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The Easter Cycle
“He that shall humble himself shall be exalted” (Mt 23:12). He “emptied Himself, taking the
form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men, and in habit found as a man. He humbled
Himself, becoming obedient unto death, even to the death of the cross. For which cause God
also hath exalted Him and hath given Him a name which is above all names. That in the name
of Jesus, every knee should bow, of those that are in heaven, on earth, and under the earth”
(Phil 2:7 ff.). We may often feel that Satan is still the true lord of the world. Often we are faced
with the baffling riddle of sin, and are overawed by the overwhelming power of Satan, by the
infidelity, evil, and sin we see about us. Yet our faith in the power and dominion of Christ over
sin remains firm, even though it is not apparent. We place our trust entirely in His strong arm,
in His wise providence, in His love which moves Him to work for the salvation of all men. We
cannot comprehend the secrets of His wisdom any more than we can understand the love,
power, and wisdom of God. “Blessed are they that have not seen and have believed” ( Jn 20:29).
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.
Saturday after the Ascension
“After He had spoken to them, He was taken up into the heavens, and sitteth on the right
hand of God” (Gospel). The period of Christ’s visible residence on earth has been completed.
Nevertheless He remains among us through His word: “Behold, I am with you all days, even
to the consummation of the world” (Mt 28:20).
“And they, adoring, went back into Jerusalem with great joy. And they were always in the temple
praising and blessing God” (Lk 24:52 f.). Although the Savior had departed, the disciples were
not saddened, but were rather filled with joy. One of the greatest and most inspiring joys of the
Church is the knowledge that now, even though the Master has withdrawn His visible presence,
she is united to Him by a more intimate union. She is now joined to Him in the unity of the
mystical body as the members are joined to the head. From this moment on, she realizes that
the words of the Master apply to her: “I am the vine, you the branches” ( Jn 15:5). Now He lives
in us and among us. We in turn live by Him as His members, as the branches live by the vine.
During the time of His visible presence on earth, Christ completed the work of redemption.
But He still continues with this work and perfects it in each one of us, although He Himself is
sitting at the right hand of His Father in heaven.
By Christ’s death on the cross we were enabled to become members of His body; but
we have been incorporated, not in the physical body which He possessed on earth, but in the
glorified mystical body which became a reality with His ascension. He found it necessary to
withdraw from us in order to get closer to us, in order to live in us, to be one with us, to share
with us the fruit of His life on earth and of His death on the cross. Of what advantage for us
would the death of Christ be, or His teachings, or the example He gave us, or the exertions He
underwent for us, had He not risen and ascended into heaven? Of what profit would all these
things be to us, if He had not been exalted, if He had not ascended on high that we might share
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