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Ascension Day
Intent: Return to the Light
THE COLLECT
Our Lord, the joy of thy sweet cry has made us forget the life of this world, the sweetness of thy voice has made us remember the heavenly city. We rejoice as we ascend unto thee, Father with whom we have conquered in the land of darkness. O our great King, transport us to the city of the Angel-Gods, take us into the homes of rejoicing, for we are thine.
Amen.
THE LESSON
The lesson is taken from the Chaldean Oracles:
Let the immortal depths of the soul be opened, and open all thy eyes at once to the Above, for if the mortal draw near to the fire he shall have light from God. Thou shouldst speed to the light and to the rays of the Father. And when thou beholdest the most holy fire, flashing formless with dancing radiance through the depths of all the worlds, then listen to the voice of fire. Believe thyself to be out of body and so thou art; for divine things are not accessible to mortals who fix their minds on body; it is for those who strip themselves naked, who speed aloft to the height.
THE GOSPEL
The gospel is taken from the book Pistis Sophia:
So it was that when the Light-Power came down on Jesus it gradually surrounded him altogether. Then Jesus ascended on high, shining most exceedingly with an unmeasured light; and the disciples were gazing after him, not one of them speaking until he went up to heaven, but they were all in great silence. When Jesus went up to heaven, after three hours, all the powers of the heavens trembled, and the whole earth with those who dwell thereon shook until the ninth hour of the next day. Then were all the powers of the height singing hymns to the Inmost of the Inmosts so that the whole world heard their ceaseless voices. But the disciples sat close together, being afraid. Then the heavens opened, and they saw Jesus coming down, shining most exceedingly, for he shone more than at the time he had gone up to the Heavens, so that no man of earth can speak of the light that was on him.
A Homily forAscension Day
presented by the Most Reverend Stephan A. Hoeller, bishop of the Ecclesia Gnostic
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