The Feast of the Ascension of Our Lord Jesus Christ
Luke 24: 46-53
46. Then He said to them, "Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day, 47. and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. 48. And you are witnesses of these things. 49. Behold I send the Promise of my Father upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high."
50. And He led them out as far as Bethany, and He lifted up His hands and blessed them. 51. Now it came to pass, while He blessed them, that He was parted from them and carried up into heaven. 52. And they worshipped Him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, 53. and were continually in the temple praising and blessing God. Amen.
Very lovely!
ReplyDeleteAmber, forgive me for not knowing this, but is today celebrated at churches somehow?
Susanne,
ReplyDeleteIt depends on the diocese. The majority of them, in America at least, have moved the celebration of the feast to this Sunday. However, in some diocese, Boston is the one that comes to mind, but I know that there are others, the feast is still celebrated today. So in those areas, they have a Holy Day of Obligation, which means that Catholics are required to attend a Mass today. To that end, they have extra Masses.
Thanks, Amber!
ReplyDeleteIt's celebrated in the Lutheran Church here in Poland... But since I haven't been in a little while, I had completely forgotten about it (see, I believe every day is equally holy, so I don't personally celebrate any one in particular).
ReplyDeletecaraboska,
ReplyDeleteReally? I don't remember us celebrating the Ascension growing up, but I may just have not been paying attention. That's more than possible. Or, it could be different for Lutheran's in the US.
Hmmm...but don't some events deserve special recognition? It's not so much that the day is holy (or holier than any other day), but that we celebrate a holy event on that day.
Amber, Where did you get the idea I live in the States? I live in Eastern Europe - where the Lutheran Church is 'higher' than many Episcopal Churches in the States!
ReplyDeleteOh, nevah mind - you are located in the States. I get it now. Sort of. Except I thought you were Catholic...
ReplyDeletePS Sure, special events deserve recognition. And they can get that any day of the year :D
ReplyDeletecaraboska,
ReplyDeleteYeah, I meant *I* live in the States. :)
And yes, I am Catholic. But I was raised Missouri Synod Lutheran. :) Plus, my family is German (with some Polish and Scottish thrown in for fun, but the German's the *important* one), so we were the *right* kind of Lutherans. Ask my grandmother, she'll tell you! ;)
'PS Sure, special events deserve recognition. And they can get that any day of the year :D'
And we just happen to pick specific days to recognize them as a unified body. :)
Missouri Synod Lutheran, eh? How the heck did you end up in Rome coming from that kind of background? Oddly, in Poland, there is a stereotype that Lutherans are ethnically German (and that is no compliment :| ). So you have a church full of people who speak German but swear up and down that they are Polish :D
ReplyDeleteThat's a really excellent question, isn't it? I'm not really sure, to be honest. It just sort of happened...
ReplyDelete:) That's kind of funny.