Jump to Any Step (34 of 36 · Click to Expand All 36 Days & Exercises)
01. The Presupposition & How to Enter the Exercises02. Principle and Foundation03. The Daily & Particular Examen04. Meditation with the Three Powers on the First, Second & Third Sin05. Meditation on Personal Sins & The Exclamation of Wonder at God’s Mercy06. Repetitions of the First & Second Exercises with the Triple Colloquy07. Meditation with the Five Senses on Ultimate Separation08. The Call of the Temporal King & The Oblation to the Eternal King09. The First Contemplation: The Incarnation10. The Second Contemplation: The Nativity & Application of the Five Senses11. The Presentation in the Temple & The Flight into Egypt12. The Hidden Life at Nazareth & Finding the Boy Jesus in the Temple13. Meditation on the Two Standards & Second Week Rules for Discernment14. Meditation on the Three Pairs of Men15. Departure from Nazareth & Baptism in the River Jordan16. Christ Fasting & Tempted in the Desert17. The Call of the Apostles & The Wedding at Cana18. The Sermon on the Mount19. Calming the Storm & Walking on the Waters20. Sending the Apostles, The Sinful Woman Forgiven, Feeding the 5,000, The Transfiguration & Preaching in the Temple21. The Raising of Lazarus & The Supper at Bethany22. Palm Sunday: The Humble Entry into Jerusalem23. The Three Manners of Humility24. Making an Election25. The Last Supper, Washing the Feet & The Agony in Gethsemane26. Betrayal, Arrest & The Night at the Houses of Annas and Caiaphas27. Christ Before Pilate & Before Herod28. The Scourging at the Pillar, Crowning with Thorns & ‘Ecce Homo’29. Carrying the Cross & The Crucifixion30. The Descent from the Cross, The Burial & The Silence of Holy Saturday31. The Resurrection: Christ Appears to His Mother & to Mary Magdalene32. The Road to Emmaus, The Appearance to St. Peter & The Upper Room33. St. Thomas’s Confession & Breakfast by the Sea of Galilee34. The Great Commission & The Ascension of Christ Our Lord35. Contemplation to Gain Love36. The Three Methods of Prayer
Movement IV · The Fourth Week (Unitive Way) · Step 34 · Week 4, Day 4
St. Ignatius of Loyola · Exx. 307–312

The Great Commission & The Ascension of Christ Our Lord

The final Gospel mysteries: the Risen Christ appearing on the mountain in Galilee (‘All power is given to Me in heaven and in earth... Behold, I am with you all days’), and ascending from Mount Olivet as the angels ask, ‘Why stand you looking up to heaven?’

Assigned Scripture Reading (NIV) & Mystery Points

Scripture Reading: Matthew 28:16–20 · 1 Corinthians 15:5–8 · Acts 1:1–12 · Luke 24:50–53

Matthew 28:16–20 (NIV)
16Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. 17When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. 18Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
1 Corinthians 15:5–8 (NIV)
5and that he appeared to Cephas, and then to the Twelve. 6After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. 7Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, 8and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born.
Acts 1:1–12 (NIV)
1In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach 2until the day he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen. 3After his suffering, he presented himself to them and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God. 4On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. 5For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.” 6Then they gathered around him and asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” 7He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. 8But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” 9After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight. 10They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. 11“Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.” 12Then the apostles returned to Jerusalem from the hill called the Mount of Olives, a Sabbath day’s walk from the city.
Luke 24:50–53 (NIV)
50When he had led them out to the vicinity of Bethany, he lifted up his hands and blessed them. 51While he was blessing them, he left them and was taken up into heaven. 52Then they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy. 53And they stayed continually at the temple, praising God.

Points of the Mystery from St. Ignatius

Step 1 · Entering the Hour (2 Minutes)

Before You Start

Read Matthew 28:16–20 and Acts 1:1–12 (with Luke 24:50–53). Stand a step or two from your place of prayer for an Our Father (Exx. 75), reverence the Risen and Ascended Lord, and pray the Preparatory Prayer (Exx. 46).

Step 2 · Orienting the Heart & Imagination (5 Minutes)

The Preludes

First Prelude · The Narrative (Exx. 307–312)

Recall how during forty days the Risen Christ appears to His Apostles and to more than five hundred brethren on the mountain in Galilee, and finally leads His friends out to the summit of Mount Olivet above Bethany, blesses them with uplifted hands, and ascends to the right hand of the Father.

Second Prelude · Composition of Place

See the wide summit of the Mount of Olives overlooking Jerusalem on one side and the desert toward Bethany on the other, with the eleven Apostles and Our Lady gathered around Jesus under the open sky.

