Homily on the Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord

Why The Ascension Of Christ Is So Important

Reverend Marcel Divine Emeka Okwara, CSsR

Homily on the Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord

Church of St. Bridget of Minneapolis, MN

Sunday, May 17, 2026

When we speak of the Paschal Mystery of Christ, we refer to God’s plan of salvation, ultimately accomplished by Jesus Christ through four events in His life. These events are His Passion (His suffering and crucifixion), death, Resurrection, and Ascension. Yet sometimes, when we talk about the Paschal Mystery, we forget that the Ascension is part of it. In fact, the Ascension completes the Paschal Mystery of Christ. It began with Christ’s suffering and crucifixion, continued with His death and Resurrection, and is completed in His Ascension. In the Nicene Creed, the solemnity we celebrate today is reflected in this line: “For our sake he (Jesus) was crucified under Pontius Pilate, he suffered death and was buried, and rose again on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures. He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father.” 

Today, we celebrate the Ascension of the Lord. In our first reading, we hear, “he (Jesus) was lifted up, and a cloud took him from their sight.” But now that Jesus has returned to the Father, what is he doing there? Jesus came to us, and we killed him, but through the power of God, he was raised. After forty days of appearing to his disciples, Jesus returned to the Father. Is his ascension a desertion? What is he doing at the Father’s right hand? The great St. Paul says he is at the right hand of God, interceding for us (Romans 8:34b). St. John says, “We have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous Judge.” So the Ascension of Jesus should give us endless hope. Why? Because our attorney, who will intercede for us before the Judge, the Father, is Jesus Christ himself. Imagine you were brought before an earthly court for a crime you committed. You are before a judge and the jury. You are wondering who will represent you, who will be your attorney and advocate. And here walks in Jesus Christ, the Eternal Son of God. He sits beside you as your attorney. Once you see that, I tell you, you will rest easy. If the Author of life is the one who will make the case for you and plead for you to be declared righteous rather than condemned, you have nothing to fear. Jesus is our intercessor. There are passages in the New Testament that present him as the Supreme Intercessor for us with the Father. We Catholics also believe that the Blessed Mother Mary is our intercessor. At the wedding in Cana in Galilee, she interceded to her Son, Jesus Christ, on behalf of the newlywed couple, giving us that article of faith.

In his great sermon, St. John Chrysostom said, “Christ did not merely die for us; he now intercedes on our behalf as well.” Jesus ascends into heaven and sits at the right hand of the Father to intercede for us. This means that his passion on Good Friday and his Ascension reveal the immensity of his love. On the cross, he dies for love of us, but his love doesn’t end there. He continues to love us now, as he sits at the right hand of the Father and intercedes for us out of great love. In the words of Pope Leo the Great, “Although he (Jesus) is seated at the right hand of the Father, he performs the sacrament of the atonement in the same flesh which he assumed from the Virgin Mary.” What is he saying? He is saying that, in the Ascension, Jesus takes the sacrifice he offered on Calvary and brings that offering of himself, which took place on Good Friday in time and space, into eternity. He enters the eternal now, the presence of the Father, and offers himself to the Father on our behalf, once and for all and for all time. 

The Ascension of Jesus is so essential that it teaches two very important truths: first, the incarnation does not end with Jesus’ death and resurrection. When Jesus rises from the dead on Easter Sunday, the body he has is the same body he had, given to him by his Mother Mary, which is why he still bears the wounds, though now in a glorified state. During his Ascension, he takes that same flesh, now glorified, into eternity and sits at the right hand of the Father bodily. Before the incarnation, the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity is pure Spirit. He didn’t have a body. But in his incarnation, he assumes human nature. During his Ascension, he takes that human nature, now glorified flesh, into eternity. Therefore, the sacrifice he accomplished in the flesh on Good Friday is now perpetually offered to the Father for all eternity. This is why we refer to the Mass as a sacrifice. Although during Mass, Christ is not being re-sacrificed. There is only one sacrifice, and that is the sacrifice of Calvary. But that one sacrifice has been taken out of time into eternity. Therefore, every offering of the Eucharist is a participation in the one sacrifice of Christ, which he continues to offer to the Father for all time, in the heavenly sanctuary. So, in the Ascension of Jesus into heaven, the mystery of incarnation does not cease. The Eternal Word is still united with human nature, right now. Jesus still has his human body—his flesh and bones—though in a glorified and mysterious state, which is why he still bears the wounds. Secondly, it is not only that the incarnation doesn’t cease in Christ's Ascension; there is also a perpetual atonement. The atonement that is inaugurated and consummated on Calvary does not end in Ascension. In fact, in Ascension, Christ brings the atoning sacrifice into heaven. So, there is a perpetual atonement going on in heaven. In the first century AD, a sacrifice in the temple called “tamid,” meaning “the perpetual sacrifice,” was offered every morning and evening to God the Father as a renewal of the everlasting covenant. This perpetual sacrifice is still being done today. The great good news is that it is being done, not by any human being, but Christ Jesus himself. Does this mean even in heaven, Jesus is still suffering? Not at all! In heaven, the suffering ends. Jesus’ suffering ended when he died on Good Friday. He is not suffering, but he is still offering atonement in heaven. He is still offering himself to the Father in love for all eternity. 

God bless you!