The Church celebrates Christ’s Ascension as the culmination of Easter and a call to mission for all believers
The Church celebrates the Ascension of the Lord, one of the high points of the Easter season, commemorating Jesus Christ’s ascension into heaven forty days after his Resurrection. Far from being a farewell, this event is presented as a promise and a mission: Christ does not abandon his own, but remains with them in a new way, opening up new horizons of hope.
The Gospel account describes the disciples watching as Jesus is taken up into heaven, inviting them not to remain gazing at the sky, but to return to their daily lives with a clear mission: to proclaim the Gospel. In this way, the Ascension not only brings the cycle of Easter appearances to a close, but also marks the beginning of the Church’s mission, as it is called to be the living presence of Christ in the midst of the world.
From a spiritual perspective, the Ascension invites us to lift our gaze without losing sight of our commitment to reality. Christ ascends, but his message remains, and with it the responsibility to live in accordance with the Gospel in the practical realities of each day. It is a call to live with our feet on the ground and our hearts in God.
The Ascension reminds us that every act of care, support and service has a transcendent dimension. In silence, in closeness, or in our attention to those most in need, we experience that mission which springs from Christ himself. In this way, Jesus’ promise, “I am with you always”, becomes the foundation of a hope that never fails.
In a world marked by uncertainty, Ascension invites us to trust, not to remain fixated on the here and now, and to discover that life has a purpose that transcends the visible.
Thus, the Church celebrates not an absence, but a different kind of presence: that of a Christ who, from heaven, continues to accompany human history and to inspire his disciples and all Christians to bear witness to his love. It is an invitation to live with our gaze turned upwards, yet with our hearts fully engaged in every daily action.