Ascension Archives - Catechist's Journey

Pop-Up Catechesis: The Ascension and Three Questions

Imagine that a terrible storm caused considerable damage to the area you live in, including your home. Once the storm passes, you and your neighbors emerge from your homes to assess the damage. Relief workers and first responders are everywhere, but everything is in chaos. In fact, some scam artists are posing as relief workers and are seeking to take advantage of folks. In order to figure out how to get help for you, your family, […]

stained glass of the Ascension - detail of the Glorious Mysteries - image by Daniel VILLAFRUELA, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

The Glorious Mysteries: The Ascension and Accompaniment

Jayne Ragasa-Mondoy

We reflect this Easter season on the Glorious Mysteries of the Rosary. Have you ever stared at something or someone in wondrous awe? Or felt unprepared to take on a profoundly important mission? Each time I contemplate the Second Glorious Mystery, the Ascension of our Lord, I realize how much Jesus had prepared the disciples for the evangelizing mission that lay ahead and for the time when his work on earth would come to completion. […]

Ascension Leads to Looking at Summer Spiritual Experiences

Paul Gallagher

As we celebrate the Lord’s Ascension, just about all of us have moved into the more peaceful period between the end of the religious education year and the start of Vacation Bible School. When I worked in a parish, I savored each and every one of those days, and as I was praying, I turned to St. Luke’s version of the Ascension story (Luke 24:50–53). What struck me in those few verses is that Jesus’ […]

Ascension en el Retablo Mayor de la Catedral del Salvador de Zaragoza - Image by Zarateman (Own work) [CC0], via Wikimedia Commons

Celebrating the Ascension

Darcy Osby

The Feast of the Ascension of the Lord often happens after our religious education sessions are over for the school year. However, it can be the perfect final lesson of the year as students depart for the summer. Include the Ascension in your lesson plan for the final session by encouraging students to be disciples over the summer. Just as Jesus left the Twelve with a mission, you can do the same. I Am with […]

Eight Ways to Teach Ascension and Pentecost

Joyce Donahue

Ascension and Pentecost—the two great feasts that signal the end of the Easter season—often occur at the end of the school year. They may even occur after religious education programs have ended. We can easily forget about them. But understanding Ascension and Pentecost is essential if our young people are going to grow into what Pope Francis has called a Church of “missionary disciples.” Jesus gave us a mission to “Go into all the world and […]

3 Questions at the Heart of the Celebration of the Ascension/Ascension icon

Three Questions at the Heart of the Celebration of the Ascension

Joe Paprocki

The Ascension of the Lord is a feast that often seems to lack the “punch” of other aspects of the Paschal Mystery. We tend to “get” the Incarnation, the suffering, Death, and Resurrection of Jesus. But why is it important to know that Jesus ascended into heaven? Does this feast simply tell us where he went? And what does it mean that “he is seated at the right hand of the Father?” Is there really […]

Ascension to Pentecost: The First Novena - free downloads

Ascension to Pentecost: The First Novena—Free Poster and Booklet

Joe Paprocki

During the Easter season, we look at the Gospel stories of Jesus Christ’s appearances after the Resurrection. At the end of 40 days, Jesus ascended into heaven, promising to send a helper to the disciples as they took on their mission of spreading the Good News. That helper—the Holy Spirit—came 10 days later on the day of Pentecost. Between the Ascension and the coming of the Holy Spirit, the Apostles and Mary waited in prayer […]

Well-Intentioned Memes – Bad Theology/Catechesis

Joe Paprocki

If you inhabit Facebook, you know that memes are all the rage – these images with phrases or captions, often humorous, sarcastic, or inspirational, that spread like wildfire through social media. They can be great fun and they can also be a powerful tool for communication. There was a proliferation of these during the papal conclave, most of them very funny. Here’s one of my favorites: Occasionally, however, I come across some Catholic memes that, while well-intentioned, […]

The Ascension: Did Jesus Really Go Up?

Joe Paprocki

As we prepare to celebrate the Feast of the Ascension, it might be good to look at an FAQ associated with this feast, namely, “Isn’t the Ascension of Jesus based on outdated science?” I have to admit that this question has popped into my mind, making me wonder just what it is that we are celebrating on this feast. If science has shown that “heaven” is not to be equated with “outer space,” then where […]

Easter Season Lessons?

Joe Paprocki

Happy Easter everyone!!! I received the following email from Margaret Ann, asking for some help. Hi Joe, I started putting together my next Family Program for the Home Schooler Rel. Ed. folks at my parish. I’m thinking along the lines of the Easter Season Readings/Feast Days – Ascension, Pentecost. I am leaning on the theme of New Growth, Gardening, Spring, Rogation Days (the ritual of blessing the fields – this year they are May 10, 11, […]