ASCENSION, NOVENA, PENTECOST

Ascension Day (Thur. May 14) and Ascension Feast (May 16-17)

Ascension Day in Catholic Christian history is observed on the 40th day of Easter.St. Luke records in Scripture that it was Jesus Christ/ 40^th day of Risen Appearances that concluded with His Ascension into heaven, to be seated on a throne in the heavenlies as our One Mediator between God and man, and Heaven and earth. His public appearances as Risen Savior would end in Israel (save for when He would choose to appear through history to people—but He had finished seeing all of His followers of the First Church, and was ready to empower them with the Descent of the Holy Spirit, in Pentecost (the fiftieth day after His rising). He asked His disciples to be in prayer up to that Pentecost outpouring. This began the Ancient Novena to the Holy Spirit.  (A version of that prayer is on our website.)  It 2026, Easter’s Day 40 is May 14.

The Ascension Mystery of Christ is in the Top 5 celebrations of Catholic Christianity. It merited a Holy Day of Obligation for many centuries—as going on a Thursday to church (the 40^th day after Easter)—but in recent times many dioceses in the Church have transferred its Holy Mass celebration to the 7^th Sunday of Easter, with all the Ascension readings and prayers going to that Sunday liturgy. Thus, in 2026 it will be celebrated at the Saturday Vigil of May 16 and the Sunday Masses of May 17. This is true in our Archdiocese of Washington, and of most of the Arch/dioceses of the USA, with just a few exceptions.

However, the Novena to the Holy Spirit is meant to be nine days of prayer, so it begins on the fortieth Day of Easter. It was on the original Ascension Day of Jesus as when He said: “Wait for the Gift My Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.” Acts 1 records this command, and so the few days were the nine days between Jesus’ Ascension and the Descent of the Holy Spirit. The followers waited in Jerusalem, with the key ones doing so in the Upper Room, as St. Luke records.  Soon would come the Birth of the Church: Pentecost.

May 14 is the Ascension Day and May 24 (and vigil) is Pentecost Day in 2026 in The Church.

Jesus’ followers at that Ascension Mount* heard His words, and then, looking up in amazement saw Him “lifted up before their eyes, with a cloud then taking Him out of their sight” (Acts 1:9). At first reaction, they were just left standing there, not yet in response to His prayer-mandate. (Yet it had been a spectacular sight! Let’s give the followers a few minutes to absorb its event!) Suddenly two men dressed in white say to them “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up to heaven? This Jesus who has been taken up from you into heaven, shall come in the same way as you have seen him going up to heaven” (Acts 1:11).                        (* the Mount of Olives)

The Catholic Church has kept its ancient practice of The Novena to the Holy Spirit. It is THE NOVENA of novenas. (Some other novenas happen in the year, like to the Sacred Heart, to St. Jude, to Our Lady of Grace, to the Divine Mercy, and a new one, to St. Mary Undoer of Knots.)

Ascension Day celebrations include processions symbolizing Christ’s entry into heaven and, in some countries, chasing a “devil” through the streets and dunking it in a pond or burning it in effigy – symbolic of the Messiah’s triumph over the devil when he opened the kingdom of heaven to all believers.  (That would be a sight to see, in some parish or shrine practice! Have you seen it?!)

The liturgical color in many churches is white on Ascension Day. Symbols include the ascending Christ, birds flying homeward, open gates, a lion conquering a dragon, Elijah’s fiery chariot and a broken chain.  Also, appropriate would be the symbol of a Throne with Christ sitting on it.

A FOUR-FOLD EASTER MEDITATION  

1/ The Meaning of An Alleluia.  2/ Our inspiration to say an Alleluia. 3/ We need to mature: Alleluia-living help the Catholic to overcome the ‘Peter Pan Problem.’ 4/ The Alleluia Butterfly Effect.

