THE ASCENSION OF THE LORD
A Solemnity
Thursday, May 13
Vigil Mass
Wednesday, May 12, at 7:00 pm
&
Holy Day Masses ~ Thursday, May 13
7:00 am, 9:00 am & 6:00 pm
The Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord is celebrated on the 40th day after Easter Sunday and commemorates Christ’s ascension into heaven.
In the ancient Church this feast was known as the analepsis, ‘the taking up,’ and also as the episozomene, ‘the salvation,’ meaning that by ascending into His glory Christ completed the work of our redemption.
Tradition designates Mount Olivet near Bethany as the place where Christ left the earth. It is a feast that ranks with Good Friday, Easter and Pentecost. St. Augustine, writing in the early 400s, wrote that the feast went back to the time of the Apostles themselves.