Octave of the Ascension
From Dom Guéranger's The Liturgical Year.
O Rex gloriæ Domine virtutum, qui triumphator hodie super omnes cœlos ascendisti, ne derelinquas nos orphanos; sed mitte promissum Patris in nos, Spiritum veritatis, alleluia.
O King of glory, Lord of hosts, who didst this day ascend in triumph above all the heavens! leave us not orphans, but send upon us the Spirit of truth, promised by the Father, alleluia.
The kingship over men is not the only diadem given to our Emmanuel at His Ascension. The apostle expressly tells us that He is, moreover, ‘the Head of all principality and power.’[1] Noble indeed is man; hut nobler far are the glorious choirs of the angelic hierarchy. We have already seen that in the great trial, whereby God tested the love of His angels, many rebelled and were oast into hell; the rest, who were faithful, entered at once into the possession of their sovereign good, and began round the throne of God their ceaseless hymns of adoration, love, and thanksgiving.
But a portion of their happiness was reserved till the fulfilment of one of God’s decrees. Laden as they are with the most magnificent gifts, they await another; it is to be the completion of their joy and glory. God revealed to them, at the first instant of their coming into existence, that He intended to create other beings, of a nature inferior to their own; and that of these beings, who were to be composed of body and soul, there should be one, whom the eternal Word would unite to Himself in unity of Person. It was also revealed to them, that this human Nature, (for whose glory and for God’s, all things were made), was to be the first-born of every creature;[2] that all angels and men would have to bend the knee before Him; that after suffering countless humiliations on earth, He would be exalted in heaven; and finally that the time would be, when the whole hierarchy of heaven, the Principalities and Powers, yea, even the Cherubim and Seraphim, would have Him placed over them as their King.
The angels, then, as well as men, looked forward to the coming of Jesus. The angels awaited Him that was to confer upon them their final perfection, give them unity under Himself as their head, and bring them into closer union with God by the union of the divine and created Natures in His own Person. As to us men, we awaited Him as our Redeemer and our mediator: as our Redeemer, because sin had closed heaven against us, and we needed one that would restore us to our inheritance; as our mediator, because it was the eternal decree of God to communicate His own glory to the human race by union with Himself. Whilst, therefore, the just ones on earth, who lived before the Incarnation, were pleasing to God by their faith in this future Redeemer and mediator, the angels in heaven were offering to the divine Majesty the homage of their proffered service of this Man-God, their future King, who, in virtue of the eternal decree, was ever present to the Ancient of days.[3]
At length the fulness of time came,[4] and God, as the apostle expresses it, ‘brought into the world His first-begotten’,[5] the prototype of creation. The first to adore the new-born King were not men, but the angels, as the same apostle assures us.[6] The royal prophet hed foretold that it would be so.[7] And was it not just? These blessed spirits had preceded us in their longings, not indeed for a Redeemer,—for they had never sinned,—but for a mediator, who was to be the link of their closer union with infinite beauty, the object of their eternal delight; in a word, who was to fill up the void there seemed to be even in heaven, by taking the place destined for Him.
Then was accomplished that act of adoration of the Man-God, which was demanded of the angels at the first moment of their creation, and which, according to its being complied with or refused, decided the eternal lot of these noble creatures. With what love did the faithful angels adore Jesus, the Word made Flesh, when they beheld Him in His Mother’s arms at Bethlehem! With what transports of joy did they announce to the shepherds, and to us through them, the glad tidings of the birth of our common King!
As long as He lived upon this earth and submitted to every humiliation and suffering in order to redeem us from sin and make us worthy to become His members, the blessed spirits ceased not to contemplate and adore Him. The Ascension came; and from that day forward, it is on the throne prepared at the Father’s right hand that they behold and adore their Lord and King. At the solemn moment of Jesus’ Ascension, a strange joy was felt in each choir of the heavenly hierarchy, from the burning Seraphim to the Angels who are nearest to our own human nature. The actual possession of a good, whose very expectation had filled them with delight, produced an additional happiness in those already infinitely happy spirits. They fixed their enraptured gaze on Jesus’ beauty, and were lost in astonishment at seeing how Flesh could so reflect the plenitude of grace that dwelt in that human Nature as to outshine their own brightness. And now, by looking on this Nature (which, though inferior to their own, is divinized by its union with the eternal Word), they see into further depths of the uncreated sea of light. Their love is more burning, their zeal is more impetuous, their hymns are more angelic; for, as the Church says of them, the Angels and Archangels, the Powers and Dominations, the Cherubim and Seraphim, praise the majesty of the Father through His Son Jesus Christ: per quem majestatem tuam laudant angeli.