1. The Meaning of An Alleluia.  Alleluia or Hallelujah is the key word of Easter. Some Easter hymns sing it over and over. The Hallelujah Chorus of Handel’s “Messiah” even exclaims it in song 24 times. This chorus, which closes Part II of the oratorio, is set to text from the Book of Revelation (Revelation 19:6, 11:15, and 19:16). Other hymns sing out the Hallelujahs, like the old hymn “Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Let the Holy Anthem Rise” Or“The Strife is O’er the Battle Done, Now is the Victor’s Triumph Won—Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia!” I like all these old Easter hymns, yet I prefer the newer Contemporary Christian songs of the Easter Christ.  “Living Hope” is a 2025 song by Phil Wickham with these lyrics: “The king of kings calls me His own.  Beautiful savior, I’m Yours forever. Jesus Christ, my living hope! Hallelujah, praise the One who set me free! Hallelujah, death has lost its grip on me! You have broken every chain–There’s salvation in Your name–Jesus Christ, my Living Hope!”

A living hope in Jesus Christ supposes that you are living every day in His eternal blessing upon you. We are being made as sons and daughters of the Most High God (Romans 8:15; John 1:12). This calls for ongoing conversion. As we conform more to Jesus, then there is great cause for lifting up an Alleluia of praise, is there not? Alleluia, Alleluia, Christ is on the increase in me!! (John the Baptist said of His life with Jesus: “I must decrease, and He must increase” (Jn 3:30.)

The Hallelujah word is basically translated to. Praise God (or God Be Praised). The sacred word is found much in the Psalms. Hallelujah is also found a few times in the Book of Revelation, echoing the song of Heaven that lasts forever to The Lord Almighty. This is what Handel enjoyed emphasizing in his Messiah work. By the way, although that work is played more at Christmas, it really is more of an Easter theme. “And He shall reign forever and ever” is sung because of Jesus’ Resurrection and Ascension, with His Seating at the Right Hand of The Father.

It is Easter time. Now the Lord Jesus, with aid available to us by Him in His Spirit, is ready to go to work. After a self-emptying of Lent and Holy Week, and a realization again of the Lord’s Mighty Love of us and for us—we go to Easter season. The main order of business for Him to establish/re-establish/strenghen in us is a heart of worship. We see the example of Jesus as a human among us giving praise to the Father all the time (e.g. John 11:41). The believer starts with the great Commandment to Love the Lord Thy God, and how is there more to do it than in praise and worship and participation in Jesus’ life and work? Here is an Easter question; How is that progressing on in your life? How is there no more greater participation in Jesus’ Paschal Mystery than in the Mass (and in exten- sion —adoration of the Blessed Sacrament)? How is your participation in the above fundamentals?  Is it a deepening mystery in you?

2. Our Inspiration(s) to say/pray an Alleluia.   We will have an eternity in the worship of The Lord. The Revelation to St. John (chapter 19) gives his description of heavenly visions:  After this I heard what sounded like the loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying: Alleluia! Salvation, glory, and might belong to our God, for true and just are his judgments.” [Worship went on as] “The twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God saying Amen, Alleluia to the One Who sat on the throne.” A voice (of perhaps a Throne angel, then said): “Praise our God, all you his servants, [and] you who revere him, small and great.” Then I heard some- thing like the sound of a great multitude or rushing water or peals of thunder, as they said: Alleluia! The Lord has established his reign, [our] God, the almighty.  Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory!” (Yes, take note, there is a Divine Liturgy taking place, in which ours on earth in the Holy Mass joins with–Are you praying in that awareness? )

So, in observing these Revelation verses of heavenly worship going on, one can surely concludes that Alleluias will be sung forever to God. The Lord reigns.  This is one great reason to pray up an Alleluia. Thus, we pray in the victory of it. The Lord’s Sacrifice for us (as Lamb of God) is our joy, for Jesus’ Gift is worthy. Hallelu!  (Rev.5. He was found worthy to break open the seals of redemption).

