The Last Words of Christ and the Ascension
Excerpt from the book Meditations on Christian Dogma, Volume I
After our Lord’s Resurrection and before His Ascension, our Lord stayed with His disciples for forty days teaching them and granting them the power to found His Church and institute the sacraments that would be so need in order to strengthen the faithful spiritually. Upon completing His mission here on Earth our Lord ascended to Heaven to take His royal throne at the right side of the father, but he didn’t leave us, He sent the Holy Ghost to guide and protect His Church and gave us the sacraments so that we would always have Him with us through His Eucharist.
Yours in Jesus and Mary.
From the book Meditations on Christian Dogma, Volume I by Right Reverend James Bellord, D. D. (Convent of Mercy, 1906, pages 320-323).
The Last Words of Christ
I. “He upbraided them with their incredulity and hardness of heart” (Mark 16:14). It is remarkable how frequently the Apostles, after their long training, their knowledge of Scripture prophecies, their sight of miracles, disbelieved the evidence of the Resurrection, and how continually Our Lord had to reproach them on that account. This, however, was very different from the malignant incredulity of the chief priests and ancients; it arose from human weakness, instability and grossness of mind, and was without real malice. Therefore Our Lord renewed the proofs of His Resurrection again and again, with infinite patience and love, till all were finally convinced.
The disciples were by no means excusable for their incredulity; they were resisting sufficient evidence, they were showing great want of confidence in Our Lord. From this we may learn that there may be serious faults in even good people, that grace does not destroy all the weaknesses of nature, and that, however much we may have received from God, there is still a fund of hard-heartedness in us.
Be patient therefore with the slowness and incredulity of others; and be not so rash as to class with the obstinate Pharisees those who are perhaps no worse than the disciples. Perhaps even now you are unfaithful, and resisting some unwelcome demand of God; and you may be giving occasion to Our Lord to reproach you.
II. A considerable portion of Our Lord's discourses turned upon the constitution of His Church. He spoke to the Apostles of the future of the Kingdom of God on earth; He appointed St. Peter to be their chief, and confirmed his faith that he might support the others; He bestowed on them the power of working miracles, of forgiving sins, of conferring the sacraments; He commissioned them to preach the Gospel to every creature in His name, and to baptize them into union with the Church and with Himself. He opened their minds to the comprehension of the Scriptures, and qualified them to deal with other necessities and other questions which should arise.
He promised them the Holy Ghost and His own abiding presence to the end of the world; and with this He gave the Church indefectible life and assured protection against error and the power of hell. He finally confirmed the authority of the Apostolic Church over all men, by the promise of eternal life to those who should believe, and the threat of eternal condemnation to those who should resist.
There are also many other things that Jesus said which are not written but were committed to the Church for us; but the words which are written are sufficient for us, that we may believe and recognize the authority of His Church; they show us clearly that he who hears the Church, hears Christ and the Father who sent Him. Thank Our Lord for so clearly revealing your duty, and thus saving you from the uncertainties and responsibilities of being your own sole guide.
III. “Lifting up His hands He blessed them. And it came to pass, whilst He blessed them, that He departed from them” (Luke 24:50-51). The last words of Our Lord pronounced on earth were words of blessing poured forth on the Apostles, on the Church, and on all mankind. Then the Apostles went forth to their labor in the world.
These words of Jesus were the counterpart of the words of malediction pronounced by God on the natural ancestors of the human race, when they went forth from the garden of Eden for their labors.
The Church was blessed to “increase and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it, and rule over . . . . all living creatures that move upon the earth” (Genesis 1:29). That blessing has been most efficacious; it has come upon you also; be faithful in all things great and small and you will receive its fulness.
The Ascension
I. The day had come for Our Lord to conclude the long series of His mysteries, to return whence He came, and to take His place upon the throne of David forever, on the right hand of His Father. Henceforth, He appears no more on earth till He comes from heaven at the last day as the Judge of mankind. He went forth to His triumph humbly, as usual; He left Jerusalem on foot among His disciples, ascended the neighboring Mount of Olives, and thence went up to heaven. But how great was the invisible glory of that day!
Millions of souls came forth from their long detention, souls of Jews and Gentiles, who had served God according to their condition and desired His kingdom; the angelic host came forth to meet them, and with this double escort Christ ascended to His Father. We cannot picture to ourselves the jubilation that filled all the unseen universe, the surpassing splendor of the glorified Humanity of Jesus Christ the delight of the souls redeemed, the confusion of Satan and hell, the glory of the heavenly Father.
Therefore is this a day of triumphant joy to the Church on earth. Turn your thoughts away from the miseries and dangers of this life, and be comforted at the thought of what awaits you.
II. The departure of Our Lord was necessary for Him. The full course of human life included His entrance into heaven and the reception of His reward. This completes the parallel between His life and ours, and shows us the whole of our destiny. As God, no reward was possible for Our Lord; He possesses supreme elevation, and glory that cannot be increased. But in His Human Nature Jesus merited reward and the highest elevation.
He was victor over Satan, sin, and death, over human weakness and misery, which He had passed through unscathed.
He was a worker; for, beyond all the rest of men, He had labored and done good; and thereby He exerted a universal and eternal influence.
He was a sufferer, for He endured in body and in mind more than all mankind, since He bore in full and with perfect comprehension of it, the burden of the sins of humanity.
So, as man, Jesus holds the first place among His race, which is called the right hand of the Father. These are the three elements of your life here and reward hereafter — struggle, labor and suffering. They are painful and often discouraging. But you are happy if you receive a larger share than usual of them, for they will bring you into closer association with Christ in the glory which results from them.
III. The departure of Our Lord, although a painful loss, was necessary to the Apostles, the Church, and to us. He says of it: “It is expedient for you that I go; for if I go not, the Paraclete will not come to you: but if I go I will send Him to you” (John 16:7). The Holy Ghost was to give permanent life and vigor to what Christ had commenced. He also said, “I go to prepare you a place” (John 14:2); so that His departure from us now enables us to enter His presence immediately after our death.
It was further necessary that He should cease to exist among us in His visible Humanity, in order that He might be present with us everywhere under the form of the Most Holy Eucharist. He also left us in order that we may have the merit of living by faith and not by sight, and that the full enjoyment of Him may be a matter of future hopes rather than of present possession. It is further in accordance with the general law of Providence that He should not speak to us and rule us in His own person, but through the ministry of others; and that He should allow the natural energies in human nature to work out their evolution without visible intervention from above.
Our Lord's absence from your sight must not make you think that He has forgotten you; He bears you in His heart as if He were visibly present; He is engaged always on your interests before His Father; and also He is really present with you.