The Ascension of Our Lord Jesus Christ

On the Feast of Ascension, we commemorate the last day of the physical presence of the risen Christ amongst His disciples and His ascension to the heaven. It may seem like a parting, a separation, and that after it, our Lord is not with us in quite the same way any longer. However, Christ ascending to heaven opens the gates to us, His people, He prepares a way for us, and He carries us and raises us up with Him to partake of His heavenly nature. The Ascension is the crown of His earthly mission.

He has accomplished on earth the whole mission which He had received from the Father. He took what was ours to be His very own so that we might have all that was His. “He was rich but he became poor for our sake, so that we might be enriched by His poverty.” (2 Cor. 8:9).

What is it we commemorate this day? It is the great and wondrous munificence of God, Dearly Beloved, which surpasses the power of human understanding. This day all mankind was restored to God. This day the long warfare, the prolonged estrangement, was ended. This day a wondrous peace returned to us: a peace we had not expected. For who could have hoped that God would be reconciled to man?
St. John Chrysostom: Christ’s Ascension Man’s Exaltation
02 Dawrat el So’oud.mp3 4.5 MB
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The Pentecost: Descent of the Holy Spirit

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Palm Sunday (Entry of our Lord into Jerusalem)