Invitatory
Lord, open thou my lips.
And my mouth shall declare thy praise.
Antiphon: Come, let us adore Christ the Lord, who ascends into heaven, alleluia.
Psalm 94 / 95
Come let us praise the Lord with joy: let us joyfully sing to God our saviour.
Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving; and make a joyful noise to him with psalms.
For the Lord is a great God, and a great King above all gods.
For in his hand are all the ends of the earth: and the heights of the mountains are his.
For the sea is his, and he made it: and his hands formed the dry land.
Come let us adore and fall down: and weep before the Lord that made us.
For he is the Lord our God: and we are the people of his pasture and the sheep of his hand.
Today if you shall hear his voice, harden not your hearts.
Antiphon: Come, let us adore Christ the Lord, who ascends into heaven, alleluia.
Hymn
Hail the day that sees Him rise, alleluia!
To His throne above the skies, alleluia!
Christ, the Lamb for sinners given, alleluia!
Enters now the highest heaven, alleluia!
There for Him high triumph waits, alleluia!
Lift your heads, eternal gates, alleluia!
He hath conquered death and sin, alleluia!
Take the King of glory in, alleluia!
Psalmody
Antiphon 1
Men of Galilee, why stand you looking up to heaven? This Jesus shall so come as you have seen him going into heaven, alleluia.
Psalm 92 / 93
The Lord hath reigned, he is clothed with beauty:
the Lord is clothed with strength, and hath girded himself.
For he hath established the world,
which shall not be moved.
Thy throne is prepared from of old:
thou art from everlasting.
The floods have lifted up, O Lord:
the floods have lifted up their voice.
The floods have lifted up their waves,
with the noise of many waters.
Wonderful are the surges of the sea:
wonderful is the Lord on high.
Thy testimonies are become exceedingly credible:
holiness becometh thy house, O Lord, unto length of days.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son,
and to the Holy Ghost.
As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen.
Antiphon 1
Men of Galilee, why stand you looking up to heaven? This Jesus shall so come as you have seen him going into heaven, alleluia.
Antiphon 2
God is ascended with jubilee, and the Lord with the sound of trumpet, alleluia.
Canticle — Daniel 3
Bless the Lord, all ye works of the Lord:
praise and exalt him above all for ever.
O ye angels of the Lord, bless the Lord:
O ye heavens, bless the Lord.
O all ye waters that are above the heavens, bless the Lord:
O all ye powers of the Lord, bless the Lord.
O ye sun and moon, bless the Lord:
O ye stars of heaven, bless the Lord.
O every shower and dew, bless ye the Lord:
O all ye spirits of God, bless the Lord.
O ye fire and heat, bless the Lord:
O ye cold and heat, bless the Lord.
O ye dews and hoar frosts, bless the Lord:
O ye frost and cold, bless the Lord.
O ye ice and snow, bless the Lord:
O ye nights and days, bless the Lord.
O ye light and darkness, bless the Lord:
O ye lightnings and clouds, bless the Lord.
Let the earth bless the Lord:
let it praise and exalt him above all for ever.
O ye mountains and hills, bless the Lord:
O all ye things that spring up in the earth, bless the Lord.
O ye fountains, bless the Lord:
O ye seas and rivers, bless the Lord.
O ye whales, and all that move in the waters, bless the Lord:
O all ye fowls of the air, bless the Lord.
O all ye beasts and cattle, bless the Lord:
O ye sons of men, bless the Lord.
Let Israel bless the Lord:
let them praise and exalt him above all for ever.
O ye priests of the Lord, bless the Lord:
O ye servants of the Lord, bless the Lord.
O ye spirits and souls of the just, bless the Lord:
O ye holy and humble of heart, bless the Lord.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son,
and to the Holy Ghost.
As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen.
Antiphon 2
God is ascended with jubilee, and the Lord with the sound of trumpet, alleluia.
Antiphon 3
The Lord Jesus was taken up into heaven and sitteth at the right hand of God, alleluia.
Psalm 148
Praise ye the Lord from the heavens:
praise ye him in the high places.
Praise ye him, all his angels:
praise ye him, all his hosts.
Praise ye him, O sun and moon:
praise him, all ye stars and light.
Praise him, ye heavens of heavens:
and let all the waters that are above the heavens praise the name of the Lord.
For he spoke, and they were made:
he commanded, and they were created.
He hath established them for ever, and for ages of ages:
he hath made a decree, and it shall not pass away.
Praise the Lord from the earth,
ye dragons, and all ye deeps.
Fire, hail, snow, ice, stormy winds,
which fulfil his word.
Mountains and all hills,
fruitful trees and all cedars.
Beasts and all cattle,
serpents and feathered fowls.
