THEOLOGICAL CLUE

In the church year as it was formerly constituted, there were really three sub-divisions in Eastertide: first, there was the week of the "six apparitions" of Jesus, the week from Easter Sunday to its octave; second, the time of preparation for Jesus' departure in the Ascension, from the second Sunday to Rogate, the Fifth Sunday after Easter (the last three weeks of this period were marked by readings from John 16 in preparation for the Ascension of Our Lord); and, third, the time between the Ascension and Pentecost, which is the time of waiting for the coming of the Spirit (in Acts) and the conclusion of the Great Fifty Days, as well as the beginning of the Pentecost cycle.

With the ascension, the resurrection of Jesus Christ is completed; he returns to the Father who se…