Add to this the joy these heavenly spirits must have experienced at seeing the immense multitude that accompanied Jesus from earth to heaven. These, according to their respective merits, were divided among the various choirs, and placed on thrones left vacant by the fallen angels. Their bodies, are not yet united to their souls; but is not their flesh already glorified in that of Jesus? When the time fixed for the general resurrection comes, the trumpet of the great archangel will be heard,[8] and then these happy souls will again put on their ancient vesture, the mortal made immortal. Then will the holy angels, with fraternal enthusiasm, recognize in Adam’s features a likeness of Jesus, and in those of Eve a likeness of Mary, and the resemblance will even be greater than it was when our first parents were innocent and happy in the garden of Eden. Come quickly, O thou glorious day, whereon the bright mystery of the Ascension is to receive its final completion, and the two choirs of angels and men are to be made one in love and praise under the one Head, Christ Jesus!
It is St. Ambrose who is to help us to-day, by the following beautiful hymn, to celebrate the mystery of the triumph of our human nature in Jesus. The hymn is inserted in the breviary of Milan.
Hymn
Optatus votis omnium
Sacratus illuxit dies
Quo Christus, mundi spes, Deus,
Conscendit cœlos arduos.
Ascendens in altum Dominus,
Propriam ad sedem remeans,
Gavisa sunt cœli regna,
Reditu Unigeniti.
Magni triumphum praelii!
Mundi perempto principe,
Patris præsentat vultibus
Victricis carnis gloriam.
Est elevatus nubibus
Et spem fecit credentibus,
Aperiens paradisum,
Quem protoplastus clauserat.
O grande cunctis gaudium!
Quod partus nostræ Virginis,
Post sputa, flagra, post crucem,
Paternæ sedi jungitur.
Agamus ergo gratias
Nostræ salutis vindici,
Nostrum quod corpus vexerit
Sublimem ad cœli regiam.
Sit nobis cum cœlestibus
Commune manens gaudium,
Illis quod se præsentavit,
Nobis quod se non abstulit.
Nunc provocatis actibus
Christum exspectare nos decet,
Vitaque tali vivere,
Quae possit cœlos scandere.
Gloria tibi Domine,
Qui scandis super sidera,
Cum Patre et sancto Spiritu
In sempiterna saecula.
Amen.
The sacred day, longed for by us all,
hath shone upon us: the day whereon Christ our God,
the hope of the world,
ascended to the highest heavens.
When our Lord ascended on high,
returning to his rightful throne,
the kingdom of heaven rejoiced,
for it was the return of the Only-begotten of the Father.
O triumph of the great battle!
Having defeated the prince of this world,
Jesus presents to his Father the Flesh
that had won the glorious victory.
He was raised up on a cloud,
and opening the gate of heaven,
which our first parent had closed against us,
he inspired believers with hope.
What a joy was this to all mankind,
that the Son of our Virgin-Mother,
after being spit upon, and scourged, and crucified,
was placed upon his Father’s throne!
Let us, then, give thanks to him that avenged us
and wrought our salvation,
for that he took our flesh
and made it dwell in the heavenly courts above.
Let there be a lasting fellowship of joy
between the angels and us;
they rejoice because he offered himself to their delighted gaze;
we, because he ceased not to be our Brother.
It behoves us now,
by the practice of virtues of which he has set us the example,
to await our union with Christ,
and so to live as to merit our ascension into heaven.
Glory be to thee, O Lord,
who ascendest above the stars!
and to the Father, and to the Holy Ghost,
for everlasting ages.
Amen.
We may use this prayer of the Mozarabic breviary wherewith to close the day.
Christe Dei virtus, et Dei sapientia, qui propter nos, et nostram salutem descendens e cœlis, humani generis carne vestiri dignatus es, ut dignissima societate nos tua Deitate vestires, et quod mortale descendendo susceperas, immortalitati ascendendo donares; tribue nobis interventu solemnitatis hodiernæ, qua te cœlos ascendentem et sequi cupimus et gaudemus, ut benignissimae dispensationis hujus munera cognoscentes, reddamus pietati tuæ quod solum possumus, vota laudum; exspectantes secundi adventus tui aeternorum solatia gaudiorum.
O Jesus! the power and wisdom of God! who coming down from heaven for our sake and for our salvation, deignedst to clothe thyself in human flesh, that, by a most merciful union, thou mightest clothe us with thy divinity, and that, by ascending into heaven, thou mightest enrich with immortality the mortality thou assumedst by descending upon our earth: grant, we beseech thee, by the merit of this day’s solemnity, (whereon we rejoice at and desire to imitate thine Ascension,) that we may acknowledge the favour of this most loving dispensation, by paying to thy mercy the only homage in our power, the offering of our praise; and awaiting thy second coming which is to console us with joys eternal.
[1] Coloss ii. 10.
[2] Coloss. i. 15.
[3] Dan. vii. 9.
[4] Gal. iv. 4.
[5] Heb. i. 6.
[6] Ibid.
[7] Ps. xcvi. 7.
[8] 1 Thess. iv. 15.
From Dom Guéranger's The Liturgical Year.
