9781644135945

The Easter Cycle
brothers, share in His eternal inheritance. “I pray for them . . . whom Thou hast given Me.” He
prays for us because we have been united to Him through our baptism, through our daily Holy
Communion. How shall we measure this ineffable love of the Savior? How intense is His desire
that the gates of heaven be opened to all men, and that in the mansion of His heavenly Father
a place be prepared for us! O Lord I believe in You, and I trust and confide entirely in You.
“Declare it with the voice of joy and let it be heard, alleluia; declare it even to the ends of the
earth: The Lord hath delivered His people, alleluia, alleluia” (Introit). We have been delivered.
He will take us with Him to His Father. “Shout with joy to God, all the earth, sing ye a psalm
to His name; give glory to His praise. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy
Ghost” (Introit). The Lord has delivered His people. He goes now to prepare a place for them
in heaven, and very soon we shall join Him there. “It is truly meet and just, right and profitable
to salvation, to extol Thee indeed at all times, O Lord, but especially with the highest praise to
magnify Thee at this time, when Christ our Pasch was sacrificed. For He is the true lamb who
hath taken away the sins of the world. Who by dying hath overcome our death, and by rising
again hath restored our life” (Preface for Easter). We have been delivered.
“Sing ye to the Lord, alleluia; sing unto the Lord and bless His name; show forth His
salvation from day to day, alleluia, alleluia” (Communion). Praise Him from day to day for the
work of salvation which He has accomplished for us, and which He will one day bestow on us
at our entrance into heaven.
Prayer
O God, from whom all good things proceed, grant to Thy suppliants that by Thy inspiration
we may think what is right and with Thy guidance carry out the same. Through Christ our
Lord. Amen.
Feast of the Ascension
On this day Christ’s triumph is complete. The victory which He gained by His resurrection
from the dead is today made perfect. The Lord, together with the human nature He assumed,
has ascended to the Father. He now shares in the dominion of heaven and earth; He now rules
all hearts and all souls.
Forty days have elapsed since Easter. During this period it was the intention of divine providence
that our faith in the resurrection of Christ should be confirmed and strengthened. The disciples
had been bewildered by the fact that their Master had died on the cross. He had breathed forth
His spirit, and His body had been buried. All this had weakened their faith and aroused doubts
in the minds of the dejected disciples. During the forty days that followed, the apostles and
disciples acquired such a firm and steadfast faith that they were not saddened by our Lord’s
Ascension, but were rather filled with joy.
And indeed the Ascension was a cause for joy. Human nature had been exalted above the
highest heavens and placed above the angels and archangels. It had been allowed to approach
the very throne of God. The apostles knew now that they would be allowed to share in the glory
of Him whose nature they shared.
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