CHRIST, THE KING OF GLORY.

"Arise, be enlightened, O Jerusalem, for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee. God is ascended with jubilee, and the Lord with the sound of trumpet." (Isa. 60:1 and Ps. 46:6)

I.

Christ is often called in the inspired pages the King of Glory, and on this day He triumphs in the most complete manner, by ascending to the highest heavens in great glory and majesty. He is the source from which glory issues to all the Saints, and whence the several gifts of grace flow upon the faithful. This is especially the day of His triumph; and as earthly Princes are accustomed on similar occasions to be more profuse of their gifts, so on this day our triumphant Savior has bestowed His thousand benefits on mankind. "Ascending on high," says the Apostle, "He led captivity captive, He gave gifts to men." (Eph. 4:8)

II.

This King of glory will visit you today, concealed in the cloud of the Eucharistic species, in order that, by bestowing on you the gifts of His grace, He may make you a partaker of His glory. "The glory of Libanus shall come to thee to beautify the place of My sanctuary, and I will glorify the place of My feet." (Ps. 60:13) What a favor is this! What may you not hope for from so liberal a guest!

III.

How ought you to receive this King of Glory? "Lift up your gates, O ye princes, and be ye lifted up, O eternal gates, and the King of Glory shall enter." (Ps. 23:7) The gates of the soul are its interior powers, by which intercourse is kept up between the soul and exterior objects. They enter through these, and through the same she passes to them. Lift up, therefore, these gates on high: raise them to such subjects only as are heavenly and eternal, and then the King of Glory will enter, and make you a partaker of His majesty and greatness.

CHRIST'S ASCENSION. I.

I.

Forty days having elapsed since the resurrection of Christ, during which time He has comforted, instructed, and confirmed His Apostles, He "at length appeared to the eleven as they were at table." (Mark 16:14) He led them to Mount Olivet, in order that He might commence His triumph, where His passion had begun. Observe with what tenderness and love He does all this; and learn that no other path than the path of suffering leads to glory.

II.

Christ said to them: "But stay you in the City, till you be endued with power from on high." (Luke 24:49) If the Redeemer did not wish His Apostles to be too forward in preaching and in doing works for the universal good of mankind, but wished them first to receive power from on high, how proper is it that those who have not been trained up in Christ's school as they were, should first prepare themselves in private, by prayer and the practice of virtue, for the works of the ministry, and for appearing before their neighbors. Every feeling of zeal is not to be trusted. True zeal is the last consequence of the pure love of God, and embraces within itself the emanations of every virtue. Unless your zeal be of this character, it is a dangerous principle of action.

III.

When they had arrived at the Mount, Christ lifted up His hands, to signify the fullness of His benediction, and blessed them. Then, raising Himself up by His own inherent power, as He did at His Resurrection, He ascended by degrees, until a bright cloud snatched Him from their sight. Imagine how the Disciples rejoiced in the glory of their Lord, "who made the clouds His chariot, and who walked on the wings of the wind." (Ps. 103:3) Let it be said of you, that you wish and are determined to ascend with Christ, and that "in your heart you are disposed to ascend by steps." (Ps. 83:6) Make continual progress from one virtue to another, until you reach the mount of perfection.

CHRIST'S ASCENSION. II.

I.

Christ, being out of the sight of His Disciples, entered heaven in a triumphant manner. He was accompanied by an infinite multitude of Angels, who had come forth to meet Him, and followed by a numerous train of Holy Fathers, whom He had redeemed from captivity. "Ascending on high, He led captivity captive." (Eph. 4:8) Contemplate and admire His solemn entry into heaven. "God ascended with jubilee, and the Lord with sound of trumpet" (Isa. 46:6), whilst the celestial spirits invited each other to sing His praises. "Sing to the Lord, sing ye to God, who mounteth above the heaven of heavens to the east." (Ps. 47:33)

II.

When Christ appeared before the throne of His Eternal Father, He presented Him with the holy captives, as spoils taken from the infernal enemy. He then gives Him an account of His mission. "I have glorified Thee upon earth, I have finished the work which Thou gavest Me to do, and now glorify Thou Me, O Father, with Thyself. I have manifested Thy Name to men." (John 17:4) The Father welcomes His Son's return to His eternal throne, united to another nature. Then was fulfilled the oracle of David: "The Lord said to my Lord, sit thou at My right hand." (Ps. 109:1)

III.

