Did Jesus really ascended to Heaven?

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Alma

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I know that after His Ascension, Jesús returned to His Father in Heaven, but, how did He get there?

I have read commentaries that say it must not be taken literally that Jesus actually went up towards the sky while His apostles stood watching in awe.
Others say the opposite: that He indeed ascended into Heaven. 🤷

My guess is that He allowed His apostles to see Him ascend, in order to strengthen their faith in HIm and make it clear that He is God and was returning to where they thought God lives (up, up and above…). :rolleyes:

I searched in the Cathechism of the Catholic Church, but it does not state very clearly if the Church considers that Jesus physically ascended or not. :confused:

Can anyone please tell me what does the Church officially teach?

Thank you!

Alma
 
We need to keep in mind that there is a great deal about God that we do not and cannot understand … mostly because He is Infinite and we are not … and that He is the CREATOR and we are mere creations. [We have free will, but we are still only creations and are highly finite and intellectually limited.]

Having said that … you might want to read up on the Greek, Hebrew and Latin … because the original writing on this subject was not in English … and the English language is more limited in the area of comprehension and explanation than most other languages.

Might also want to read “Travel Guide to Heaven” which goes into some detail.

amazon.com/Travel-Guide-Heaven-Anthony-DeStefano/dp/0385509898

amazon.com/Travel-Guide-Heaven-Anthony-DeStefano/dp/0385509898

Also read up on Saint Thomas Aquinas … he was perhaps the BEST writer of the second millenium of the Catholic Church. At one point he was given a vision of Heaven … and then he attempted to burn all of his writing because he said that compared with Heaven, his writing was “like straw”.

So, getting the specifics of how exactly Jesus ascended into heaven is difficult to do.

But try DeStefano’s book to start with.
 
In the Catechism section 659, the bold heading at the start of this section quotes the Apostles’ Creed: “HE ASCENDED INTO HEAVEN AND IS SEATED AT THE RIGHT HAND OF THE FATHER”. Then section 659 starts out by quoting the Gospel of Mark 16:19 saying: “So then the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God.”

I think this states what the Catholic Church believes. The rest is commentary!
 
Hi Alma,

Jesus was “in heaven” (enjoying the beatific vision) when he resurrected. His ascension was to impress upon the disciples that after receiving the Holy Spirit, Christ’s mission would become their mission.

As for heaven being a place, for all the people who have died in God’s friendship, it isn’t a place yet since they have no body and don’t occupy (or create) space. The exceptions are Jesus and Mary, who occupy space. Do they live in a special place here on earth or do they walk among us incogniti? The latter would not surprise me.

After the general resurrection, the Apocalypse speaks of a new heaven and a new earth. This could mean that heaven would be here on earth.

What do you think?

Verbum
 
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