The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1896-05-14
ECCLESIASTICAL COLUMN.

Rev. Romanus Mattingly, pastor st. Peters
Catholic Church, Editor.
Ascension Day.
"And the Lord Jesus, after He had spoken
unto them, was taken up into heaven and
stitch on the right hand of God.'' Mark 1919
The feast of the Ascension is one
of the most ancient in the church,
dating back to the earliest ages of
christianity. st. Augustine does
not hesitate to ascribe its introduce
ton to the apostles, it being but
natural that they should have an
nuallY celebrated the day on which
they saw their Lord and Master
ascend into heaven. Since the day
on which st. Helena built mag
nifcent church on the sacred spot
where Christ assembled into heaven,
this feast has been celebrated with
the greatest solemnity. In the
celebration of this feast at the
present day the Easter candle is
extinguished after the gospel of the
high mass. The Easter candle
symbolizes the risen Savior. Burn
ing it for forty days at high mass
on Sundays, signifies that Jesus
Christ renamed upon earth forty
days after his resurrection, and
appeared to his disciples.
. ne extinction of it on this day at
high mass reminds us that Christ,
at his ascension, withdrew his visi-
BILE presence from us. We may
consider a few circum stances of the
ascension of Christ by answering
four questions:
LIST. At what time? End, Where?
Bird, In what manner? and 4th, For
what purpose, did Christ ascend
into heaven?
Christ assembled into heaven
forty days after his resurrection.
Our SAVIOR remained upon earth
these forty days, first to convince
his disciples Of the reality of his
resurrection, and secondly to give
them the necessary instructions and
commissions for their high calling.
St. Luke says in the epIstle for this
festival that TO the apostles "He
showed himself alive after his pas
sion by many proofs, for forty days
appearing to them and speaking of
the kingdom of God" The num-
Der forty is significant. Our Savior
spent forty days IN the desert in
order to prepare himself by prayer
and fasting for his public life.
Again, he remained on earth forty
days after his resurrection in order
to ordain whatever was necessary
for the welfare of his church. lie
had, during the forty days spent in
the desert, prepared himself for the
work of our redemption, and he
spent the same number of days after
accomplishing this great work in
order to apply to US, through the
church the fruit of redemption.
The forty days which Christ
spent upon earth after his resurrec-
ton correspond to the forty hours
he remained in the grave. On this
St. Thomas, of Aquin, remarks:
GAS Jesus Christ remained forty
hours in the sepulchre as a proof of
his real death, so he remained forty
days on earth as a proof Of his new
life" Faith in his resurrection
being the foundation of our religion,
Christ desired to establish it firmly
by abiding forty days with his dis
aples.
Finally the forty days which
Christ spent on earth after his res
Iurreetion, reminds us Of the forty
years which the Israelites, after
their departure from Egypt were
obliged to spend in the desert be-
fore they could enter the land of
Canaan, they represent to us and
symbolic the truth that we, al
though redeemed by Christ, have to
undergo laborlous and dangerous
journey before we can enter heaven.
Christ assembled into heaven on a
Thursday. From Easter Sunday
TIL Ascension Day exactly forty
days intervene, for which reason
the church annually celebrates the
feast OF the Ascension on a Thurs
day. The passion of our Savior
commenced on Thursday, for it
was on Holy Thursday that he
sweat blood in the garden of olives,
wa, was betrayed and unprecedented.
thus it was to be on Thursday on
which, triumphant over sufferings
and death, he entered into heaven.
Herein is contained an important
lesson. The very day of our great
est humiliation may be the begin
ming of oar greatest exaltation and
the beginning and cause of our
salvation.