Hallelu is a more informal version of the great praise word.  I remember a folk song from my youth that went this way: Hallelu, Hallelu, everybody sing Hallelu! For the Lord is Risen, this is true! Everybody sing Hallelu.   I can also recall a popular charismatic prayer group song that went this way: Hallelu, Hallelu, Hallelu, Hallelu-Ya!  Praise To the Lord!   As you say your prayers this season, either in planned times or spontaneously in a walk or drive, say Allelu, Hallelujah or Alleluia over and over.  The Lord deserves to hear it cried forth in joy.

As I realized in Revelation 19 that Alleluias will be sung in Glory by all the saints and angels in perfect wonder to God, it has changed how I hear the Alleluia word. One of the ways that I hear the word Alleluia in my faith now and how I use and pray it to The Lord. Here’s a prayer example: Praise God—I am growing and moving along to more maturity.  Praise God, I have reached this new point of my faith, as I head to my one day embrace of The Lord into Glory and the Eternal Liturgy. I’ll one day pray it in His Presence. Praise God, for while this broken world meanders along, I know a Perfect Kingdom is being prepared for God’s own!

3. Alleluias are the prayers of maturing Catholics. We need to do some Alleluia-living out of those lifted prayers. Saying and singing Alleluias in our lives are our acknowledgement of Christ’ Kingship over us and the Life of the Spirit driving me onward. As we keep adding Alleluias and Easters into our life experiences, and let ourselves be faith-driven in praise, it is for the hope that we will become persons who are getting deeper and further in love and service of Our Lord Jesus Christ.

Yet there is the ‘Peter Pan problem’ to overcome. What is this problem? It is of the selfish person inside me who has a streak to want to just stay the same. It is my selfish side asking: Why do I have to mature more? I like it where I am at!  This was the line from a man having trouble in his young marriage. His wife said that immaturity on his part was keeping their shared lives from growing. (He just loved his private video games and gaming.)  In another example, as I met in an adult men’s group, we admitted one time of how men sometimes just want to not grow up to all our calls and responsibilities.  We called it overcoming  the Peter Pan Problem.   In Peter Pan, the boy who wants to never grow up sings proudly, “I’ll never grow up — not me!   It’s a catchy tune, but Peter’s defiant refusal to grow up is a fitting metaphor for the spiritual life.

  Never Grow Up is a catchy tune, but Peter’s defiant refusal to grow up is a fitting metaphor for the spiritual life. The Bible calls us to mature in our faith, to grow in wisdom, love, and understanding. Yet for many of us, it’s easy to get stuck in the early stages of our faith, and like Peter Pan, we sometimes don’t want to grow up, such as in our Catholic Faith. Our annual Lents and Easters call for conversion and renewal, and the joy of many Alleluias—but some want to pass on the “joy” of more or ongoing conversion in Christ, even while Scriptures plead us to it. To clarify things here: Childish faith is different from a Child-like faith. While Matthew 18 calls us to a child-like trust in God, this point of an Alleluia driven maturity is more to the meaning of 1 Corinthians 13. A childlike faith is beautiful; a childish faith is stunted. Paul drew that distinction when he wrote, When I was a child, I used to talk as a child, think as a child, reason as a child; when I became a man, I put aside childish things” (verse 11).

Not enough people in the Church really change in their Easter journeys. It’s not mainly a season of renewal to them. That’s too bad. Thus, their Easter time may not hold the caterpillar-to-butterfly joy –all because they inwardly did not want the transformation, nor want the help of the Holy Spirit for it to come fully about. It is why St. Paul wrote to the Roman church with an explanation: “Therefore, I tell you that nobody speaking can really say “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit. (Romans 12:3)