Kings of the earth and all people,
princes and all judges of the earth.
Young men and maidens,
let the old with the younger praise the name of the Lord.
For his name alone is exalted:
the praise of him is above heaven and earth.
And he hath exalted the horn of his people:
a hymn to all his saints, to the children of Israel, a people approaching to him.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son,
and to the Holy Ghost.
As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen.
Antiphon 3
The Lord Jesus was taken up into heaven and sitteth at the right hand of God, alleluia.
Short Reading — Acts 1:10–11
And while they were beholding him going up to heaven, behold two men stood by them in white garments. Who also said: Ye men of Galilee, why stand you looking up to heaven? This Jesus who is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come, as you have seen him going into heaven.
Responsory
The Lord is risen, alleluia, alleluia.
The Lord is risen, alleluia, alleluia.
He hath ascended above the heavens.
Alleluia, alleluia.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost.
The Lord is risen, alleluia, alleluia.
Benedictus Antiphon
I ascend to my Father and to your Father, to my God and your God, alleluia.
Canticle of Zechariah — Luke 1:68–79
Blessed be the Lord God of Israel;
because he hath visited and wrought the redemption of his people.
And hath raised up an horn of salvation to us,
in the house of David his servant.
As he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets,
who are from the beginning.
Salvation from our enemies,
and from the hand of all that hate us.
To perform mercy to our fathers,
and to remember his holy testament.
The oath, which he swore to Abraham our father,
that he would grant to us.
That being delivered from the hand of our enemies,
we may serve him without fear.
In holiness and justice before him,
all our days.
And thou, child, shalt be called the prophet of the Highest:
for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways.
To give knowledge of salvation to his people,
unto the remission of their sins.
Through the bowels of the mercy of our God,
in which the Orient from on high hath visited us.
To enlighten them that sit in darkness, and in the shadow of death:
to direct our feet into the way of peace.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son,
and to the Holy Ghost.
As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen.
Benedictus Antiphon
I ascend to my Father and to your Father, to my God and your God, alleluia.
Intercessions
Christ our Lord has ascended to the Father and has not abandoned his Church. Let us pray:
Lord Jesus, draw our hearts to heaven.
King of glory, thou hast entered the sanctuary not made by hands:
raise our minds above fear, vanity, and despair.
Thou didst command thy disciples to preach to all nations:
give thy Church courage, clarity, and charity in every age.
Thou art seated at the right hand of the Father:
intercede for the sick, the lonely, the grieving, and the forgotten.
Thou didst promise the Holy Ghost:
make us ready for Pentecost by prayer, repentance, and joy.
Thou shalt come again in glory:
teach us to live this day as servants awaiting their Master.
Our Father
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen.
Concluding Prayer
O Lord Jesus Christ, who didst ascend in triumph to the right hand of the Father, lift up our hearts where thou art gone before us. Let not our eyes cling only to the earth, nor our hopes be buried in passing things; but make us witnesses of thy Resurrection, servants of thy kingdom, and joyful heralds of thy return. Who livest and reignest with the Father and the Holy Ghost, one God, world without end. Amen.
May the Lord bless us, protect us from all evil, and bring us to everlasting life.
Amen.
Paradox of the Day
Christ leaves the earth, and therefore the earth is not abandoned.
He goes up into heaven, and therefore heaven comes down into the hearts of men.
G.K. Chesterton Quote
“Angels can fly because they can take themselves lightly.”
Chestertonian Reflection
The Ascension is not the story of Christ going away, but of Christ taking command. The child who thinks his father has vanished when he enters the next room is not entirely wrong in feeling the loss; but he is wrong if he thinks the house has become fatherless. So it is with the Apostles staring upward into the blue astonishment above Galilee. They had lost the visible nearness of Christ, but they had gained His universal lordship.
The modern mind imagines heaven as a distance. The Christian imagination knows it as a throne. Christ does not ascend as a balloon escapes into the clouds. He ascends as a King enters his court, as a priest enters the sanctuary, as the rightful heir takes his seat. The point is not that He is now less present, but that He is present with a more terrible and tender authority.
This is why the angels ask the wonderfully practical question: “Why stand you looking up to heaven?” It is almost comic, and therefore very Christian. The disciples are not scolded for adoring; they are prevented from becoming statues. The Ascension turns gazers into witnesses. It says: Look up, yes—but then go out.
The world is full of men who stare at the sky and call it spirituality, and men who stare at the mud and call it realism. Christianity does something stranger. It sends men into the mud with their eyes full of heaven.
This is Chesterton Radio, sounding the old truths in a new morning: Christ is risen, Christ is ascended, and the world is charged with the glory of God.