Tractatus Alter, Pars Altera, Cap. 1. De ascensione Domini et apparitione eius.

Tractatus Alter, Pars Altera, Cap. 1. De ascensione Domini et apparitione eius.

I bless you and give you thanks, Lord Jesus Christ, King of glory, creator of heaven and earth, ruler of angels and savior of humanity, who today triumphs over all the heavens and over all the lights of heaven, over Cherubim and Seraphim and over every angelic dignity and the heights of creation, showing your joyful face and glorious body clothed in light like a garment to your disciples, as the angels sing with joyful voices and the sound of trumpets; you ascended and revealed the way of eternal life and glory to your chosen friends gathered together, whom you called from the world to follow you along the path of the harsh cross and strengthened. O Lord my God, how wonderful is your name in all the earth. How gloriously you have entered, King of heaven, into the kingdom of your Father. How glorious and honored you are, crowned above all your saints and placed most worthily at the right hand of your Father, because you gave your soul to death and deemed it worthy to die for the wicked, so that you might give life to your people and allow them to sit at your table in your kingdom, which you prepared for them before the foundation of the world in your mercy and compassion, not based on their merits or human virtues. O how great is the dignity of the human condition, that human nature, united with God, transcends all creation in heaven and on earth. Therefore, rightly, for the giving of thanks and fitting praise in your name, sweetest Jesus, all creatures of heaven, earth, and hell should bend and are bound to kneel before your face, to worship the glory of your countenance, to kiss the footstool of your feet, and to exalt and praise above all things your glorious and holy name forever. I praise and honor you for your gracious visitation and final appearance before your reclining disciples gathered in the upper room, speaking devotedly about you and longing to see your presence, who rejoiced to have you with them during their meal for their unique comfort. Whenever they gathered to eat and talk, the conversation was about God, the kingdom of God, peace, love, virtues, and the salvation of souls; but there was less concern and thought given to food and drink. They didn't seek after private and exquisite dishes, having everything in common. For the rich and the sufficient, the common life of the saints is abundant; however, those who seek their own lose the common good, rarely content from within. I praise you especially, eternal King most high, for that loving fellowship you had with those humble apostles of yours, not with the kings and princes of priests, nor with the wealthy of this world, whom you and your disciples rejected, choosing them from the world and separating them from the company of the wicked. Thank you, because before you ascended to heaven, you visited and strengthened your small and timid disciples left among the waves of this world, to whom you revealed many heavenly secrets about the past and the future, so that, consoled by your words, they wouldn’t falter in facing the challenges they would endure for your name. I praise and glorify you, Lord Jesus Christ, the greatest teacher above all the teachers of theology, for every word you spoke to your disciples and openly and privately before all the people, with many beautiful and mystical parables, and for the clear teachings suited to the capacity of your listeners, for the correct interpretation and clear exposition of divine truths in the books of Moses and the prophets who bear witness to you, testifying truly about all your holy works and glorious miracles, which you performed in the world and commanded to be proclaimed throughout the world. I praise and glorify you, most loving Jesus Christ, eternal shepherd, for the good care of your humble and poor flock established in the midst of a wicked nation, whom you, visiting in the upper room today with joy after instructing and rebuking them for their hardness of heart, led outside Jerusalem to the Mount of Olives to witness your open and glorious ascension to the heavenly glory of your Father after the long pilgrimage of this life and the fulfillment of all justice and perfect obedience. When you spoke again to them with great care about the kingdom of God, the contempt of the world, the expectation of future grace, and the coming of the Holy Spirit after a few days, you did so in the presence of your most holy mother, the most devoted Mary Magdalene, and other women and your beloved disciples, addressing their curious question about the end of the world, which was not relevant to them. After saying these things, you were lifted up with your glorious body by divine power into the high dwelling places of heaven, where you were met by the saints and greeted by countless hosts of angels, who sang joyfully with instruments and harps, along with all the patriarchs, prophets, and righteous ones of old, whom you valiantly redeemed from the hand of hell and placed in the paradise of delight, where they rest peacefully until this day. So, with all these beautiful and joyful hosts of saints, you ascended joyfully, openly, powerfully, and excellently to the royal and lofty throne of heaven, prepared for you alone from eternity. I praise and thank you many times, unique Son of God, for this heavenly and eternal blessing with which you have blessed your most holy mother and all your holy apostles and the other disciples gathered at the summit of the Mount of Olives, where your feet stood, and for the sacred footprints of your feet that you left on the ground as a memorial of your name, as is said. Therefore, now, bending my knees, I worship, praise, and humbly beseech you, my Lord, King of glory, by kissing the image of the holy cross, making the sign of the cross over the earth, or asserting it as a sign of your love and for the solace of my heart in this present exile. I congratulate you for all your saints with the greatest joy and solemnity, a celebration unlike any seen or heard before in heaven or on earth, because human nature has now been raised to the right hand of the Father in everlasting majesty. Amen.