A good remedy for loosening your tongue and heart for many Alleluias is to us these holy seasons of Spring to ask the Lord for the ability to grow, and to show witness to a Jesus-is-Lord reality in you. This reality will take a lifelong formation of step by step growth. Yet the reality is bubbling up when we begin to say/pray true Alleluias of the heart to God, for His saving and redeeming us in Christ and then in turning us into vessels with the Spirit of Christ within.  It led St. Paul to give praise for “Christ in us, the hope of glory!” (Colossians 1:27) Yet going back to Paul’s words to Corinth, of forsaking child-ish ways, many of us, though, still cling to child-ish ways of thinking about God. We want God to solve all our problems, grant our wishes, and make life easy. When things don’t go our way, we pout or withdraw. Our prayers can sound like a spiritual wish list rather than a conversation of love. We might say we trust God, but we still insist on keeping control. We need to get out of a Peter Pan thing.

4. The Alleluia Butterfly Effect

In Catholic men’s groups, we share of this desire of becoming the man who prays and who praises, and who shines rays of God’s light and raises the Body of Christ up. In groups like That Man is You, men will admit to their Peter Pan Problem, of rather wanting to just stay in some easy, fun and non-challenging place, focused mostly on our self, and not on the Lord’s big call to maturity in faith. (Or, in what others need of us in the Church and the family.) Men are called to show service and leadership for the Church, while often it is mostly only the women doing so in parish life.  It is why some new ministries are arising to address the Catholic men’s maturity issue.

A different Peter (the Apostle, not the flying figure) urges believers: “Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, so that through it you may grow into salvation” (1 Peter 2:2). But notice that the early Church leaders had stages for growth, for after the basics of faith, we had meaty meals of faith to consume. Peter didn’t want us to stay on milk for

ever. Neither did other church leaders. In Hebrews 5:12–14, the writer gives a gentle but firm rebuke: “Though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic elements of God’s word. You need milk, not solid food; for everyone who lives on milk is still an infant in the knowledge of righteousness. But solid food is for the mature.” In other words, the goal of our Christian life is growth, moving from milk to meat, from comfort to challenge, from self-centeredness to self-giving love.  As we get caught up in what the Alleluias mean in our Easter, it is to become more deeply in love and worship and service to our God in this season of our lives.

St. Theresa of Avila wrote in her works of her built up life of faith as getting into a Butterfly mode. She could see that she had surrendered her life enough to God so as to notice the heavenly person begin to emerge in her.  It was a wonderful realization to her.

I just love it when I see it in a parish

 or in groups of fellow Catholics. It’s an Alleluia time to celebrate the works of the Spirit of Christ happening in us, and witnessing out to the Church and the world.  Then, it also makes it seeable that there are people in the body of believers who have not filled up with Alleluias, for the resistance of growing up or within themselves in Christ for conversion and conformity to Him, and it then shows for a reluctance to be in the spirit of praise to the Eucharistic Christ for all He is inside the Church.

We men in these groups of admittance of our own reluctant faith know the reasons for the part Alleluias but not full ones. Maybe it’s because we’ve been comfortable to stay where we are. Children live carefree lives under the protection of others. Growing up means taking responsibility. Spiritually speaking, growth means surrendering our illusions of control, facing our sins honestly, and allowing God to stretch us. That’s uncomfortable.  Yet He is ABBA God. We can trust Him.

Sure, God knows how we might have some discomfort to our selfish orientations of when He calls us to grow more. Stubbornness is one of the human frailties God has to consider in His leading us on. But He shows in lessons, such as in nature of the transformation of a caterpillar into a butterfly, that good things will come to our openness to His will. As St. Theresa says, God wants the great change of our full maturity in Christ to be attained. It will be the change needed for us to fly into paradise, in the growth of full wings.

To conclude with a Scripture. We must no longer be infants, tossed by waves and blown about by every wind of doctrine… Rather, living the truth in love, we should grow in every way into him who is the head, Christ…so be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and put on the new self, created in God’s way in righteousness and holiness of truth.  (Eph. 4:14–15, 23-24).  ALLELUIA, ALLELUIA.