O Rex gloriæ, Domine virtutum, qui triumphator hodie super omnes cœlos ascendisti, ne derelinquas nos orphanos; sed mitte promissum Patris in nos, Spiritum veritatis, alleluia.
O King of glory, Lord of hosts, who didst this day ascend in triumph above all the heavens! leave us not orphans, but send upon us the Spirit of truth, promised by the Father, alleluia.
Jesus has ascended into heaven. His Divinity had never been absent; hut, by the Ascension, His Humanity was also enthroned there, and crowned with the brightest diadem of glory. This is another phase of the mystery we are now solemnizing. Besides a triumph, the Ascension gave to the sacred Humanity a place on the very throne of the eternal Word, to whom it was united in unity of Person. From this throne, it is to receive the adoration of men and of angels. At the name of Jesus, Son of Man, and Son of God,—of Jesus who is seated at the right hand of the Father almighty,—'Every knee shall bend, in heaven, on earth and in hell.’[1]
Give ear, O ye inhabitants of earth! This is the Man Jesus, who heretofore was a little Babe wrapped in swaddling clothes; who went through Judea and Galilee, not having where to lay His head; who was bound by the sacrilegious hands of his enemies, was scourged, crowned with thorns, nailed to a cross; who, whilst men thus trampled Him, as a worm, beneath their feet, submitted His will to that of His Father, accepted the chalice of suffering, and, that He might make amends to the divine
glory, shed His Blood for the redemption of you sinners. This Man Jesus, child of Adam through Mary the immaculate, is the master-piece of God’s omnipotence. He is 4 the most beautiful of the sons of men’;[2] the angels love to fix their gaze upon Him;[3] the blessed Trinity is well-pleased with Him; the gifts of grace bestowed on Him surpass all that men and angels together have ever received. But He came to suffer, and suffer for you; and though He might have redeemed you at a much lower price, yet would He generously overpay your debts by a superabundance of humiliation and suffering. What reward shall be given to Him? The apostle tells us in these words: 'He humbled Himself, becoming obedient unto death, even to the death of the cross; for which cause God also hath exalted Him, and hath given Him a name, which is above all names.’[4]
You, then, who compassionate with Him in the suffering whereby He wrought your redemption; you who devoutly follow Him in the stages of His sacred Passion; now raise up your heads, and look up to the highest heaven! Behold this Jesus ‘crowned with glory and honour because He suffered death’![5] See how the Father has magnified Him in return for His having 'emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant,’ though in His other nature, He was equal with God.[6] His crown of thorns is replaced by a crown of precious stones.[7] The cross that was laid on His shoulders is now the ensign of His power.[8] The wounds made by the nails and the spear are now like five bright suns that light up all heaven. Glory, then, he to the justice of the Father, who has dealt thus with His Son! Let us rejoice at seeing the Man of sorrows[9] become now the King of glory; and let us, with all the transport of our souls, repeat the hosanna wherewith the angels welcomed Him into heaven.
Nor must we suppose that the Son of Man now that He is seated on the throne of His Divinity, is inactive in His glorious rest. No; the sovereignty bestowed upon Him by the Father, is an active one. First of all, He is appointed Judge of the living and of the dead,[10] before whose judgement-seat we must all stand.[11] No sooner shall our soul have quitted the body, than she shall be presented before this tribunal, and receive from the lips of the Son of Man the sentence she will have deserved. O Jesus! by the glory Thou didst receive on the day of Thine Ascension, have mercy on us at that moment whereon depends eternity.
But the judgeship of our Lord Jesus Christ is not to be confined to this silent exercise of His sovereign power. The angels, who appeared to the apostles after His Ascension, told us that He is to come again upon the earth; that He is to descend through the clouds, as He ascended; and that then shall be the last judgement, at which the whole human race is to be present! Throned on a cloud, and surrounded by the angelic host, the Son of Man will show Himself to mankind, and this time with all majesty. Men shall see Him whom they pierced;[12] the imprints of those wounds, which will give additional beauty to His sacred Body, will be an object of terror to the wicked, while to the good they will be a source of unspeakable consolation. The shepherd, seated on His ethereal throne, will separate the goats from the sheep. His voice, after so many ages of silence, will make itself once more heard upon this earth: He will speak to impenitent sinners, condemning them to eternal torments; He will speak to the just, calling them to approach Him, and ascend, body and soul, into the region of everlasting bliss.
Meanwhile, He exercises over all nations the royal power, which He received, as Man, on the day of His Ascension. He redeemed us all by His Blood; we are therefore His people, and He is our King. He is, and He calls Himself, 'King of kings and Lord of lords.’[13] The kings of the earth reign not either by their own prowess, or by the boasted social compact; they lawfully reign by Christ alone. Peoples and nations are not their own masters; they belong to Christ and are His subjects. His law requires no sanction from man; it is above all human laws, and should be their guide and controller. ‘Why have the nations raged, and the people devised vain things? The kings of the earth stood up and the princes met together, against the Lord and against His Christ. They said: Let us break their bonds asunder, and let us cast away their yoke from us,’[14] How vain all these efforts! For, as the apostle says, ‘He must reign, until He hath put all His enemies under His feet.’[15] that is, until His second coming, when the pride of man and satan’s power shall both be at an end.
