What Is the Ascension? Scripture, Catechism, and a Forgotten History

In the liturgical year, the Ascension of Our Lord stands near the end of Eastertide as one of the Church’s great solemnities. In the United States in 2026, it is kept on May 14 in certain ecclesiastical provinces and on May 17in most others. Yet the feast is often treated as if it were a brief epilogue between Easter and Pentecost. It is not an epilogue. It is part of the triumph of Christ: the risen Lord enters His glory, takes His seat at the right hand of the Father, and prepares the outpouring of the Holy Ghost. (USCCB)

The witness of Holy Scripture

The Ascension is set forth most plainly in the opening of the Acts of the Apostles. After His Passion, Our Lord showed Himself to the Apostles during forty days, spoke to them of the kingdom of God, promised the Holy Ghost, and then, as the Douay-Rheims records, “while they looked on, he was raised up: and a cloud received him out of their sight.” The same mystery appears in Saint Luke’s Gospel, where Christ blesses His disciples and “was carried up into heaven.” These texts do not depict absence in the modern sense, as if Christ had merely gone away. They reveal His exaltation. The crucified and risen Jesus now reigns openly in the glory that was His from all eternity, and He does so with the sacred humanity He assumed for our salvation. (drbo.org)

The Ascension must also be read in light of Saint John. Before His Passion, Our Lord said, “I go to prepare a place for you.” The Cross, the Resurrection, and the Ascension belong together. Just as the Douay-Rheims preserves the Lord’s word from the Cross as “It is consummated,” so too the Ascension should be understood as fulfillment, not termination. The work of redemption is not abandoned; it is brought to its appointed fullness in the glorification of Christ, who now intercedes for His Church and opens heaven before her. (drbo.org)

What the Church teaches

The Catechism teaches in CCC 659–667 that Christ’s Ascension marks the definitive entrance of His humanity into God’s heavenly domain. During the forty days after the Resurrection, His glory remained veiled beneath ordinary human appearance; at the Ascension that hidden glory is openly manifested. The Catechism also teaches that Christ is now seated at the Father’s right hand, where He reigns as Lord and unceasingly intercedesfor us. This is why the feast belongs so closely to Christian hope. The Head has gone before the members. Where Christ is, there His Church is called to follow. (Vatican)

For that reason, the Ascension is not a feast of distance but of nearness rightly understood. Christ is no longer present under the old earthly conditions. He is present as the glorified Lord, sacramentally in His Church, reigning from heaven, and drawing all things to Himself. The same Catechism passage ties the Ascension to the sending of the Spirit and to the hope of one day reaching the place He has prepared for us. The feast therefore stands at the meeting point of doctrine, worship, and hope. (Vatican)

A forgotten point of Catholic history

One of the lesser-known points in the history of this feast is that its liturgical observance developed in visible form over time, even though the mystery itself is apostolic. The old Catholic Encyclopedia notes that by the time of Saint Augustine the feast was treated as of Apostolic origin and was already a universal observance of the Church; it also notes testimony from Saint John Chrysostom and others. At the same time, the same historical tradition suggests that in some early local usages the Ascension may once have been commemorated within the broader Easter-to-Pentecost cycle before the distinct fortieth-day feast was everywhere fixed. This is not a contradiction. It is the normal deepening of liturgical life: the Church receives the mystery from the Apostles and gradually gives it fuller public expression. (newadvent.org)

That older history is worth recovering because it shows how the Church prays her doctrine. The Ascension was not invented late. It was contemplated, celebrated, preached, and eventually given a stable and universal place in the calendar. The old sources also connect the feast with the completion of Christ’s redeeming work and with the novena of preparation for Pentecost. In other words, the Ascension has always been ordered toward expectation, prayer, and mission. (newadvent.org)

Why Catholics should love this feast

The Ascension teaches that Our Lord has not withdrawn from history in defeat or silence. He reigns. He intercedes. He prepares a place for His own. The feast also teaches something profound about human nature itself: in Christ, our humanity has entered heaven. This is why the Ascension is not merely an article of belief to be checked off. It is a source of confidence. The Son who took flesh of the Blessed Virgin has carried that same glorified humanity into the heavenly sanctuary. The path has been opened. (Vatican)

The days after the Ascension therefore have a distinct character. The Apostles did not disperse into confusion; they remained in prayer while awaiting the promise of the Father. The Church’s devotional tradition sees here the root of the Pentecost novena: prayerful expectation for the coming of the Holy Ghost. For Catholic homes, this is an excellent time to read the first chapter of Acts, pray the Rosary with special intention for the gifts of the Spirit, and return to the Gospels with renewed attention to the words of Christ. (drbo.org)

A Saintly Gifts call to action

If you want to keep this feast well, begin with prayer and sound reading. A good rosary, a Catholic Bible, or a solid devotional book can help a family keep the days between Ascension and Pentecost with greater recollection. Saintly Gifts already offers Rosaries, Books & Bibles, and Medals & Coins, and the shop invites customers to reach out if they do not see what they need online. That is a fitting way to let the feast extend beyond the page and enter the home. (Vatican)

Final word

The Ascension is not the fading of Easter but its royal flowering. The Lord who was crucified, risen, and seen by His disciples is now enthroned in glory. He has not ceased to act. He governs, intercedes, and prepares the outpouring of the Holy Ghost. To keep this feast well is to look upward without ceasing to labor below, knowing that Christ our Head has gone before us and that His triumph is the pledge of our own.