Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord

In the Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord, we celebrate Christ's bodily ascension into heaven, which occurred in the presence of his apostles.

The Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord occurs 40 days after Christ's resurrection and is the important, final piece of the paschal mystery, which began with Christ's Passion and death. 

Because Christ ascended, we, as members of the body of Christ, also look forward to ascending into heaven after our bodily resurrection. On the solemnity, we are also reminded of our evangelizing mission.

Before Christ ascends, he gives his disciples final instructions, telling them to await the arrival of the Holy Spirit and then "go into the whole world and proclaim the Gospel to every creature" (Mark 16:15). 

While some ecclesiastical provinces have transferred the celebration of the Ascension of the Lord to the Seventh Sunday of Easter, that is not the case in the province of Boston, of which the Diocese of Portland is a part. Here, the celebration remains on the proper Thursday and is a holy day of obligation. A list of Mass times can be found here.