9781644135945

The Light of the World
Prayer
Grant, we beseech Thee, O almighty God, that we who believe Thy only-begotten Son, our
Redeemer, has this day ascended into heaven, may ourselves also dwell in spirit on heavenly
things. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Friday after the Ascension
“The Lord is in Sinai, in the holy place” (Alleluia verse). “Let us praise the King of kings”
(Antiphon at Lauds). The feast of the Ascension is a day of triumph for Christ. He is the Lord.
Christ is the Lord, the Kyrios (Phil 2:11). He has accomplished man’s deliverance from
sin, and has taken His seat “on the right hand of the Majesty on high, being made so much
better than the angels, as He hath inherited a more excellent name than they. For to which
of the angels hath He [God] said at any time: Thou art My Son, today have I begotten
Thee. . . . Sit on My right hand until I make Thy enemies Thy footstool?” (Heb 1:3–5, 13.)
It was not to the angels that He subjected the world of the future (the Church of the New
Testament), but to Christ, His Son. “What is man that Thou art mindful of Him? Or the son
of man that Thou visitest him? . . . Thou hast crowned Him with glory and honor [through
His Ascension]. . . . Thou hast subjected all things under His feet” (Ps 8:5 ff.; Heb 2:6 ff.).
If it is said, “Thou hast subjected all things under His feet,” then there is nothing that is not
subject to Him (Heb 2:8). He Himself has assured us: “All power is given to Me in heaven
and in earth” (Mt 28:18). When we sing the gloria we joyfully acknowledge His dominion:
“Thou who sittest at the right hand of the Father, have mercy on us. For Thou alone art holy;
Thou alone art the Lord; Thou alone, O Jesus Christ, art most high, together with the Holy
Ghost, in the glory of God the Father.” We firmly believe that Christ, God Incarnate, is the
Lord. We thank God that He has thus exalted our Lord and that He has subjected all things
to His dominion. We, too, will be subject to Him, to His will, to His commandments, to
His Church and its ministers.
The reign of Christ gives Him the right to rule over all that has been made subject to
Him, in heaven and on earth, in time and eternity. Men and angels and all created things,
both now and throughout all eternity, must obey the will of the Father and of His risen
Son, our Savior, and honor Them. “Thou alone art the Lord.” Christ is the Lord, not only
of the Sabbath, but of all days; not only of a part of the day, but of the whole day; not only
of one locality, but of the whole world. All our internal and external acts, all of our actions
and deeds, must be performed to serve Him and promote His honor; they must preach
Christ and be subject to His will and pleasure. Our most personal desires, our most secret
ambitions, our very essence and being belong to Him. “Thou alone art the Lord.” He is the
absolute Master of all things. His is a supremacy to which all else is subdued. God has made
us completely and entirely dependent on Christ in all our desires and actions. This dependence
embraces not only individuals, but the whole community; it includes all nations and
all races. Today heaven and earth and hell must all confess, now and forever, that Christ is
the Lord (cf. Phil 2:10 ff.). We willingly accept this domination of Christ over us, over all
mankind, over all creation. We pray that all may be subject to Him and confess Him as their
Master. “Thy kingdom come.”
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