Thus, then, the Son of Man, crowned at His Ascension, must reign over the world to the end of time. But it will be objected: 'How can He be said to reign in these our times, when kings and emperors and presidents acknowledge that their authority comes from the people; and when the people themselves, carried away with the ideas of self-government and liberty and independence, have lost all idea of authority?’ And yet, He reigns; He reigns in His justice, since men refused to be guided by His clemency . They expunged His law from their statutes; they gave the rights of citizenship to error and blasphemy: then did He deliver them up, both people and rulers, to their own follies and lies. Authority and power have become ephemeral: and as they scorn to receive the consecration of the Church, the hand that holds them to-day, may be empty to-morrow. Then anarchy, then a new ruler, and then a fresh revolution. This will be the future, as it is the present, history of nations, until they once more acknowledge Jesus as their King, and resume the constitution of the ages of faith: ‘It is Christ that conquers! it is Christ that reigns! it is Christ that commands! May Christ preserve His people from all evil!'
On this Thy coronation-day, receive our devoted homage, O Jesus, our King, our Lord, our Judge! By our sins, we were the cause of Thy humiliations and sufferings; so much the more fervently, then, do we nite with the acclamations made to Thee by the angels when the royal diadem was placed on Thy head by the eternal Father. As yet, we but faintly see Thy grandeur; but the holy Spirit, whom Thou art about to send upon us, will teach us more and more of Thy sovereign power, for we are, and wish to be eternally, Thy humble and faithful subjects!
In the middle-ages, the Sunday within the octave of the Ascension was called the Sunday of roses, because it was the custom to strew the pavement of the churches with roses, as a homage to Christ who ascended to heaven when earth was in the season of flowers. How well the Christians of those times appreciated the harmony that God has set between the world of grace and that of nature! The feast of the Ascension, when considered in its chief characteristic, is one of gladness and jubilation, and spring’s loveliest days are made for its celebration. Our forefathers had the spirit of the Church; they forgot, for a moment, the sadness of poor earth at losing her Emmanuel, and they remembered how He said to His apostles: 'If ye loved Me, ye would be glad, because I go to the Father!’[16] Let us do in like manner; let us offer to Jesus the roses wherewith He has beautified our earth: their beauty and fragrance should make us think of Him who made them, of Him who calls Himself the flower of the field and the lily of the valleys.[17] He loved to be called Jesus of Nazareth; for Nazareth meaus a flower; and the symbol would tell us what a charm and sweetness there is in Him whom we serve and love as our God.
MASS
The Introit, which is taken from the Book of Psalms, expresses the longings of the Church to behold her Spouse, who has fled far from her. The faithful soul is possessed with the same desire; she unites in the prayer of our holy mother, and says to Jesus: ‘Oh! hearken to the wish of my heart, and show me Thy divine face!’
Introit
Exaudi, Domine, vocem meam, qua clamavi ad te, alleluia. Tibi dixit cor meum: Quæsivi vultum tuum, vultum tuum Domine requiram: ne avertas faciem tuam a me. Alleluia, alleluia.
Ps. Dominus illuminatio mea, et salus mea: quem timebo? ℣. Gloria Patri. Exaudi.
Hear, O Lord, my voice, with which I have cried out to thee, alleluia. My heart hath said to thee: I have sought thy face! I will seek thy face, O Lord: turn not thy face from me. Alleluia, alleluia.
Ps. The Lord is my light, and my salvation: whom shall I fear? Glory &c. Hear, &c.
The Church, in the Collect, teaches us to ask of God that good will, which will render us worthy of seeing our Jesus, by making us zealous in the service of His divine Majesty.
Collect
Omnipotens sempiterne Deus, fac nos tibi semper et devotam gerere voluntatem, et majestati tuæ sincero corde servire. Per Dominum.
O almighty and eternal God, inspire thy servants with true devotion, and grant that we may serve thy divine Majesty with sincere hearts. Through, &c.
A commemoration of the Ascension is added, by the Collect, page 176.
Epistle
Lectio Epistolæ beati Petri Apostoli.
I Cap. iv.
Charissimi, estote prudentes, et vigilate in orationibus. Ante omniaautem, mutuam in vobismetipsis chari- tatem continuam habentes: quia caritas operit multitudinem peccatorum. Hospitales invicem sine murmuratione. Unusquisque, sicut accepit gratiam, in alterutrum illam administrantes, sicut boni dispensatores multiformis gratiae Dei. Si quis loquitur, quasi sermones Dei: si quis ministrat, tamquam ex virtute, quam administrat Deus: ut in omnibus honorificetur Deus per Jesum Christum Dominum nostrum.
