Solemnity of the Ascension of Our Lord: Making Heaven Present Everywhere

The Ascension of Christ
Salvador Dali, 1958

Traditionally this is called Ascension Thursday and tradition puts it here in the liturgical calendar because Pentecost Sunday is nine days later. The U.S. Bishops often move this solemnity to the following Sunday for the convenience of the congregation. John Bergsma's commentary tells us that it is a shame because the 7th Sunday of Easter has some readings with a wonderful message leading to Pentecost — and most of the U.S. never gets to hear them. 

For more about the whys and wherefores of celebrating the Ascension on Thursday or Sunday, read this really good explanation from The Pillar.

I like to mention it on the traditional Thursday because those nine days between the Ascension and Pentecost are what lead to the word novena (derived from Latin for nine) which follows the disciples and Mary praying for nine days in the Upper Room. The first two chapters of the Acts of the Apostles talks about this.

I am struck by one thing over all others.

Christ's ascension to Heaven signals the beginning of the Holy Spirit's age on Earth. Not a day goes by that I don't call the Holy Spirit to me, asking for wisdom, leaning hard on His peace and calm. I am so grateful for Him in my life.

I am always left a bit giggly at the image of the dumbstruck followers looking up where Jesus disappeared into the clouds. And the sudden appearance of the two men in white who asked why they were standing there looking at the sky. I imagine everyone was overawed by the events that had just occurred, not to mention the sudden appearance of angels, but I always feel I'd have been the smart-mouth who said, "Maybe this happens every day where you come from, but for us this is something new."

The Ascension of the Lord marks the beginning of something brand new.  I give thanks.

UPDATED
Our priest's homily a few years ago made it clear that I missed a vital point about the ascension. I stand corrected and gladly enlightened.

(paraphrasing like crazy)

Christ's ascent raises humankind as well. Jesus is not only consubstantial with the Father. He is also consubstantial with us. Wholly God. Wholly man.

He killed death so we would not have to fear it any longer. He ascends to Heaven to take us there as well.

Amen.

Giotto di Bondone, Ascension of Christ, circa 1300.

Jesus seems almost to be breaking out of the top of the picture, but as he does so, he is not so much going away into heaven as making heaven present everywhere.

Jane Williams, Faces of Christ

I love that image. It looks as if Christ is opening a big package and that gift that will come in 9 days is the Holy Spirit.

Notes on Mark: The Deaf and Dumb Man

Jesus Heals a Mute Possessed Man  - James Tissot

MARK 7:32-33
I like the point that is made here about the deaf and dumb man being a symbol for us ... isn't that so often the way? We just don't "get it" until God opens our eyes and our heart.

Sacred Scripture quite often shows the laying on of hands as a gesture indicating the transfer of power or blessing (cf. Gen 48:11; 2 Kings 5:11; Lk 3:13). Everyone knows that saliva can help heal minor cuts. In the language of Revelation fingers symbolized powerful divine action (cf. Ex 8:19; Ps 8:4; Lk 11:20). So Jesus uses signs which suit in some way the effect he wants to achieve, though we can see from the text that the effect -- the instantaneous cure of the deaf and dumb man -- far exceeds the sign used.

In the miracle of the deaf and dumb man we can see a symbol of the way God acts on souls: for us to believe, God must first open our heart so we can listen to his word. Then, like the Apostles, we too can proclaim the magnalia Dei, the mighty works of God (cf. Acts 2:11). In the Church's liturgy (cf. the hymn Veni Creator) the Holy Spirit is compared to the finger of the right hand of God the Father (Digitus paternae dexerae). The Consoler produces in our souls, in the supernatural order, effects comparable to those which Christ produces in the body of the deaf and dumb man.

Navarre Bible: St. Mark

===== 

Sources and Notes Index       

Herons in shallow water

Herons in shallow water by Ohara Koson, 1934.

Inspector Ghote mystery series

This long running series was respected and enjoyed in its day but now has been largely forgotten. 

Inspector Ghote is a humble, unpretentious police detective in Bombay. His murder investigations take him to every range of society and culture in and around Bombay. He's often up against the frustrations of the Indian criminal justice system as well as those of every-day India. His determination, tenacity, and integrity keep him on track because he loves being a police officer and what it stands for. 

I enjoy these mysteries which are somewhat like an ancestor to my favorite modern Indian detective, Vish Puri. I will have to cover that series soon. Each of these mysteries focuses on an aspect of Indian society that rings really true thanks to the many Indian movies we have watched.

Sam Dastor's reading of the audiobooks bring these to life in a way that the print versions don't for me. In each, the importance of Ghote's solution is perfectly presented in a way that has me listening to the last couple of hours at a fever pitch of impatience to see what will happen. 

Often there aren't a lot of suspects and the mystery may be not about who did the crime as much as how on earth one will get the evidence to prove it. As with the Brother Cadfael mysteries, I don't care about the actual solution as much as I do the setting and the protagonist. I care about Inspector Ghote's adventures in getting the final proof, saving the innocent, catching the criminal — always against overwhelming odds. It's Ghote's resourcefulness and unwavering tenacity that carry the story.