What joy existed then in Heaven! The holy captives were enraptured with the beatific vision; the Angels rejoiced in their company, and were delighted, that the seats which had been vacated by the apostate Angels were again filled. All rejoiced in the humanity of the Second Person of the Trinity, which they saw honored according to its merits. With loud acclaim, they all united and sang: "Worthy is the Lamb, that was slain, to receive power, and divinity, and wisdom, and strength, and honor, and glory, and benediction." (Apoc. 5:12) Join your weak praises with theirs, and rejoice that you have so powerful an advocate with the Father. Fix your thoughts, as the Apostles did, where their Head and yours is gone.

CHRIST, YOUR PLEDGE OF GLORY.

"The Lord will give grace and glory; He will not deprive of good things them that walk in innocence." (Ps. 83:12)

I.

How great is the glory which God communicates to His elect in heaven; how noble is the habitation of the just, and what happy union and harmony exist among them! Our Divine Lord promises us that, in due time, we shall enjoy this glory and this exalted society, and, as a pledge, in the meanwhile gives us His own body and blood. Hence the Church, grateful for the favor, cries out: "O sacred banquet, in which Christ is received, and a pledge of future glory given to us!"

II.

How you would be delighted, were some Emperor, who had it in his power to realize his word, to promise you a kingdom, after a certain term of years, and in the meantime were to give you his only son as a pledge! "There is no other nation so great, that hath gods so nigh them, as our God is present to all our petitions." (Deut. 4:7) He is now present to nourish us in order that He may afterward reward us.

III.

This Divine pledge does not only give us promise of future glory, but even now, if not prevented, it produces some of these glorious effects in our souls. It brings with it the luster of habitual grace than which nothing is more glorious in the sight of God. It renders the soul in some respect impassible, that is, not subject to be moved or disturbed by any worldly adversity. It gives us spiritual agility to obey the Commands of God with promptness and fervor. It endows the soul with a certain degree of subtilty, and enables it to pass through every difficulty. Prepare yourself, therefore, to receive it, and bless the infinite mercy of God, "who hath given the pledge of the spirit in our hearts." (2. Cor. 1:22)

THE GLORY OF HEAVEN IN ITSELF.

I.

Speaking of His Ascension, Christ told His Disciples: "I go to prepare a place for you." (John 14:2) "Christ's Ascension," writes the eloquent St. Leo, "is our promotion, so that, where the glory of the Head is gone before, there is hope that the rest of the body will follow." Give God thanks for having vouchsafed to call you to His holy service, and contemplate the happiness that will accompany the reward of your fidelity to that service.

II.

"Heavenly happiness," as divines observe, from Boëthius, "is a state made perfect by the concurrence of every good." In heaven, no evil can assail you, and there will be nothing wanting for which you can possibly wish. "There," writes St. Gregory, "there will be light without eclipse, joy without sighs, desire without pain, love without sorrow, satiety without cloying, safety without danger, life without death, health without impairment, and so of every other kind of happiness, without the mixture of any evil, from which nothing in this life is free."

III.

All this excess of happiness will be eternal and cannot be lost. After uncounted millions of ages, these joys will be equally intense and equally new. "Your joys," says Christ, "no man shall take from you." (John 16:22) Reflect how different are the enjoyments of this life; how full of fear, how mixed with sorrow, how surrounded with anxiety and danger, and finally, how brief. Of earthly joys, St. Bernard writes: "While they are possessed, they burden; while they are loved, they defile; and when they are passed, they torment." Examine your past life and see if this be not an accurate description of all your unlawful enjoyments. If it be, then prefer the joys of heaven to all that this wretched earth can give.

HEAVENLY GLORY - THE PLACE AND COMPANY.

I.

Imagination would torture itself in vain to conceive the glory, the beauty, and the happiness of heaven. "O Israel," exclaimed an enraptured Prophet, "O Israel, how great is the house of God, and how vast is the place of His possession!" (Bar. 3:24) This is that city which St. John describes in his Apocalypse. Its gates are pearl, it is surrounded by walls of jasper, and its foundations are of the most precious stones. The city itself and the streets are of pure gold: "The city needeth not the sun nor the moon to shine in it, for the Lamb is the lamp thereof." (Apoc. 21:18) Cry out with the Psalmist: "How lovely are Thy tabernacles, O Lord of Hosts, my soul longeth and fainteth for the courts of the Lord." (Ps. 58:2)

II.