Third Prelude · Asking for What I Desire (Exx. 221)

Ask for grace to be glad and rejoice intensely at the great glory and joy of Christ our Lord as He enters into the glory of His Father.

Step 3 · The Body of the Exercise (30–40 Minutes)

How to Pray the Great Commission & Ascension (Five Points)

Notice how the Ascension does not mean Christ’s absence from the earth; it means His presence is no longer confined to one town in Palestine, so that He is now present everywhere (“Lo, I am with you alway”):

1. The Mountain in Galilee · ‘Lo, I Am With You Alway’ (Matthew 28:16–20, Exx. 307)

  • SEE, HEAR & WATCH: See the eleven (and the 500 brethren of 1 Cor 15:6) gathered on the Galilean mountain where they had walked with Jesus during His public ministry.
  • Hear His royal declaration—fulfilling the Call of the King from Step 8: “All power is given unto Me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.”

2. Mount Olivet · The Blessing Hands & The Ascension (Acts 1:1–12, Luke 24:50–53, Exx. 312)

  • SEE, HEAR & WATCH: Walk with Jesus and the Apostles out of Jerusalem across the Kidron Valley—the exact path He walked on Holy Thursday night toward Gethsemane—up to the crest of Mount Olivet near Bethany.
  • Hear His promise: “Ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto Me.”
  • Watch the last earthly gesture of Jesus recorded by St. Luke (Luke 24:50–51): “And He lifted up His hands, and blessed them. And it came to pass, while He blessed them, He was parted from them, and carried up into heaven.” The last thing they see of Jesus is His pierced hands raised in blessing over them!

3. The Angels’ Question · Turning Back to the World in Joy (Acts 1:10–12, Exx. 312)

  • Hear the two men in white garments ask the disciples who are staring wistfully at the sky: “Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven?”
  • Watch the disciples worship Him and return to Jerusalem “with great joy” (Luke 24:52)! Why are they joyful instead of sad when He ascends? Because they realize He has not left them; He has gone ahead to fill all things, and is sending His Spirit so they can find Him in every person and creature.

4. Points 4 & 5 · The Crown of the Mysteries of Christ’s Life (Exx. 223–224)

  • Look back across the entire arc you have walked since Step 9: from the quiet room in Nazareth and the poor cave in Bethlehem, through thirty years of carpentry, the Jordan, the desert, Galilee, Gethsemane, the Cross, the empty tomb, and now the right hand of the Father.
  • Rejoice intensely in the victory and joy of your Friend and King!
Step 4 · Friend to Friend & Looking Back (15–20 Minutes)

Colloquy, Post-Prayer Review & Repetitions

1. The Colloquy (5 Minutes)

Stand beneath the uplifted, pierced hands of Christ on Mount Olivet and receive His blessing. Thank Him for His promise: “Lo, I am with you all days.” Close with an Our Father.

2. The Post-Prayer Examen of Prayer (15 Minutes · Exx. 77)

After finishing the Our Father, remain quiet for ten to fifteen minutes (sitting or walking slowly) to examine how your prayer went. Ask: Where did my heart feel warmed, expanded, drawn to trust, or moved to tears (consolation)? Where did I feel dry, distracted, defensive, or negotiating with God (desolation or resistance)? Write down two or three honest sentences in your notebook.

3. Repetitions & Carrying the Mystery Through the Day

Notice the angels’ question (“Why stand you looking up to heaven?”)—it leads directly into the crowning exercise of St. Ignatius’s entire book tomorrow: The Contemplation to Gain Love (Step 35), where we learn to find God dwelling and laboring right here in all things on earth.

Primary Text · From St. Ignatius’s Spiritual Exercises (Exx. 307–312)
[307] Third Point. Third: He says to them: "All power is given to Me in heaven and in earth; go therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you; and behold I am with you all days even to the consummation of the world." [312] OF THE ASCENSION OF CHRIST OUR LORD (Acts i, 1-12.) First Point. First: After He had appeared during the space of forty days to the Apostles, showing Himself by many arguments and signs, and speaking of the Kingdom of God, He bade them wait in Jerusalem for the promised Holy Spirit. Second Point. Second: Having brought them out to Mount Olivet, in their presence He was raised up and a cloud made Him disappear from their eyes. Third Point. Third: They looking to heaven, the Angels say to them: "Men of Galilee, why stand you looking up to heaven? This Jesus, Who is taken from your eyes to heaven, shall so come as you saw Him go into heaven."
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