Ascension

Forty days after the Resurrection, Jesus ascends to Heaven

to return to the Father who had sent him into the world.

The joy of Christ is joined by the one of all of us

because in this mystery of the Ascension

we contemplate the fact that Jesus “did not separate from our condition”.

In his humanity the He took us with him in the intimacy of the Father and in this way, he is revealing the destination of our earthly pilgrimage. For us he came down from Heaven, for us he suffered and died on the cross, for us he rose and went back to God, so that now is no longer distant.

He is always with us, every day!

St. Leo the Great explains that with this mystery “not only is the immortality of the soul

proclaimed, but also that of the body. Today in fact, not only are we confirmed as possessors of paradise, but in Christ have also penetrated the heights of Heaven” (De

Ascensione Domini, Tractatus 73, 2.4: CCL 138 A, 451.453)).

This is the reason why the disciples, when they saw the Master rise from the ground and going upwards, were not taken by sadness but felt great joy and an urgency to proclaim the victory of Christ over death. The risen Lord worked with them, distributing to each one his own charism.

The Ascension tells us that in Christ our humanity is brought to the height of God.

Every time we pray, the earth joins Heaven. Just as incense, burning, raises its smoke

high, when we raise to the Lord, our confident prayer in Christ it crosses the heavens,

reaches God himself and is listened to and heard by him. We too can climb high, but

only if we remain tied to Jesus raised on the cross and in heaven.

Solemnity of the Ascension of Jesus - May 17, 2026