Jesus, then, the Man who dwelt on the earth and was perfect in all holiness, has ascended into heaven. This earth, accursed of God as it was, has produced the fairest fruit of heaven; and heaven with its gates shut against our race, has had to open them for the entrance of a Son of Adam. It is the mystery of the Ascension; but it is only a part, and it behooves us to know the mystery in its fullness. The following is taken from the Gothic Church of Spain. We are presenting our petitions this day to heaven. We are going to get instructions that this glorious Feast gives us:
We beseech you, dearly beloved brethren, that, laying aside the weight of worldly thoughts, you would raise up your minds, and soar to heavenly things, and see, with the attentive eye of the heart, how Christ placed your own human nature, which He had assumed, in the highest heavens. The incomparable brightness on which we are invited to fix our astonished gaze, is Jesus our Lord. He exchanges the lowliness of this earthly dwelling for the glory of heaven. How quick must our sight be, that it may see the land, whither we are to follow Him! Today our Saviour, after assuming our human nature, returned to the throne of the Godhead. Today, He offered to His Father that same human nature, which He had previously offered to the endurance of His Passion. He exalted in heaven the Humanity that He had seen in the tomb. He Who conferred on us His own death, that He might put ours to death, gave us the example of His Resurrection, that He might gladden us with the hope of life. Today, He returned to the Father, though He had not been here on earth without possessing all the power of the Father, Who is co-equal with Him. Today, He ascended into heaven, though He had not lost the adoration of the angels when He descended upon our earth. One with the Father in unity of substance, He so entered into heaven as the new Man, that He was not new to God. Let us, therefore, ask the almighty Father, through the Name of His Son, our Saviour, that He grant us admission into a spiritual life of grace, the gift of eternal happiness, an ascension into the mansion of bliss, an increase of Catholic Faith, and the destruction of heretical disbelief. He, surely, will hear us, now that we praise Him Who went in search of us when we were lost. He will assist us that are now His people, who abandoned us not when we were aliens. He will be with us now that we know Him, for He was not absent from us even when we knew Him not. He will not suffer us to be orphans now that we are devoted to Him, for He vouchsafed to make us His children when we were His enemies. He will grant us what we ask, for He promised to send us the Holy Ghost. Amen.
So you see, our life is NOT just a happy-clappy, balloon and butterfly filled existence (as we see in the new 'dis-ordo' of things). We still have some work to do if we want to reach the heavenly kingdom He has promised to those who are devoted and loyal to Him. He has not left us orphans, but will continue to help us and hear us if we but ask.
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