Nebab #61 Ascension
NEBAB #61
The Orthodox Tewahedo Magazine
ASCENSION
Ethiopian Orthodox Church
Archdiocese of the Caribbean and Latin America
Christ is Risen From The Dead
With Great Power and Authority
He bound Satan, He freed Adam
Peace
Henceforth
Let there be
Happiness and Peace!
Christ promised believers that "I will come again and take you to myself, so that where I am, you may be also." John 14:3
Christians there fore believe that at the final resurrection God will raise both soul and body together in glory and bring the faithful into heaven
Sain Paul also said "Our citizenship is in heaven." Phillippians 3:20
The Holy Fathers of our Church also affirms Christ's Ascension in the Nicene Creed:
"He ascended into heaven in glory, sat at the right hand of the Father, and He shall come again in glory to judge the living and the dead; His kingdom shall have no end."
This text explains that the same Christ who came down from heaven is the One who ascended again in glory.
"No one has ascended into heaven except the One who came down from heaven, the Son of Man"
John 3:13.
According to Church tradition, this day is also the day Christ entrusted priesthood ministry to His disciples. Therefore, it is a feast of great remembrance and mystery. Church scholars command believers to honor the Feast of Ascension because on this day Christ completed His earthly ministry, established the ranks of priesthood, ascended to the Father who sent Him, and sat at the Father's right hand.
Before ascending, Christ told His disciples
"It is better for you that I go away...If I go, I will send the Comforter to you."
John 16:7
He also told them:
"The Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, will teach you all things and remind you of everything, I have told you."
John 14:26
Believing this promise, the disciples looked toward heaven as Christ ascended, and on the 50th day the Holy Spirit descended upon them. Likewise, we lift our eyes toward heaven as we remember His Ascension. And also remember that in like manner He shall return (Acts 1:11)
Just as the Holy Apostles faithfully fulfilled the commandments entrusted to them until the end of their lives, Christians today should also: (i) practice humility (ii) endure suffering faithfully, (iii) hold firmly to the hope of resurrection (iv) live according to God's will (v) unite good works with true faith
The Feast of the Ascension should be celebrated with prayer, thanksgiving, worship, participation in the Divine Liturgy and receiving Holy Communion
Ascension is a feast of victory and glory
The Holy Spirit gave the heart of the believers a taste of heaven so the
believers will wish always to go to heaven. The Saints always have this desire
in their heart to go to heaven every time because they felt the beauty and taste
of heaven even while they are still on earth.
May God grant to us wisdom and understanding so that we may remain steadfast in the faith, keep His commandments and live for eternal life. Amen
As great as the creation of the universe was, the Incarnation of the Word of God was greater. The Living Word of the Father took our flesh and made it one with His divinity, and how great is this mystery? The angels marvelled at the Incarnation, you see: they look down and saw God the Word in the womb of a small Virgin, and they looked up and saw Him sitting on the throne of the Trinity. Since the eagles gather together where the carcass is, the angels who constantly encircle and glorify God performed their praises in heaven and in the Virgin's womb, and again in the cave where she laid Him, and again in the desert where He went to be tempted by the devil, and again in the boat where He slept, and again in the judgement hall where He stood before Pilate. Heaven and earth had become one, because God the Word who is the King of both came and entered His creation, walking in a body of muscle and bone on streets of clay and stone, eating bread and fish, wearing clothes of linen, while at the same time never stopping from ruling the universe, holding the world in His hands, suspending the lights in the heavens, establishing the earth on its foundations.
This One who descended and became One of us, only without sin, ascended into heaven to the Father Who sent Him and sat down at the right hand of power. The angels marvelled! Because they saw the flesh of man sitting on the throne of the Ineffable Holy Trinity. When God the Word became incarnate He made our human nature and His divine nature into one nature, and ascended into heaven having only His one incarnate nature- and the Unchanging Holy Trinity is unchanged. The One who descended and took flesh from the Virgin Mary took that flesh into heaven, above the 7 heavens. Human flesh is sitting on the throne of God in heaven! But how can you believe this thing if you do not believe when we tell you that Divine Fire burned in the womb of a Virgin, and did not consume her, or that the One-Who-Keeps-Israel-and-Will-Never-Slumber slept in a boat on the sea, or that the One-Who-Would-Not-Tell-Us-if-He-Were-Hungry-for-the-Earth-is-His-and-All-that-is-in-It asked for something to eat, and ate a piece of broiled fish and some honeycomb?
He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.
What is the difference between rest and distraction?
Come to Me, all you who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. (Matthew 11:28) The above words of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ show clearly that rest is a gift of the loving God to mankind. That there is a healthy interrelationship between labour and rest is also widely affirmed within our contemporary society. Understood as a theological concept, rest is of far more than mere practical or functional significance, however. There is a sacred dimension to rest, a model offered to us by God Himself, Who according to the Bible rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done (Genesis 2:2). This supreme model suggests that rest is far more than a mere cessation of worldly activity; rather, rest is a spiritually imitative act of profound reverence for our Creator. To rest is to recognize with humility our privileged place in the grand scheme of God’s Creation. Our resting from our labours can never translate into a vacation or departure from our worship and praise of God. Our resting from our labours grants us especially refreshing opportunities for spiritual renewal, occasions to retreat away from the demands of the workplace so that we may revitalize our souls through prayer and the quiet contemplation of God. (Adapted from a certain father’s writing on the sacredness of rest.) Distraction: The problem of the distracted mind was quite well known to the Fathers and saints of our Church since ancient times. Stray thoughts are distractions, and are not important. There is no thought as important as your prayer. If something is truly important, it will recur to you after the prayer. You do not need to try to remember it later or note it down. Our prayer, especially our Liturgy, helps us greatly to overcome the problem of distraction, which is a problem of idleness. At the start of the liturgy the Priest of Deacon invites and encourages us to keep our minds from distraction with these words: “... abide within the church and listen to the word of the priest and listen to him who asks forgiveness on behalf of thee and all sinners that their God may grant pardon to them. “O man, if thou desirest to receive forgiveness of thy sins, why dost thou go out from the church while another is bowing and asking for mercy on thy behalf? And why art thou idle? At that time you let your mind wander from place, you who are sealed with the seal of the heavenly bridegroom, even Christ.” Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit. One God. May God bless and strengthen. Amen.
A miracle performed by Our Lady Mary, Holy Twofold Virgin, the Mother of God. May the blessing of her prayer be with servant Helawie Kerestos forever and ever. Amen.
There was a church of Our Lady Mary, Holy Twofold Virgin, the Mother of God.
There was an oil container in the sanctuary that was hanging by a rope.
One day, the rope broke, but the oil container didn’t fall to the ground. Neither was it thrown up. Instead, it remained suspended in mid-air, perfectly balanced between the floor and the ceiling.
A priest noticed [this miraculous sight] and rang the bell to gather the congregation.
The people came and saw the hanging container. They thanked God and praised Our Lady Mary, Holy Twofold Virgin, the Mother of God.
May the blessing of her prayer be with her servant Helawie Kerestos forever and ever. Amen.
Miracle of Mary: https://pemm.princeton.edu/en-us/stories/443
On the Feast of the Ascension : On the Feast of The Ascension | Citydesert
The Ascension Feast Sermon by Fr. Daoud Lamei 2021
https://t.me/Kidus_Michaelabate_12
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