

He emphasized that Jesus, who humbled Himself while here upon the earth, is now highly exalted in heaven. The Apostle Paul wrote about the exaltation of Jesus Christ to the Philippians. Jesus has now returned to His place of honor with God the Father. The ascension accomplished the answer to this prayer. We find that Jesus prayed to receive His former glory in His prayer to God the Father on the night of His betrayal:Īnd now, Father, bring me into the glory we shared before the world began. This is where He took hold of what was rightfully His. The ascension was also Jesus’ return to the place of His former residence. It Was Jesus’ Return to His Former Residence and Glory He is now ministering in a heavenly sanctuary.Ģ. Yet His ministry continues as our high priest in heaven. Jesus’ earthly ministry was complete with His ascension. Now the main point in what we are saying is this: we have such a high priest, one who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens, a minister in the sanctuary and the true tent that the Lord, and not any mortal, has set up. He emphasizes that Jesus ascension means that now Christ sits as our high priest in the heavens:

It was, therefore, the culmination of His first coming to the earth. The last act He performed before taking His place in heaven was the ascension.

It Was the End of Jesus’ Earthly Ministryįirst, the ascension meant the end of the earthly ministry of Christ. Indeed, it is significant for a number of reasons. The ascension of Jesus Christ is one of the most important events in His life and ministry.

Let us therefore recite this prayer with the emotion of children who are happy because their mother is happy.The Ascension of Jesus and His Present Ministry as High Priest – Question 2 In fact, our joy is a reflection of Mary’s joy, for it is she who guarded and guards with faith the events of Jesus. “In this prayer, expressed by the Alleluia, we turn to Mary inviting her to rejoice, because the One whom she carried in her womb is Risen as He promised, and we entrust ourselves to her intercession. It is composed of four short verses, each ending with an “alleluia.” With the Regina Coeli, the faithful turn to Mary, the Queen of Heaven, to rejoice with her at the Resurrection of Christ.Īt the Regina Coeli on Easter Monday of 2015, Pope Francis spoke about the spiritual dispositions that should animate the faithful as they recite this Marian prayer: This ancient antiphon arose, according to a pious tradition, in the 6th century it is attested in documentary sources from the first half of the 13 th century, when it was inserted in the Franciscan breviary. Like the Angelus, the Regina Coeli is said three times a day, at dawn, at noon, and at dusk, in order to consecrate the day to God and the Virgin Mary. It is recited standing as a sign of Christ’s victory over death. It was Pope Benedict XIV who, in 1742, enjoined the recitation of the Regina Coeli in place of the Angelus during Eastertide, that is, from Easter Sunday to the end of Pentecost. The antiphon Regina Coeli (“Queen of Heaven”) is one of four traditional Marian antiphons, the others being Alma Redemptoris Mater, Ave Regina Coelorum, and Salve Regina.
