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in the Offertory which extols the advantages which
this great miracle has obtained for Christian souls.
On the other hand, we seem to see the sadness cloud
ing the faces of the apostles when our Lord tells them
that the moment approaches in which He must leave
them. His words recorded in the Gospel for this Sun
the eve of His
day were spoken on Holy Thursday,
Passion, but they find a suitable place here on the eve
of the Ascension.
Our Lord consoled His apostles in their sorrow by
showing them the benefits which would result from His
leaving them , namely, the sending of the Holy Ghost
upon this earth ; the judgment and condemnation of the
world by the Spirit of God ; and the teaching of all
truth by this same Spirit. In order that the mission of
the Holy Ghost might be fulfilled
necessary
amongst us, it was
that Jesus Christ should go away. We must
here remark that the external operations of the three
divine Persons succeed each other in time, conformably
to the order of the processions in the divine essence :
as the Son proceeds from the Father, and the work
of Redemption succeeds the work of the Creation, the
former being assigned to the Son, and the latter to the
Father; so the Holy Ghost proceeds from the Father
and the Son, and the work of sanctification, assigned
to the Holy Ghost, succeeds the work of Redemption.
The mission of the Holy Ghost, whose coming amongst
us could not be effected until our divine Lord had left this
earth, was to condemn the world on account of the sin
of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ; of the injustice com
mitted by those who refuse to believe in the Gospel ; and
because of the judgment pronounced against the devil
and on all those who follow him in his revolt. The
VISIBLE PRESENCE OF THE HOLY GHOST will bring forth