Interestingly London-based author H.R.F Keating wrote the first novels without ever visiting India. He did copious research and eavesdropped on Indians speaking amongst themselves to pick up the patois used. I've seen moderns complaining that the patois is demeaning but, once again informed by the almost 300 Indian movies we've seen, this is spot on. In fact the Indians themselves appreciated these mysteries so much that Air India gave him a three week trip to Bombay so he could see what he wrote about so well.

The Soul of the Rose, a.k.a. My Sweet Rose

John William Waterhouse, The Soul of the Rose, aka My Sweet Rose

Perfect for today when it is our sweet Rose's birthday!

Worth a Thousand Words

Two Headed Toffee Coo, Flickr Scotland.

Adorable and funny — the whole package! I guess I'll never make it back to Scotland but I have such vivid memories of our trip there — before we had kids. What a long time ago but the memories are still bright. (This photo was originally posted in May 2008 — which makes the post itself an antique!)

Lagniappe: Imagine then the interest that surrounded Miss Wintertowne!

It has been remarked (by a lady infinitely cleverer than the present author) how kindly the world in general feels to young people who either die or marry. Imagine then the interest that surrounded Miss Wintertowne! No young lady ever had such advantages: for she died upon the Tuesday, was raised to life in the early hours of Wednesday morning, and was married upon the Thursday; which some people thought too much excitement for one week.

Susanna Clarke,

Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell

A quick search says, "The narrator (a woman) is quoting another woman, likely a reference to Jane Austen (specifically, the opening of Northanger Abbey), regarding how society favors young people who get married or die." That totally checks out. Although with apologies to Jane Austen, nothing she ever wrote was quite as funny as Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrel.

Roosters

Ito Jakuchu, Roosters

There's just something about chicken paintings and this is glorious!

Lagniappe: Eccentric Houses

Houses, like people, are apt to become rather eccentric if left too much on their own; this house was the architectural equivalent of an old gentleman in a worn dressing-gown and torn slippers, who got up and went to bed at odd times of day, and who kept up a continual conversation with friends who no one else could see.

Susanna Clarke, Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell

We've all been in houses like this, right? Fiddled with by people who came and went, benignly left alone by others who lived there, the house takes on a personality of its own. I see photos of houses like this in the WSJ's Friday real estate section. There are "before" photos which show a house that my husband and I would have loved to explore - or to live in "as is." Then there are the "after remodeling" photos when the soul has been ripped out of the place and replaced with bland modernity. Poor thing.

And the Winner Is — 1944

Our family is working our way through Oscar winners and whichever nominees take our fancy. Also as they are available, since these early films continued to be hard to find.

This is the last year until just recently that more than five films could be nominated. Normally we have enjoyed the wide variety. This year, however, ugh! Casablanca was the only genuinely good movie. The others were obviously chosen for artsy quality or topic (WWII anyone?). 

You can't blame them but it didn't make for much enjoyable viewing. Nevertheless we persevered, except for For Whom the Bell Tolls — 3 hours of the Spanish civil war and Hemingway was not going to cut it. We save those long movie nights for Indian movies!

Nominated films that we didn't watch because we'd couldn't find them were The Pied Piper and Wake Island.

WINNER

In Casablanca, Morocco in December 1941, a cynical American expatriate meets a former lover, with unforeseen complications.

1944 Oscar winner. The Academy got this one right. One of the best movies ever made. Interestingly, it was made to show how American indifference to the war was wrong. 

 NOMINEES

Spoiled playboy Henry van Cleve dies and arrives at the entrance to Hell, a final destination he is sure he deserves after living a life of profligacy. The devil, however, isn’t so sure Henry meets Hell’s standards.

There was no contest between this and winner Casablanca. Also, this is nothing like the infinitely more charming 1978 movie of the same name.

In 1858 Lourdes, France, adolescent peasant Bernadette has a vision of “a beautiful lady” in the Massabielle grotto - the townspeople assume this lady to be the Virgin Mary.

A perfectly fine straight-forward telling of Bernadette of Lourdes and the opposition to her reports of the visions of the Virgin Mary. Not really my sort of movie, possibly because I knew of all the events except for after she became a nun.

Set in Washington, D.C., this romantic comedy presents a comic look at the housing shortage during World War II.

We thought we'd see something not about WWII. The joke was on us! It was amusing although it didn't have the feel of the sort of movie that would have been nominated for an Oscar. 

On the eve of World War II, the German Kurt Müller, his American-born wife Sara, and their three children, having lived in Europe for years, visit Sara’s wealthy mother near Washington, DC. Kurt secretly works for the anti-Nazi resistance. A visiting Romanian count, becoming aware of this, seeks to blackmail him.

This was a long, boring, preachy version of Casablanca - American style. It's truly hard to believe that Dashiell Hammett had anything to do with this. Ugh.

A posse discovers a trio of men they suspect of murder and cow theft and are split between handing them over to the law or lynching them on the spot.

This had one message and one message only. No time for subplots! Well done but really depressing. Even more sadly, we've seen enough mobs motivated by feelings that it felt all too familiar. That feels rather surreal, here in 2026.

=======

All the Oscar viewing is here.

Bluethroat

 

Bluethroat, Remo Savisaar

As always, with Remo's exquisite photos, click the link to see this larger.