Lesson of the Epistle of Saint Peter the Apostle.
I Ch. iv.
Dearly beloved: Be prudent, and watch in prayers. But before all things have a constant mutual charity among yourselves: for charity covereth a multitude of sins. Using hospitality one towards another, without murmuring. As every man hath received grace, ministering the same one to another: as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. If any man speak, let him speak as the words of God. If any man minister, let him do it as of the power which God administereth; that in all things God may be honoured through Jesus Christ our Lord.
The prince of the apostles, who presided over the holy assembly that awaited in the cenacle the descent of the divine Spirit, here addresses us, who are in expectation of the same great gift, and recommends us to practise fraternal charity. This virtue, says he, covereth a multitude of sins; could we make any better preparation for receiving the Holy Ghost? This Paraclete is coming that He may unite all men into one family; let us, then, put an end to all our dissensions, and prove ourselves to be members of the brotherhood established by the preaching of the Gospel. During these days of our preparing to receive the promised Comforter, the apostle bids us be prudent and watch in prayers. Let us follow his instruction; we must show our prudence by excluding everything that might be an obstacle to the Holy Ghost’s entering our hearts; and as to prayer, it is the means which will open our hearts to Him, that He may make them His own for ever.
The first of the two Alleluia-versicles is taken from the Psalms, and celebrates the majesty of Jesus upon His royal throne; the second is formed of the words of this same Saviour, promising us that He will return at the end of the world, when He comes to gather together His elect.
Alleluia, alleluia. ℣. Regnavit Dominus super omnes gentes: Deus sedet super sedem sanctam suam. Alleluia. ℣. Non vos relinquam or- phanos: vado et venio ad vos, et gaudebit cor vestrum. Alleluia.
Alleluia, alleluia. ℣. The Lord hath reigned over all nations: God sitteth upon his holy throne. Alleluia. ℣ I will not leave you orphans: I go, and I come to you, and your heart shall rejoice. Alleluia.
Gospel
Sequentia sancti Evangelii secundum Joannem.
Cap. xv., xvi.
In illo tempore: dixit Jesus discipulis suis: cum venerit Paraclitus, quem ego mittam vobis a Patre, Spiritum veritatis, qui a Patre procedit, ille testimonium perhibebit de me: et vos testimonium perhibebitis, quia ab initio mecum estis. Hæc locutus sum vobis, ut non scandalizemini. Absque synagogis facient vos: sed venit hora ut omnis, qui interficit vos, arbitretur obsequium se præstare Deo. Et hæc facient vobis, quia non noverunt Patrem, neque me. Sed hæc locutus sum vobis: ut, cum venerit hora eorum, reminiscamini quia ego dixi vobis.
Sequel of the holy Gospel according to John.
Ch. xv., xvi.
At that time: Jesus said to his disciples: when the Paraclete cometh, whom I will send you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceedeth from the Father, he shall give testimony of me; and you shall give testimony, because you are with me from the beginning. These things have I spoken to you, that you may not be scandalized. They will put you out of the synagogues; yea the hour cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doth a service to God. And these things will they do to you, because they have not known the Father, nor me. But these things I have told you; that when the hour shall come, you may remember that I told you of them.
Here we have our Jesus telling us the effects, which the coming of the Holy Ghost will produce in our souls. These words were first addressed to the apostles, at the last Supper. He told them that the Paraclete would give testimony of Him, that is, would instruct them upon His Divinity, and teach them to be faithful to Him, even so as to lay down their lives for Him. A few moments before His Ascension, Jesus again spoke to them concerning the Paraclete, and called Him’the power from on high.’[18] Severe trials were awaiting these apostles; they would have to resist unto blood.[19] Who would be their support P For, of themselves, they were but weak men. The Holy Ghost, who was to abide with them. By Him they would conquer, and the Gospel would be preached to all nations. Now, this Spirit of the Father and of the Son is about to descend upon us; and what is the object of His visit, but that of arming us for the combat, and strengthening us against the attacks of our enemies? As soon as this holy season of Easter is over, and we no longer have the celebration of its mysteries to enlighten and cheer us, we shall find ourselves at the old work of battling with the three enemies: the devil, who is angered by the graces we have received; the world, to which we must unfortunately return; and our passions, which, after this calm, will again awaken, and molest us. If we be’endued with the power from on high’, we shall have nothing to fear. Let us, therefore, ardently desire to receive Him; let us prepare Him a worthy reception; let us use every endeavour to make Him abide with us; and we shall gain the victory, as did the apostles.
The Offertory gives us the words of the psalmist, describing the glories of Jesus’ Ascension. Holy Church wishes to impress the thought of this triumph well upon us, that our hearts may be fixed on the dear country, where our Jesus awaits us.
Offertory
Ascendit Deus in jubilatione: et Dominus in voce tubæ, alleluia.
