This week we celebrate the Feast of the Ascension of the Lord. The Feast of the Ascension commemorates Jesus' Ascension into heaven 40 days after His Resurrection. Ascension Day falls 40 days after Easter, on the 6th Thursday of Easter, but in some parts of the world, the solemnity is celebrated on the Sunday after the traditional date, as it is in the Diocese of Covington.

Forty Days after the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, the Acts of the Apostles records Jesus' Ascension into heaven. The Ascension is an important Christian feast attesting and celebrating the reality of the God-Man Jesus Christ's returning to the Father and promise to return again in the future Parousia. The Ascension is the final component of the paschal mystery, which consists also of Jesus' Passion, Crucifixion, Death, Burial, Descent Among the Dead, and Resurrection. Along with the Resurrection, the Ascension functioned as a proof of Jesus' claim that he was the Messiah. Finally, the Ascension was also the "final blow," so-to-speak, against Satan's power, and thus the lion (Jesus) conquering the dragon (Satan) is a symbol of the Ascension. Early Christian art and iconography portrayed the Ascension frequently, showing its importance to the early Church.

The Catholic Catechism summarizes three important theological aspects (with which most Christian churches agree) of the Ascension concisely:

• Christ's Ascension marks the definitive entrance of Jesus' humanity into God's heavenly domain, whence he will come again (cf. Acts 1:11).

• Jesus Christ, the head of the Church, precedes us into the Father's glorious kingdom so that we, the members of His Body, may live in the hope of one day being with Him forever.

• Jesus Christ, having entered the sanctuary of Heaven once and for all, intercedes constantly for us as the Mediator who assures us of the permanent outpouring of the Holy Spirit (665-667).

– Fr. Eric