The Feast Of The Ascension – A Mystery Essential In Our Relationship With God

The Feast of the Ascension is really a very big mystery. In our Creed, we say that we believe that he died, that he rose from the dead and ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. We see that as a matter of creedal formula which means it is one of the mysteries of faith; and as a mystery of faith, it is something that says something to us, and is important for us to understand because it is essential in our catholicity, it is essential in our discipleship; it is essential in our relationship with God.

Why did Jesus die? Why was he raised from the dead? Why did he ascend into heaven? These three are three interconnected mysteries. Without the death of Christ, there is no salvation; we know that! We know that the blood of Christ is the blood of the new and eternal covenant; we know that. We know that at his death, water and blood flowed from his side, speaking both of his humanity and his divinity; but speaking also of Eucharist and baptism; we know that.

So we know that his death is essential for us being children of God, but his resurrection is also essential because without his resurrection we would not know the fullness of God’s incredible love for us as a people; and without the resurrection, we can’t have the Eucharist because the Eucharist is his risen body; that incredible body that could walk through walls and do all kinds of things – just turn up at a moment’s notice. The Eucharist is the risen Body of Christ that at the prayer of the priests and the calling down of the Holy Spirit on the bread and the wine, the risen Body of Christ transforms the bread and the wine into himself. So that we know that without the resurrection, we could not have Eucharist which he foretold on the night before he died.

Why is the Ascension essential? What was there in the Ascension that it is so important to this incredible mystery of faith? Well without the Ascension, we will not have the Holy Spirit. He goes to the Father so that when he is in the heavenly realm, he sends us the Holy Spirit.