The company which the blessed will enjoy will be a great source of happiness. "There will be" there, "a great multitude which no man could number, of all nations, and tribes, and people, and tongues." (Apoc. 7:9) There will be an immense number, without any dissension; distinction of degrees without envy; free communication without confusion. There we shall enjoy our friends in perfection. If it be pleasure in this life to converse with learned, amiable, and affectionate companions, how much greater will be the satisfaction to associate with angelic spirits, endowed with every kind of science and virtue, and to live forever in the company of Patriarchs and Prophets, of Apostles, Martyrs, Confessors, and Virgins, and all the other Saints of heaven?

III.

How vile and contemptible every earthly object appeared to the Apostles after they had seen their Lord ascend to heaven! So should they appear to you. Reflecting on heaven as the goal of your existence, you should bid adieu to this world before it bids adieu to you, and leave nothing undone to secure for yourself a place in those heavenly mansions.

HEAVENLY GLORY - IN REGARD TO THE SOUL.

I.

The soul will be completely penetrated with God in a more perfect degree than heated iron is with fire. The memory will be constantly employed in the recollection of most delightful objects. The mind cannot be diverted from the present happiness which it enjoys. "They shall publish the memory of the abundance of Thy sweetness, and shall rejoice in Thy justice. " (Ps. 144:7)

II.

The understanding will be entirely absorbed in contemplating the vision of God. It will instantly behold the Divine Nature, the Trinity of Persons, the attributes of God, and other objects which are now mysterious. Then it will see the profound secret of God's decrees, and of His providence over each individual of the human family. "We see now through a glass in an obscure manner," writes St. Paul, "but then face to face." (1 Cor. 13:12) Exclaim with enraptured David: "Thy friends, O God, are made exceeding honorable." (Ps. 138:17)

III.

The will, in an ineffable manner, will adhere to God, and will be, as it were, transformed into Him by love and overflow with joy. The oracle of the Royal Prophet will then be fulfilled: "They shall be inebriated with the plenty of Thy house, and Thou shalt make them drink of the torrent of pleasure." (Ps. 35:9) Their whole occupation will be to contemplate, love, and enjoy their Creator; to praise, bless, and thank Him; to congratulate Him for His perfections, and to love one another. Who would not consent to suffer not only patiently, but willingly, the afflictions of this life to purchase such a crown of glory? How true is the sentiment of the Apostle of the Gentiles: "The sufferings of this life are not worthy to be compared with the glory to come, that shall be revealed to us!" (Rom. 8:18)

HEAVENLY GLORY - IN REGARD TO THE BODY.

I.

The qualities of a glorified body are lucidness, impassibility, agility, and subtilty. The bodies of the glorified just will possess these properties, after their souls have united themselves to them. "Then shall the just shine as the sun in the kingdom of their Father." (Matt. 13:43) They will suffer no more. "They shall not hunger nor thirst," says the author of the Apocalypse. (Apoc. 7:16) Their agility will be perfect: "The just shall shine, and shall run to and fro like sparks among the reeds." (Wisdom 3:7) Like pure spirits, they will be able to penetrate other bodies, and be forever freed from the necessities belonging to a vegetative life, for "they will be as the Angels of God." (Matt. 22:30)

II.

Each of the senses will enjoy its particular gratification. The sight will be delighted in beholding the glorious bodies of the Saints, particularly of Christ and His Blessed Mother. "I know," says holy Job, "that my Redeemer liveth, and in my flesh I shall see my God." (Job 19:25) Celestial harmony, such as mortal ear has never listened to, will regale the sense of hearing. The odors of heaven will gratify the smell. "Your Saints, O Lord," exclaims a pious and learned theologian, "will flourish as the lily, and shall be with you as the odor of balm." The taste will be delighted with something far more exquisite than material food: "The Lord will make them drink of the torrent of pleasure." (Ps. 35:9) The feeling, also, will be completely gratified. "The eye hath not seen," says St. Paul, " nor ear heard, neither hath it entered into the heart of man, what things God hath prepared for them that love Him." (1 Cor. 2:9)

III.

How earnestly you ought to labor to attain this great reward! "The kingdom of heaven," says Jesus Christ, "suffereth violence." (Matt. 11:12) Offer, then, to your will and passions that necessary violence, for none but the violent can bear away this prize.