Page 5 - Summer Solemnities - Venture

The Ascension of the Lord
Forty days after Easter, we celebrate the Ascension of the Lord. We remember
Jesus’ return to his Father in Heaven. But Jesus did not leave us alone. He promised to send us the Holy Spirit to stay with us. In the First Reading, Saint Luke tells us more about what happened at Jesus’ Ascension. You can read part of it here:
When they had gathered together they asked him,
“Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”
[Jesus] answered them, “It is not for you to know the times or seasons that the Father has established by his own authority.
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, throughout Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
When he had said this, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him from their sight.
While they were looking intently at the sky as he was going, suddenly two men dressed in white garments stood beside them.
They said, “Men of Galilee, why are you standing there looking at the sky?
This Jesus who has been taken up from you into heaven will return in the same way as you have seen him going into heaven.
Like the Apostles, we raise our eyes and hearts to Heaven
in our prayers. Sometimes at
Mass, incense is used to remind us of this. Incense comes
from hardened plant material called resin. An example is frankincense, one of the gifts the wise men, or Magi, brought to baby Jesus.
You may have seen the clouds of smoke from incense at Mass. It is burned safely
in a metal container called
a thurible. Grains of incense are spooned on top of lighted charcoal. A priest, deacon, or altar server gently swings the thurible to release the smoke. As the smoke drifts upward,
it gives off a sweet odor that reminds us of the goodness of Heaven. It also helps us picture our prayers drifting upward to God. Incense reminds us that our celebration of the Eucharist brings us into God’s holy presence. We are as close to Heaven as we can be while we are here on earth.
Burning incense is an ancient tradition that we read about
in the Bible. Look up these passages in your Bible to finish the quotes about incense.
See how one parish trains altar servers for using incense and the thurible
He placed the golden altar in the tent of meeting, in front of the veil,
and on it he burned fragrant incense,
as the Lord had ____________________.
Exodus 40:26—27
Let my ______________ be incense before you.
Psalm 141:2
. . . the angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right of the altar of ____________________.
Luke 1:11
The smoke of the incense along with the prayers of the holy ones went up before God from
the hand of the ____________________.
Revelation 8:4
Acts 1:6-11
Ascension of the Lord Venture • 5
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