Feast of the Ascension of Our Lord Jesus Christ

Viri Galilaei, quid statis aspicientes in coelum?
Hic Jesus, qui assumptus est a vobis in coelum,
sic veniet, quemadmodum vidistis eum euntem in coelum. Alleluia!

Saint Dominic’s College celebrated the Feast of the Ascension with Mass in the Dominican Rite offered by Fr Albert, O.P., and sung by the Sisters.

“And so, dearly-beloved, let us rejoice with spiritual joy, and let us with gladness pay God worthy thanks and raise our hearts’ eyes unimpeded to those heights where Christ is. Minds that have heard the call to be uplifted must not be pressed down by earthly affections, they that are fore-ordained to things eternal must not be taken up with the things that perish; they that have entered on the way of Truth must not be entangled in treacherous snares, and the faithful must so take their course through these temporal things as to remember that they are sojourning in the vale of this world, in which, even though they meet with some attractions, they must not sinfully embrace them, but bravely pass through them.”

Sermon of Pope St Leo the Great on the Feast of the Ascension.
The Sisters formed the schola, headed by Sr Mary Anna, O.P., who is also first chantress of the choir. With meagre time for practice, the Sisters do our best in singing the chants of the Mass well in order to give glory to God in the splendour of the Liturgy.

“To be a saint, then, is to become by grace what Jesus was by nature, is to reproduce in us, who are His members, that life which He once led in His own Humanity. And this we do first of all in the celebration of the liturgy of which the sacrifice of the Mass is the centre. In the choir, the religious finds himself at all times face to face with Jesus. From one end of the year to the other, the Church unfolds before his eyes the complete cycle of the divine mysteries… it is a source of grace available every day, the grace merited by Jesus when He accomplished the mysteries of His life on earth. If he follows the holy ceremonies with intelligence and love, the religious will not fail to advance in that spiritual transformation which is the end of his vocation, for Jesus will ever be before him as the Model to be imitated, the divine Copy, the “form of our predestination” of which Saint Paul speaks.”

Adapted from Fr Bernadot, O.P.
Fr Albert, O.P. raises the Sacred Host for adoration by the faithful, during the Consecration.
The girls dutifully followed the Mass in their hand missals, and sang the parts proper to the congregation, as well as the different voices for the hymns “Quis Sicut Te” and “Jesu Rex Admirabilis.”
Here Father Albert gives Holy Communion to the girls. The liturgical life of the Church made available to the child is of great importance – and we pray that through their participation in the great treasury of grace that the Church has, each student will grow and deepen in their love for Christ and His Church.

2 thoughts on “Feast of the Ascension of Our Lord Jesus Christ”

  1. Is there a reason why you wear the cappa after Easter?
    Happy you can have Mass and allow the students to come. We are blest to continue having Mass but can’t allow the public. Please pray we will be able to soon. We can now open our adoration chapel during the day.

    Reply

    • Hello Sr. Mary Catharine, and thank you for your comment and prayers. We are indeed very blessed to have Mass and the Sacraments, and make it available for our students too.
      We are in the Southern Hemisphere, so our cappa season is the reverse of the North – we wear the cappa from 1st Vespers of St Catherine of Siena (Apr 30) to 1st Vespers of Our Lady of the Rosary (Oct 7).
      It’s good news that the adoration chapel can now be open – hopefully restrictions will be eased soon so the public can once more assist at Mass!
      Oremus pro invicem!
      – Sr. Mary Imelda OP

      Reply

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