lord to bless them.

3. O Mary, my most holy Mother, implore of your divine Son Jesus, now ascended into Heaven, that I may be more detached from the useless and passing goods of this earth. Ask Him to purify my soul from every stain of sin and to strengthen my will in its good resolutions. Ask Him that my heart may rise nearer to God and to you through its desire for perfection. Amen.