Meditation
| Word of God | Ascension Novena
MEDITATION
On the
fortieth day after His Resurrection, after having trained His Apostles for their high
calling to establish the Kingdom of God on earth, Jesus prepared to ascend on high to
where the glories of heaven awaited Him.
He blessed His loving Mother and His Apostles and disciples and
bade them farewell. A cloud received Him out
of their sight.
The countless
blessed spirits whom he had released from limbo accompanied Him as the first fruits of the
redemption. All the hosts of heaven’s
Angels came out to meet Him, the Saviour of the world.
As He took
His place beside His heavenly Father, the whole court of heaven gave forth a glorious song
of praise. It was the song heard by John in
his visions: “worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and riches, wisdom
and strength, honour and glory and praise!” (Rev 5:12)
Jesus
ascended into heaven to enter into possession of His glory.
While on earth He had always enjoyed the vision of God, but the glory of His
Sacred Humanity had shone forth only at His transfiguration. On His Ascension into heaven He took His place as
Man beside His heavenly Father and was exalted above all other human creatures.
The
night before He died Jesus prayed to His Father: “I
have given You glory on earth by finishing the work You gave Me to do. Do You now, Father, give Me glory at Your side,
glory I had with You before the world began.” (Jn
17:4-5).
Since
His Humanity is united to the Divine Word, the second Person of the Blessed Trinity, It
enjoys the right of eternal glory. It shares
with the Father the infinite bliss and mighty power of God. This is the reward for all He has done and
merited on earth. In heaven He is raised
above all because on earth He has lowered Himself below all.
When the struggle
of this life is over Jesus will give us the grace to share His joy and triumph in heaven
for all eternity.
Jesus
ascended into heaven to be our Mediator with His Father.
There He is pleading for us. He
ascended into heaven to give an account to His heavenly Father of the great work He had
done on earth. The Church was born, grace springs up in abundance from His cross of
Calvary and is distributed through the Sacraments, God’s justice is satisfied, hell
and death are conquered, heaven is opened and man is saved.
Jesus had a right to this glorious homecoming.
Christ’s
Ascension is also the assurance of our own ascension into heaven after the Last Judgement. He entered into His Kingdom to prepare a place for
us, for He promised to come again to take us to Himself.
Let us ascend into
heaven with Jesus in spirit, there to dwell by faith, hope and charity. Let us seek only the joys that are true!
“After
speaking to them, the Lord Jesus was taken up into heaven and took His seat at God’s
right hand.” (Mk 16:19)
“When
He ascended on high, He took a host of captives and gave gifts to men.” (Eph 4:8)
“Since
you have been raised up in company with Christ, set your hearts on what pertains to higher
realms where Christ is seated at God’s right hand.
Be intent on things above rather than on things of earth.” (Col 3:1-2)
Novena Prayer
Jesus,
I honour You on the feast of Your Ascension into heaven.
I rejoice with all my heart at the glory into which You entered to reign as
King of heaven and earth. When the struggle
of this life is over, give me the grace to share Your joy and triumph in heaven for all
eternity.
I believe that You
entered into Your glorious Kingdom to prepare a place for me, for You promised to come
again to take me to Yourself. Grant that I
may seek only the joys of Your friendship and love, so that I may deserve to be united
with You in heaven.
In the hour of my
own homecoming, when I appear before Your Father to give an account of my life on earth,
have mercy on me.
Jesus, in
Your love for me You have brought me from evil to good and from misery to happiness. Give me the grace to rise above my human weakness. May Your Humanity give me courage in my weakness
and free me from my sins.
Through Your
grace give me the courage of perseverance for You have called and justified me by faith. May I hold fast to the life You have given me and
come to the eternal gifts You promised.
You love me,
dear Jesus. Help me to love You in return. I ask You to grant this special favour: (Mention your request).
By Your unceasing care, guide my steps
toward the life of glory You have prepared
for those who love You. Make me grow in
holiness and thank You by a life of faithful service.
Prayer of Praise to Jesus in Glory
I praise You,
dearest Heart of Jesus, fountain of all goodness.
I praise You, most
kind Heart of Jesus, for the boundless graces that have flowed and shall continue to flow
from You into the souls of the just.
I
praise You, most gentle heart of Jesus, for the tender love with which You have so often
refreshed devout hearts through Divine consolations.
I praise You,
most loving Heart of Jesus, for the fullness of Your grace, the splendour of Your virtues,
the generosity of Your Heart, and the purity of Your love.
I praise You,
royal Heart of Jesus, for Your victory over death and sin, Your power over souls, and Your
triumph over the living and the dead.
I praise You, Heart
so poor and yet so rich, for having despised all earthly riches and for having renounced
all earthly honours.
I praise You,
most obedient Heart of Jesus, that hungered after the fulfillment of the Divine Will and
thirsted after the greater glory of God and the salvation of souls.
I praise You,
most generous Heart of Jesus, that did not seek it sown glory; most patient Heart, that
willingly bore the greatest insults; most unselfish Heart, that longed for and lovingly
embraced the Cross.
Most Sacred
Heart of Jesus, teach me to love You with my whole heart, and grant that, according to the
little strength I have, I may imitate Your wonderful virtues. Amen.
Prayer
God our
Father, make us joyful in the Ascension of Your Son Jesus Christ. May we follow Him into the new creation, for His
Ascension is our glory and our hope. We ask
this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, Who lives and reigns with You and the Holy
Spirit, one God, forever. Amen.
| Reading |
From a sermon by Saint Augustine,
bishop |
| No one has ever ascended into heaven
except the one who descended from heaven |
Today our Lord Jesus Christ ascended
into heaven; let our hearts ascend with him. Listen to the words of the
Apostle: If you have risen with Christ, set your hearts on the things
that are above where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God; seek
the things that are above, not the things that are on earth. For
just as he remained with us even after his ascension, so we too are
already in heaven with him, even though what is promised us has not yet
been fulfilled in our bodies.
Christ is now exalted above the heavens, but he still suffers on earth
all the pain that we, the members of his body, have to bear. He showed
this when he cried out from above: Saul, Saul, why do you persecute
me? and when he said: I was hungry and you gave me food.
Why do we on earth not strive to find rest with him in heaven even now,
through the faith, hope and love that unites us to him? While in heaven
he is also with us; and we while on earth are with him. He is here with
us by his divinity, his power and his love. We cannot be in heaven, as
he is on earth, by divinity, but in him, we can be there by love.
He did not leave heaven when he came down to us; nor did he withdraw
from us when he went up again into heaven. The fact that he was in
heaven even while he was on earth is borne out by his own statement:
No one has ever ascended into heaven except the one who descended from
heaven, the Son of Man, who is in heaven.
These words are explained by our oneness with Christ, for he is our head
and we are his body. No one ascended into heaven except Christ because
we also are Christ: he is the Son of Man by his union with us, and we by
our union with him are the sons of God. So the Apostle says: Just as
the human body, which has many members, is a unity, because all the
different members make one body, so is it also with Christ. He too
has many members, but one body.
Out of compassion for us he descended from heaven, and although he
ascended alone, we also ascend, because we are in him by grace. Thus, no
one but Christ descended and no one but Christ ascended; not because
there is no distinction between the head and the body, but because the
body as a unity cannot be separated from the head.
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