Pope says Jesus' Ascension confirmed promise of heaven
May 21, 2012: The Ascension of Jesus should remind Christians of the promise of Heaven
and the power of earthly prayer, Pope Benedict XVI said at the Sunday Angelus. When
he ascended into heaven, Jesus “did not separate himself from our condition, in fact,
in his humanity, he took mankind with him in the intimacy of the Father, and so has
revealed the final destination of our earthly pilgrimage,” the Pope told pilgrims
in St. Peter’s Square on May 20. “Just as he came down from heaven for us, and for
us suffered and died on the cross, so for us he rose again and ascended to God, who
therefore is no longer distant, but ‘Our God,’ ‘Our Father.’”
The Pope spoke
to several thousand people who gathered to hear his midday Sunday address, followed
by recitation of the Regina Coeli prayer. “The Ascension of Our Lord marks the fulfillment
of salvation which began with the Incarnation,” the Pope explained. It is “the ultimate
act of our deliverance from the yoke of sin.”
“Not only is the immortality
of the soul proclaimed, but also that of the flesh,” he said, quoting Pope St. Leo
the Great. “Today, in fact, not only are we confirmed possessors of paradise, but
in Christ we also penetrated the heights of heaven.” The Ascension also tells us that
when we pray, “our humanity is brought to the heights of God, so every time we pray,
the earth joins with Heaven.”
“And like burning incense, its fragrant smoke
reaches on high,” the Pope said of prayer, adding that “when we raise our fervent
and trusting prayer in Christ to the Lord, it crosses the heavens and reaches the
Throne of God, it is heard by Him and answered. Let us beseech the Virgin Mary to
help us contemplate the heavenly things, which the Lord promises us, and become more
credible witnesses of divine life.”
After the Marian prayer, Pope Benedict
issued a series of greetings and appeals. The Pope asked people to pray for the Church
in China, “that they may announce with humility and joy the Risen Christ, be faithful
to his Church and the Successor of Peter and live their daily life in a manner consistent
with the faith we profess.”