Mass Times: Wed 5:30pm, Thur 9am or 7pm
This is one of the six Holy Days of Obligation for the faithful, aside from Sundays in the Liturgical year. It marks 40 days after Christ's Resurection, Easter. Traditionally always celebrated on a Thursday, this points us towards Pentacost, the decent of the Holy Spirit and the close of the Easter Season. 

Common Questions Answered 
By Fr. Rick Poblocki 
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When did the Ascension of Our Lord Jesus Christ occur?

The Ascension of Our Lord Jesus Christ occurred 40 days after His Resurrection on Easter Sunday.  At His Ascension, the LordJesus ascended Body and Soul into heaven (Luke 24:50-53; Acts 1:9-11).  The Ascension took place in broad daylight on the Mount of Olives, in the presence of His Apostles and disciples.

What happened when Our Lord ascended into heaven?

The Lord Jesus gave the Apostles and disciples His final instructions (Acts 1:6-8), and promised to be with them and us until the end of time: “I am with you always, to the close of the age” (Matthew 28:20).  Then , in a traditional Jewish form of blessing, He raised his hands (Luke 24:50), and continued to bless them as He ascended into the heavens by His own power, until a cloud received Him from their sight (Luke 24:50-51).

What did Our Lord do over the 40 day period between His Resurrection and His Ascension?

The 40 day period between the Resurrection of Our Lord and His Ascension into heaven is described by the Catechism of the Catholic Church as a time “when He eats and drinks familiarly with His disciples and teaches them about the Kingdom” (Catechism, 659; see also: Mark 16:12; Luke 24:15; John 20:14-15, 21:4; and Acts 1:3, 10:41).

When the Lord Jesus appeared to His disciples over this 40 day period, how did they see and experience Him?

According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, Jesus’ heavenly glory was “veiled under the appearance of ordinary humanity” (Catechism, 659).  This means that although “Christ’s Body was glorified at the moment of His Resurrection, as proved by the new and supernatural properties it subsequently and permanently enjoys” (Luke 24:31; John 20:19, 26) – the disciples saw Him and experienced Him in such a way that even though He was risen from the dead and glorified, He looked like He did when he lived with them on earth.

How is the Lord Jesus able to “raise” us up from the dead and brings us into heaven?

When we die, our body and soul separate from one another – and we do not have the power to reunite them – which is why those who die stay dead.  In Baptism we receive the Holy Spirit, Who joins our body and soul to His Being as God.  Because in Baptism our bodies and souls are joined to the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit has power and control over them – so even if our body and soul separate, both of them are still united to the Holy Spirit.  On the Last Day, the Holy Spirit will reunite our bodies and souls, and we will come back to life in a resurrected state.  That’s why it’s so important to be baptized.

If Jesus is God  and His Body was glorified in the Resurrection, why is His Ascension into Heaven so necessary?

It is true that Our Lord was “glorified” at the moment of His Resurrection.  But in reciting these words of the Lord Jesus to Saint Mary Magdalene: “I have not yet ascended to the Father, but go to my brethren and say to them, I am ascending to My Father and your Father, to My God and your God” (John 20:17), the Catechism of the Catholic Church points out: “This indicates a difference in manifestation between the glory of the Risen Christ and that of the Christ exalted to the Father’s right hand, a transition marked by the historical and transcendent event of the Ascension” (Catechism, 660).  In other words, as the Lord Jesus appears to His Apostles and disciples after His Resurrection, they experience Him in a risen and glorious state.  In the Ascension and exaltation of the Lord Jesus in glory at the Father’s right hand, the disciples are also able to experience Jesus’ risen glory as one of triumph and exaltation.