Ascension on Sunday

by Paul Turner

The Ascension originated as a Thursday celebration because of the story of the event from the opening of the Acts of the Apostles. There, Luke says that Jesus rose from the dead, appeared to believers for 40 days and then ascended to the heavens. Even though the accounts of the ascension in the Gospels suggest it took place after a shorter period of time, the liturgy of the church has honored the chronology from Acts by celebrating the Ascension on Thursday of the sixth week of Easter.

The Solemnity of the Ascension is one of 10 days that may be a holy day of obligation. Not all countries have the same holy days. In those countries where the Ascension is not a holy day, the solemnity is transferred to the following Sunday. The United States is so large and its needs so varied that Rome has granted it permission to decide on the date of this one solemnity by region. It is possible within the United States for Ascension to be on a Thursday in one state and on a Sunday in another. Travelers are expected to honor the custom of the place where they are that week.

Those celebrating Ascension on Sunday will miss the Mass texts of the Seventh Sunday of Easter, filled with anticipation for the Spirit of Pentecost. Those attending weekday Masses may notice that the responsorial psalm on Friday and Saturday of the Sixth Week of Easter is a seasonal psalm for the Ascension, even if their community will not celebrate the solemnity until Sunday.

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Paul Turner, pastor of St. Munchin Parish in Cameron, MO, holds a doctorate in sacramental theology from Sant' Anselmo University in Rome.