Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord
Massimo Palombella
Today’s feast commemorates Jesus’ ascension into heaven 40 days after Easter.
Consequently, the correct liturgical placement of the Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord should be on Thursday of the 6th week of Easter (exactly 40 days after Easter). In countries where this solemnity is not a holiday, it is postponed to the following Sunday, the VII of Easter Time.
Today’s solemnity attests to us that what characterises and defines our human being, namely our ability to decide, our freedom – exactly what we can say we are in the image of God -, this freedom transcends time and space and enables us to “see God”.
And it is freedom, our everyday choices that slowly helps the emergence of our eternal face. Freedom is what defines our continuity between history and eternity where we will have a body adapted to a dimension where space and time no longer exist.
The Ascension of the Lord is the historical separation from Him, and the gift of the Holy Spirit is what enables us to discern, to personalise life beyond all childish emulation.
Truly following the Lord, making his life our own, entering into his humanity means becoming adults, learning to discern, making the necessary separations, running the risk of making mistakes, experiencing the fruitful solitude that is the fruit of healthy separations that only lead us to life in abundance.
The Offertory Antiphon for today’s celebration is taken from Psalm 46 (Ps 46:6) with the following text:
“Ascendit Deus in iubilatione, Dominus in voce tubae, alleluia.”
(God has gone up amidst shouts of joy, the Lord to the sound of the trumpet, alleluia).
The attached music, in Gregorian Chant, is taken from the Graduale Triplex published in Solesmes in 1979. The interpretation is by the ‘Capella Gregoriana’. The music track can be found on the CD “Passion & Ostern – Höhepunkte geistlicher Musik” published by BMG in 2010.
A blessed Sunday and heartfelt greetings.
