Whichever of the second readings you hear today, what they say are remarkably similar.

"God mounts his throne to shouts of joy.” This image from Psalm 47 makes concrete what must in reality be a less tangible idea: that God takes a seat in eternity which affords a gracious and protective view of all creation.

ONE OF THE MOST important things Christ had done, Saint Paul wrote in the second chapter of his Letter to the Colossians, was to forgive sins.

Four-year-old Maddie stood with her back right up against the car. She was waiting in the parking lot outside the church with Auntie Lil.

As members of the church of Christ who ascended to heaven, we know we can like him enter the divine sanctuary and make our prayers for God’s intercession.

“Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” This question which the disciples ask Jesus before his Ascension shows that even though they have the risen Christ in their midst, they still do not have full understanding of a number of things.

“Christ is already in that place of peace, which is all in all. He is on the right hand of God . . . . That is our home; here we are on a pilgrimage.” ​—Cardinal John Henry Newman (1801-1890)