Jesus' ascension to Heaven depicted by John Singleton Copley in Ascension (1775)
Credit : John Singleton Copley, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
The Feast of the Ascension is the fortieth day after Easter Sunday, which commemorates the Ascension of Christ into heaven, according to Mark 16:19, Luke 24:51, and Acts 1:2.
Ascension Day falls 40 days after Easter, on the 6th Thursday of Easter. In some parts of the world, the solemnity is celebrated on the Sunday after the traditional date. Tradition designates Mount Olivet near Bethany as the place where Christ left the earth.
Ascension is one of the Ecumenical feasts ranking with the feasts of the Passion, of Easter and of Pentecost among the most solemn in the calendar. The feast has a vigil and, since the fifteenth century, an octave which is set apart for a novena of preparation for Pentecost, in accordance with the directions of Pope Leo XIII.
The Ascension is the final component of the paschal mystery, which consists also of Jesus' Passion, Crucifixion, Death, Burial, Descent Among the Dead, and Resurrection. Along with the Resurrection, the Ascension functioned as a proof of Jesus' claim that he was the Messiah. The Ascension is also the event whereby humanity was taken into heaven.
The ascension is important to Christians because:
- It shows that Jesus really had overcome death – he wasn’t just resurrected to die again, but to live forever.
- For many Christians, the fact that Jesus’ followers witnessed him ascending into the clouds leaves no doubt that Jesus is alive and with God the Father in Heaven, and is no longer limited to living on Earth.
- The ascension demonstrates God’s omnipotence.
- Article by CT Staff
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