St Werburgh's Roman Catholic Parish, Chester
Second Glorious Mystery: The Ascension of Jesus into Heaven
Fruit of the Mystery: Hope and desire for ascension to Heaven
The risen Lord appears to his disciples and friends for forty days after the resurrection, opening their minds to the understanding of the new order. At the end of this time, he ascends to Heaven to take his place at the right hand of the Father.
Luke 24:45-51 He then opened their minds to understand the scriptures, and he said to them, 'So it is written that the Christ would suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that, in his name, repentance for the forgiveness of sins would be preached to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses to this. 'And now I am sending upon you what the Father has promised. Stay in the city, then, until you are clothed with the power from on high.' Then he took them out as far as the outskirts of Bethany, and raising his hands he blessed them. Now as he blessed them, he withdrew from them and was carried up to heaven.
Hail the day that sees him rise
Hail the day that sees Him rise, Alleluia!
To His throne above the skies, Alleluia!
Christ, awhile to mortals given, Alleluia!
Reascends His native heaven, Alleluia!
There the glorious triumph waits, Alleluia!
Lift your heads, eternal gates, Alleluia!
Christ hath conquered death and sin, Alleluia!
Take the King of glory in, Alleluia!
Circled round with angel powers, Alleluia!
Their triumphant Lord, and ours, Alleluia!
Conqueror over death and sin, Alleluia!
"Take the King of glory in! Alleluia!"
Him though highest Heav'n receives, Alleluia!
Still He loves the earth He leaves, Alleluia!
Though returning to His throne, Alleluia!
Still He calls mankind His own, Alleluia!
Charles Wesley
The Window
The welcoming hand of God the Father pours down radiant light on the figure of Christ, robed in red, and rising from the earth, where his footprints remain in the crushed grass. His mother Mary kneels before him, looking upwards for the last time upon his face. Around the figure of the Lord appear a multitude of cherubim and seraphim, the angelic hosts of heaven.
The scroll in the bottom light reads Jesus sic veniet quemadmodum vidistis eum euntem in caelum (Jesus will come back in the same way as you have seen him go into heaven), the encouragement given to the disciples by two men in white who appear on the occasion of the Ascension, and who usually are taken to be heavenly messengers (Acts 1:11).
The inscription at the foot of the window reads: In memoriam admodum Reverendi Eugenii Buquet Praepositi Salopiae qui hanc Ecclesiam aedificare incepit. R.I.P (In memory of Very Reverend Eugene Buquet, formerly of Shrewsbury, who began the construction of this Church).