O Happy Fault, O Happy Departure, by Adam Lucas

Today the Church celebrates the Feast of the Ascension, although in many U.S. dioceses it will not be celebrated until Sunday. The feast evokes many thoughts and feelings. It tells us we’re near the end of the Easter season. We may wonder where the time went. We might be looking forward to Pentecost and anticipating the newness of the Holy Spirit. Or, we might be remembering ham dinner and wondering how we gained so much weight in only forty days.

But rarely are we thinking about the actual Ascension, mostly because there doesn’t seem to be much to think about. Of course Jesus had to go back to Heaven, and we should be happy for that. For many years, I didn’t see the Ascension as having any more significance than this. It was a necessary bookend on the Easter narrative, something to cap off the story, but had little bearing on me. If anything, it brought a certain sadness to it. Jesus is gone; and I, for one, would appreciate being able to sit and chat with Him. …