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Objection 1: It would seem that it was not fitting for Christ to
ascend into heaven. For the Philosopher says (De Coelo ii) that
"things which are in a state of perfection possess their good without
movement." But Christ was in a state of perfection, since He is
the Sovereign Good in respect of His Divine Nature, and
sovereignly glorified in respect of His human nature. Consequently,
He has His good without movement. But ascension is movement.
Therefore it was not fitting for Christ to ascend.
Objection 2: Further, whatever is moved, is moved on account of
something better. But it was no better thing for Christ to be in
heaven than upon earth, because He gained nothing either in soul or in
body by being in heaven. Therefore it seems that Christ should not
have ascended into heaven.
Objection 3: Further, the Son of God took human flesh for our
salvation. But it would have been more beneficial for men if He had
tarried always with us upon earth; thus He said to His disciples
(Lk. 17:22): "The days will come when you shall desire to
see one day of the Son of man; and you shall not see it." Therefore
it seems unfitting for Christ to have ascended into heaven.
Objection 4: Further, as Gregory says (Moral. xiv),
Christ's body was in no way changed after the Resurrection. But He
did not ascend into heaven immediately after rising again, for He said
after the Resurrection (Jn. 20:17): "I am not yet ascended
to My Father." Therefore it seems that neither should He have
ascended after forty days.
On the contrary, Are the words of our Lord (Jn. 20:17):
"I ascend to My Father and to your Father."
I answer that, The place ought to be in keeping with what is
contained therein. Now by His Resurrection Christ entered upon an
immortal and incorruptible life. But whereas our dwelling-place is
one of generation and corruption, the heavenly place is one of
incorruption. And consequently it was not fitting that Christ should
remain upon earth after the Resurrection; but it was fitting that He
should ascend to heaven.
Reply to Objection 1: That which is best and possesses its good
without movement is God Himself, because He is utterly
unchangeable, according to Malachi 3:6: "I am the Lord, and I
change not." But every creature is changeable in some respect, as is
evident from Augustine (Gen. ad lit. viii). And since the nature
assumed by the Son of God remained a creature, as is clear from what
was said above (Question 2, Article 7; Question 16, Articles
8,10; Question 20, Article 1), it is not unbecoming if some
movement be attributed to it.
Reply to Objection 2: By ascending into heaven Christ acquired no
addition to His essential glory either in body or in soul:
nevertheless He did acquire something as to the fittingness of place,
which pertains to the well-being of glory: not that His body acquired
anything from a heavenly body by way of perfection or preservation; but
merely out of a certain fittingness. Now this in a measure belonged to
His glory; and He had a certain kind of joy from such fittingness,
not indeed that He then began to derive joy from it when He ascended
into heaven, but that He rejoiced thereat in a new way, as at a thing
completed. Hence, on Ps. 15:11: "At Thy right hand are
delights even unto the end," the gloss says: "I shall delight in
sitting nigh to Thee, when I shall be taken away from the sight of
men."
Reply to Objection 3: Although Christ's bodily presence was
withdrawn from the faithful by the Ascension, still the presence of
His Godhead is ever with the faithful, as He Himself says (Mt.
28:20): "Behold, I am with you all days, even to the
consummation of the world." For, "by ascending into heaven He did
not abandon those whom He adopted," as Pope Leo says (De
Resurrec., Serm. ii). But Christ's Ascension into heaven,
whereby He withdrew His bodily presence from us, was more profitable
for us than His bodily presence would have been.
First of all, in order to increase our faith, which is of things
unseen. Hence our Lord said (Jn. 26) that the Holy Ghost
shall come and "convince the world . . . of justice," that is, of
the justice "of those that believe," as Augustine says (Tract.
xcv super Joan.): "For even to put the faithful beside the
unbeliever is to put the unbeliever to shame"; wherefore he goes on to
say (10): "'Because I go to the Father; and you shall see Me
no longer'"---"For 'blessed are they that see not, yet
believe.' Hence it is of our justice that the world is reproved:
because 'you will believe in Me whom you shall not see.'"
Secondly, to uplift our hope: hence He says (Jn. 14:3):
"If I shall go, and prepare a place for you, I will come again,
and will take you to Myself; that where I am, you also may be."
For by placing in heaven the human nature which He assumed, Christ
gave us the hope of going thither; since "wheresoever the body shall
be, there shall the eagles also be gathered together," as is written
in Mt. 24:28. Hence it is written likewise (Mic.
2:13): "He shall go up that shall open the way before them."
Thirdly, in order to direct the fervor of our charity to heavenly
things. Hence the Apostle says (Col. 3:1,2): "Seek the
things that are above, where Christ is sitting at the right hand of
God. Mind the things that are above, not the things that are upon
the earth": for as is said (Mt. 6:21): "Where thy treasure
is, there is thy heart also." And since the Holy Ghost is love
drawing us up to heavenly things, therefore our Lord said to His
disciples (Jn. 16:7): "It is expedient to you that I go;
for if I go not, the Paraclete will not come to you; but if I go,
I will send Him to you." On which words Augustine says (Tract.
xciv super Joan.): "Ye cannot receive the Spirit, so long as ye
persist in knowing Christ according to the flesh. But when Christ
withdrew in body, not only
the Holy Ghost, but both Father and Son were present with them
spiritually."
Reply to Objection 4: Although a heavenly place befitted Christ
when He rose to immortal life, nevertheless He delayed the Ascension
in order to confirm the truth of His Resurrection. Hence it is
written (Acts 1:3), that "He showed Himself alive after His
Passion, by many proofs, for forty days appearing to them": upon
which the gloss says that "because He was dead for forty hours,
during forty days He established the fact of His being alive again.
Or the forty days may be understood as a figure of this world, wherein
Christ dwells in His Church: inasmuch as man is made out of the four
elements, and is cautioned not to transgress the Decalogue."
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