God ascended in triumph, and the Lord at the sound of the trumpet, alleluia.
While offering to God the bread and wine, which are soon to be changed into the Body and Blood of Christ, the Church, in the Secret, prays that we may not only be made pure by our contact with these divine mysteries, but may also receive the vigour and energy which are so indispensably needed by every Christian.
Secret
Sacrificia nos, Domine, immaculata purificent: et mentibus nostris supernæ gratiæ dent vigorem. Per Dominum.
May these unspotted sacrifices purify us O Lord, and invigorate our souls with heavenly grace. Through, &c.
A commemoration is then made of the Ascension, by the Secret of the feast, given on page 182.
The Preface is that of the Ascension, page 182.
The Communion-anthem is formed of the words addressed by Jesus to His eternal Father, after having instituted the sacrament of the Eucharist, at the last Supper. They show us what His wishes are in our regard.
Communion
Pater, cum essem cum eis, ego servabam eos quos dedisti mihi, alleluia: nunc autem ad te venio: non rogo ut tollas eos de mundo, sed ut serves eos a malo. Alleluia, alleluia.
Father, when I was with them, I kept those whom thou gavest me, alleluia: now I return to thee: I do not pray that thou mayst take them out of the world, but that thou wouldst keep them from evil. Alleluia, alleluia.
Thanksgiving is the Christian’s first duty after receiving, in holy Communion, the Body and Blood of Christ. The Church, which appreciates so much more perfectly than we can ever do the greatness of the favour thus bestowed on us, prays, in her Postcommunion, that we may ever be giving thanks to our divine benefactor.
Postcommunion
Repleti, Domine, muneribus sacris: da quæsumus; ut in gratiarumsemper actione maneamus. Per Dominum.
Grant, we beseech thee, O Lord, that we may be always thankful for the sacred gifts, with which we have been filled. Through &c.
VESPERS
Antiphon of the Magnificat
Hæc locutus sum vobis, ut quum venerit hora eorum, reminiscamini, quia ego dixi vobis, alleluia.
OREMUS
Omnipotens sempiterne Deus, fac nos tibi semper et devotam gerere voluntatem, et majestati tuæ sincero corde servire. Per Dominum.
These things I have told you, that when the hour shall come, ye may remember that I told you, alleluia.
LET US PRAY
O almighty and eternal God, inspire thy servants with true devotion, and grant that we may serve thy divine Majesty with sincere hearts. Through, &c.
Let us offer to our triumphant Jesus the following beautiful hymn, which is used by the Church at the Matins of the feast of the Ascension, and during the octave. It forcibly expresses the mystery, and shows us how fervently we ought to celebrate it.
Hymn
Æterne rex altissime,
Redemptor et fidelium,
Cui mors perempta detulit
Summae triumphum gloriae.
Ascendis orbes siderum,
Quo te vocabat cœlitus
Collata, non humanitus,
Rerum potestas omnium.
Ut trina rerum machina
Cœlestium, terrestrium
Et inferorum condita,
Flectat genu jam subdita.
Tremunt videntes angeli
Versam vicem mortalium:
Peccat caro, mandat caro,
Regnat Deus Dei caro.
Sis ipse nostrum gaudium,
Manens Olympo præmium,
Mundi regis qui fabricam,
Mundana vincens gaudia.
Hinc te precantes quaesumus,
Ignosce culpis omnibus,
Et corda sursum subleva
Ad te superna gratia.
Ut cum repente coeperis
Clarere nube judicis,
Poenas repellas debitas,
Reddas coronas perditas.
Jesu, tibi sit gloria,
Qui victor in cœlum redis,
Cum Patre et almo Spiritu,
In sempiterna sæcula.
Amen.
O eternal and sovereign King,
and Redeemer of the faithful!
thy victory over death won for thee
a triumph of highest glory.
Thou ascendest above the starry world,
there to exercise thy supreme
power over all creatures,
—a power conferred by heaven, not by man.
Now the triple kingdom
of heaven, earth, and hell,
is subject to thee; and all things in them
bow the knee in homage to thy power.
The angels gaze with wonder on the change wrought in mankind:
it was flesh that sinned,
and now Flesh taketh all sin away,
and the God that reigns is the God made Flesh.
Be thou our joy, who awaitest us
to be our reward in heaven.
Thou art the ruler of this world;
our joy that surpasses all earthly joys.
Therefore do we beseech thee, in humble prayer,
that thou pardon all our sins,
and, by thy heavenly grace,
lift up our hearts to the things that are above.
That when thou appearest
suddenly on a bright cloud as our judge,
thou mayst forgive us the punishment we deserve,
and restore to us the crown we had lost.
Glory be to thee, O Jesus,
who ascendest in triumph to heaven!
and to the Father, and to the Spirit of love,
for everlasting ages.
Amen.
We may close the day with this prayer, taken from the Mozarabic breviary.
