84. What is celebrated on the Feast of the Ascension??
R. The glorious day is celebrated on the feast of the Ascension, in which Jesus Christ, in the presence of his disciples, he ascended by his own virtue to heaven, forty days after his resurrection.
85. For what reasons did Jesus Christ ascend to heaven??
R. Jesus Christ ascended into heaven,
1. to take possession of the eternal kingdom conquered with his death;
2. to prepare our place, and serve as a mediator and advocate with the Father;
3. to send the Holy Spirit to his Apostles.
86. On Ascension Day, Jesus Christ alone entered heaven?
R. On the day of the Ascension, not only Jesus Christ entered heaven, but the souls of the ancient Fathers entered with them, which he had freed from limbo.
87. How Jesus Christ is found in heaven?
R. Jesus Christ sits at the right hand of God the Father in heaven; that is, how God is equal to the Father in glory, and as a man he is exalted above all the Angels and all the Saints, and made Lord of all things.
88. What must we do to worthily celebrate the feast of the Ascension?
R. To worthily celebrate the feast of the Ascension we must do three things:
1. worship Jesus Christ in heaven as our mediator and advocate;
2. detach our heart entirely from this world, as if from a place of exile, and aspire only to Heaven, like our true homeland;
3. resolve to imitate Jesus Christ in humility, in mortification and suffering, to share in his glory.
89. What should the faithful do in the time that runs from the feast of the Ascension to Pentecost?
R. From the feast of the Ascension until Pentecost the faithful must, for example of the Apostles, prepare to receive the Holy Spirit with the retreat, with internal concentration, and with persevering and fervent prayer.
90. Because on the feast of the Ascension, read the gospel of the solemn mass, it is extinguished and then the Paschal candle is raised?
R. On the Feast of the Ascension, read the gospel of the solemn mass, it is extinguished and then the Paschal candle is raised to represent the departure of Christ from the Apostles.
source – Major Catechism of Saint Pius
