From Ascension Thursday to Ascension Sunday?

BISHOP KEVIN J. SWEENEY

Traditionally, the Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord has been celebrated 40 days after Easter in keeping with the Scriptural reference in Acts: “He presented himself alive to them by many proofs after he had suffered, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God” (Acts 1:3). Easter is a moveable feast, being celebrated on a different date in March or April every year. But 40 days after Easter will always be a Thursday. For pastoral reasons, the Solemnity of the Ascension, which joyfully celebrates the completion of Christ’s work of redemption, can be transferred to the Seventh Sunday of Easter.

I do not believe that we will end up calling it the Solem­nity of the Ascension of the Lord: Ascension Sunday, but (perhaps you have heard?) the Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord is moving from Thursday to Sunday here in our State (Pro­vince) of New Jersey. The Church identifies a “Province” as a geographical location or a group of dioceses, such as the five dioceses that make up the State of New Jersey and are designated as the “Ecclesiastical Province of Newark.” On March 21, I sent the following announcement to all our pastors:

The Latin-rite Diocesan Bishops of the Ecclesiastical Province of Newark met in conference call this past Friday, March 18, 2022 to consider the proposal to permanently transfer the observance of the Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord Jesus from Thursday of the Sixth Week of Easter to the following Sunday. After a long discussion and period of reflection, the bishops have agreed to permanently transfer the observance of the Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord Jesus to the Seventh Sunday of Easter, effective this Easter Season, 2022. This Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord Jesus will be celebrated in all the Latin-rite dioceses of New Jersey on Sunday, May 29, 2022, replacing the liturgical celebration and readings of the Seventh Sunday of Easter.

Full statement of the Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord Jesus

Even as I near the completion of my second full year as a Bishop, I still find myself experiencing and speaking about new and first time experiences. Being involved with Cardinal Tobin and the other bishops of our state in the conversation, discernment and decision to transfer (move) the Solemnity of the Ascension from Thursday to the Seventh Sunday of Easter was certainly a new experience. It was a challenging process, considering good “arguments” both for keeping the Holy Day on a Thursday (40 days after we celebrate the Resurrection) and for transferring it to a Sunday. It was also a spiritually uplifting experience, as it reminded me that we must always listen to the Holy Spirit in prayer, especially when we are faced with difficult decisions.

As we were making this decision, I thought back to the last time that I recall hearing or thinking about a decision made by a group of bishops to make a change to Holy Days of Obligation. I could not remember how long ago it had been, but when I looked it up, I realized that it was more than 30 years ago. Here is part of what you can find on the USCCB website:

“On December 13, 1991 the members of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops of the United States of America made the following general decree concerning holy days of obligation for Latin Rite Catholics:

In addition to Sunday, the days to be observed as holy days of obligation in the Latin Rite dioceses of the United States of America, in conformity with canon 1246, are as follows:

January 1, the solemnity of Mary, Mother of God

Thursday of the Sixth Week of Easter, the solemnity of the Ascension

August 15, the solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary

November 1, the solemnity of All Saints

December 8, the solemnity of the Immaculate Conception

December 25, the solemnity of the Nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ

Whenever January 1, the solemnity of Mary, Mother of God, or August 15, the solemnity of the Assumption, or November 1, the solemnity of All Saints, falls on a Saturday or on a Monday, the precept to attend Mass is abrogated …”

Read the full statement and additional information

If you go to the link and read further, you will also see that in a “Subsequent Action” eight years later (on July 5, 1999), Pope John Paul II approved a decree that gave permission for, “ … Ecclesiastical Provinces of the United States (to) transfer the Ascension of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ from Thursday of the Sixth Week of Easter to the Seventh Sunday of Easter according to the following procedure …” During the past 20 years, the vast majority of Ecclesiastical Provinces (dioceses) have made the change that we are now making in New Jersey.

I recall that when the changes to the Holy Days was made in 1991, one way of interpreting that decision was, “The Ascension, Immaculate Conception and Christmas are always Holy Days of Obligation, but January 1, the solemnity of Mary, Mother of God, the Assumption and All Saints Day are only Holy Days of Obligation if they fall sometime between Tuesday and Friday.” At that time, I felt that the Bishops may have “dropped the ball” or made a mistake. Now, looking back, at least I can understand better how difficult that decision must have been for the bishops at that time and appreciate that they were trying their best to “do the right thing.” Pastoral challenges are often complex and can vary from local church to local church but the universality of our faith is unchanging as we celebrate the Paschal Mystery as the Mystery of Faith that unites us all through baptism.

The Prayer over the Offerings for the Solemnity of the Ascension declares that we offer the Eucharistic sacrifice so “that through this holy exchange, we, too may rise up to heavenly realms” (The Roman Missal). It is striking that before his passion and death, Jesus provides the disciples with a fairly substantial list of instructions through a lengthy farewell address and he gives them encouragement for all that is to come: “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me” (Jn 14:1). While trusting in the will of his Father, Jesus is apprehensive about his approaching death. Jesus knows, too, that the experience of his death will be a wrenching time of tumult for his disciples and so he encourages them: “And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also” (Jn 14:3). The separation of Jesus from the disciples following his crucifixion was brief: three days. But as he prepares to ascend to heaven, and to be out of our sight for years upon thousands, his goodbye is rather terse: “And behold I am sending the promise of my Father upon you; but stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high” (Lk 4 24:49). The reassurance necessary for the disciples and us is less intense following Easter; the Risen Lord is with us in the power of the Holy Spirit.

Hans Urs von Balthasar writes that the Lord is “just so far away that our heart’s longing is kept alive, and just so near that this longing, can give birth to further, vibrant longing.” The Lord of all glory, seated at the right hand of the Father, is present to us always in the Eucharist and so Christ’s closeness sustains us in this world even as he uses it as food to bring us to the next. The Solemnity of the Ascension is the joyful celebration of the Lord’s closeness to us now and our hope to be with him forever in paradise.

Our Church and our world have gone through many changes in the past 30, 50, and 2,000 years. Our Church and our world have gone through many changes in the past two-plus years since March 2020. I find that this change, in when we will celebrate the Feast of the Ascension, gives me the opportunity to say that I do understand that, at times, some very faithful Catholics feel that their Bishops have not made the right call or struggle to understand some of the decisions that their Bishops make. I want to be clear that I believe that this was the right time and the right decision to make regarding the change in when we celebrate the Ascension. I ask that you continue to pray for me, for our Holy Father, Pope Francis, and for all the Bishops of the Church — even and perhaps especially if you feel we may not have made the right decision. The Body of Christ, the Church, is called to “follow in hope” the Lord who has gone to prepare a place for us. We can be confident that in the power of the Holy Spirit we are walking on this journey together.

Whether we celebrate the Ascension on a Thursday or a Sunday, we need to remember its meaning: that Jesus told the Apostles that he would “return to his Father” and, when he did, he would send the Advocate, the Holy Spirit. The Ascension leads to Pentecost, to the coming of the Holy Spirit. In these days, as we approach the Ascension and look forward to Pentecost, let us be united with the whole Church in prayer:

“Come, O Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of the faithful, enkindle in them the fire of your love…”