Prayer
Salvator noster, et Domine, qui ascendens in cœlos, intuentium clarificatus apparere dignatus es oculis: dum ita ut ascenderas, venturum ad judicium polliceris: fac nos hodiernæ Ascensionis tuae festum pura cordium devotione suscipere: ut ita in te semper ad melius vita nostra ascendendo proficiat, qualiter ad judicium venientem inconfusibili contuitu te semper visionis aspiciat. Amen.
O Jesus, our Saviour and Lord! who when ascending into heaven, didst deign to show thy glory to them that gazed upon thee, promising them, that as thou ascendest, so wouldst thou come to the judgment; grant that we may welcome, with true devotion of heart, this day’s feast of thine Ascension: that thus our lives, by continually ascending to what is more holy, may so advance in thy service, as that our eyes may look upon thee with a confiding look, when thou comest to judge us. Amen.
[1] Philipp. ii. 10.
[2] Ps. xliv. 3.
[3] 1 St. Pet. i 21.
[4] Philipp ii. 8, 9.
[5] Heb. ii. 9.
[6] Philipp. ii. 6,7.
[7] Ps. xx. 4.
[8] Is. ix. 6.
[9] Is. liii. 3.
[10] Acts, x. 42.
[11] Rom. xiv. 10.
[12] Zach. xii. 10.
[13] Apoc. xix. 16.
[14] Ps. ii. 1-3.
[15] 1 Cor. xv, 25.
[16] St. John, xiv. 28.
[17] Cant. ii, 1.
[18] St. Luke, xxiv. 49.
[19] Heb. xii. 4.
From Dom Guéranger's The Liturgical Year.
O Rex gloriæ, Domine virtutum, qui triumphator hodie super omnes cœlos ascendisti, ne derelinquas nos orphanos; sed mitte promissum Patris in nos Spiritum veritatis, alleluia.
O King of glory, Lord of hosts, who didst this day ascend in triumph above all the heavens! leave us not orphans, but send upon us the Spirit of truth, promised by the Father, alleluia.
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 behoves us to know the mystery in its fulness. Let us give ear to the apostle of the Gentiles: ‘God who is rich in mercy, through His exceeding charity wherewith He loved us even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ: and hath raised us up together with Him, and hath made us sit in the heavenly places together with Him.’[1] We have celebrated the Pasch of our Saviour’s Resurrection as our own resurrection; we must, agreeably to the apostle’s teaching, celebrate also His Ascension as our own. Let us weigh well the expression: ‘God hath made us sit in the heavenly places together with Christ.’ So then in the Ascension, it is not Jesus alone who ascends into heaven; we ascend thither with Him. It is not He alone that is enthroned there in glory; we are enthroned through and together with Him.
That we may the better understand this truth, let us remember that the Son of God did not assume our human nature with a view to the exclusive glorification of the Flesh which He united to His own divine Person. He came to be our Head. We, consequently, are His members; and where He is, we also are to be; at least, such is His intention, as He implied at the last Supper, when He said: ‘Father! I will that where I am, they also whom Thou hast given Me may be with Me, that they may see My glory which Thou hast given Me.’[2] And what is the glory given to Him by His Father? Let us hearken to the royal prophet, who, speaking of the future Ascension, says: ‘The Lord said to my Lord: Sit Thou at My right hand!’[3]
It is, then, on the very throne of the eternal Father, it is at His right hand, that we shall see Him whom the apostle calls our forerunner.[4] We shall be united with Jesus, as members to our Head; so that His glory will be ours; we shall be kings, with His kingship; He will make us partake of all that He Himself has, for He tells us that we are His joint-heirs.[5]
From this it follows that the august mystery of the Ascension, which began on the day of Jesus’ entrance into heaven, will continue, until His mystical body has received its completion by the ascension of the last of the elect. Look at that countless host of holy souls who were the earliest companions of His triumph: foremost are our first parents; then the patriarchs, the prophets, and the just of every generation of the preceding four thousand years! They had been imprisoned in limbo, but He liberated them, gave them of His own brightness, and made them His partners in the glory of His Ascension. They were His trophy; they formed His court, as He passed from earth to heaven. Well did we exclaim in the words of holy David: ‘Sing to God, ye kingdoms of the earth! Sing ye to the Lord. Sing ye to God, who mounteth above the heaven of heavens, towards the east.’[6]
The angels were ready to receive our Emmanuel; and then began that sublime dialogue, which the royal psalmist was permitted to hear and prophesy. The glad countless legion of the holy souls, who escorted the divine conqueror, cried out to the guardians of the heavenly Jerusalem: ‘Lift up your gates, O ye princes! Be ye lifted up, O eternal gates! and the King of glory shall enter in.’ The faithful angels replied: ‘Who is this King of glory?’ ‘It is the Lord,’ responded the elect of earth: ‘It is the Lord who is strong and mighty; the Lord mighty in battle.’ Well might they say this of our Jesus, who had vanquished satan, death and hell, and brought themselves to the city’s gate as a sample of His stupendous conquest. The angels repeated their question; the saints re-echoed their reply; the eternal gates were thrown open, and the King and His courtiers entered into heaven.[7]
The gates, then, are opened to receive our Redeemer, and opened He would have them remain for us to follow Him. Admirable Ascension! oh, let us linger in its contemplation! Jesus inaugurates the grand mystery by His own entrance into heaven, and then perpetuates it by the ascension of His elect of each successive generation. There is a ceaseless procession up to heaven; for some happy souls are ever finishing their purification in purgatory, while some still happier ones are winging their rapid flight direct from this earthly vale of sorrows. Hail, then, O glorious mystery! fruit of the flowers of so many mysteries; term, fulfilment, perfection of our Creator’s decree! Alas! thou hadst a long interruption by Adam’s sin; but Jesus’ triumph restored thy reign on earth, and this earth shall live in thy beauty and grace till that word shall be uttered by the angel: ‘Time shall be no more!’[8] O mystery of joy and hope, be thou accomplished in me!
Permit us, then, O Jesus, to apply to ourselves what Thou saidst to Thine apostles: ‘I go to prepare a place for you!’[9] This has been Thy aim in all Thou hast done for us: Thou camest into this world to open heaven for us. Thy holy bride, the Church, bids us fix our eyes on heaven; she points to its opened gates, and shows us the bright track through which is passing up from earth an unbroken line of souls. We are still in exile; but the eye of our faith sees Thee in that land above, Thee the Son of Man throned at the right hand of the Ancient of days.[10] How are we to reach Thee, dear Jesus? We cannot, as Thou didst, ascend by our own power: Thou must needs fulfil Thy promise, and our desire, of drawing us to Thyself.[11] It was the object after which Thy blessed Mother also sighed, when Thou didst leave her on earth; she longed for the blissful hour of Thy taking her to Thyself, and awaited Thy call with faith, labouring meanwhile for Thy glory, and living with Thee, though not seeing Thee. Give us to imitate the faith and love of this Thy Mother, that so we may apply to ourselves those words of Thine apostle: ‘We are already saved, by hope.’[12] Yes, we shall be so, if Thou send us, according to Thy promise, the holy Spirit whom we so ardently desire to receive; for He is to confirm within us all that Thy mysteries have produced in our souls; He is to be to us a pledge of our future glorious ascension.
In presenting our petitions this day to heaven, let us take, as addressed to ourselves, the sublime instructions given by the Gothic Church of Spain, on the Ascension feast, to her children.
Missa
Placeat, dilectissimi fratres, saecularium cogitationum fasce deposito, erectis in sublime mentibus subvolare: et impositam aetheris fastigio assumpti hominis communionem, sequacibus cordis oculis contueri. Ad incomparabilem nobis claritatem attonitus vocandus aspectus, est Jesus Dominus noster: humilitatem nobis terrarum cœlorum dignitate commutat: acutus necesse est visus esse respicere quo sequimur. Hodie salvator noster post assumptionem carnis, sedem repetit deitatis. Hodie hominem suum intulit Patri, quem obtulit passioni. Hunc exaltans in cœlis, quem humiliaverat in infernis. Hic visurus gloriam, qui viderat sepulturam. Et qui adversus mortem mortis suæ dedit beneficium, ad spem vitae donavit resurrectionis exemplum. Hodie rediit ad Patrem, cum tamen sine Patris, qui sibi aequalis est, potestate non venerit. Hodie ascendit in cœlum qui obsequia cœlestium cum descenderet, non amisit. Ita in Patris natura unitate consistens, ut cum homo cœlum novus intraret, novum tamen Deus hominem non haberet. Petamus igitur ab omnipotentia Patris, per nomen Filii salvatoris, gratiæ spiritalis ingressum, aeternæ beatitu- dinis donum, beatae mansionis ascensum, catholicae credulitatis augmentum, haereticae infidelitatis, excidium. Audiet profecto in confessione, quos in perditione quaesivit. Adstitit suis, qui non destitit alienis. Aderit agnitus, qui non defuit agnoscendus. Non patietur orphanos esse devotos, qui filios facere dignatus est inimicos. Dabit effectum supplicationis, qui promisit Spiritum sanctitatis. Amen.
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! To-day 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 humbled in limbo. He well deserved to see glory, who had seen 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. To-day, 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. To-day, 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 has promised to send us the Holy Ghost. Amen.
[1] Eph. ii. 4,6.
[2] St. John, xvii. 24.
[3] Ps. cix. 1.
[4] Heb. vi. 20.
[5] Rom. viii. 17.
[6] Ps. lxvii. 33, 34.
[7] Ibid xxiii.
[8] Apoc. x, 6.
[9] St. John, xiv. 2.
[10] Dan. vii. 13.
[11] St. John, xii. 32.
[12] Rom. viii. 24.