Men of Galilee, why are you standing there looking at the sky? This Jesus who has been taken up from you into heaven will return in the same way as you have seen him going into heaven. Today the Church celebrates the solemnity of the Ascension of our Lord. It is a commemoration of an event that occurred some forty days after Jesus’ rising from the dead (cf. Acts 1:3). The ascension was an event that marked a very important chapter in the development of the post-resurrection Christian community. The prosecution and death of Jesus had occasioned a major setback in the identity and mission of the disciples (cf. Luke 24:21a – ‘our own hope had been that he would be the one to free Israel’), for with Jesus removed from within their midst, they did not know how to proceed or what to do with the movement. Despite spending three or so years with Jesus, the group had not yet come to “own” or fully understand their calling as partners with Jesus in his mission. The news of Jesus’ rising from the dead must have, therefore, been a good reprieve for the group. But whereas the news of Jesus’ resurrection had indeed injected some life back into the movement, normalcy was yet to return to the group (for even after appearing to the disciples on several occasions, Peter and a few others, perhaps out of disillusionment, decided to go back to their old profession of catching fish [cf. John 21]). Something still needed to happen to this group. As it turned out, that something was the ascension.
The event of the ascension of Jesus was a turning point in the life and mission of the disciples. Unlike the days following the death of Jesus when the disciples went into hiding out of fear, their demeanor following Jesus’ ascension was characterized by joyous praise and celebration (cf. Luke 24:50-53). It could be that their source of joy was the opportunity to have witnessed the spectacle of Jesus being lifted up into the heavens: it was a spectacle that served to vindicate not only their Master but also their decision to stick with him through thick and thin. And this would be true because the disciples found themselves bending their knees in adoration and worshiping him even as he was being lifted up in their sight. It is very likely that the disciples had finally come to fully understand the “things that had been happening in the last few days” (cf. Luke 24:18) They were filled with joyous praise because they had finally come to understand not only the mission of Jesus but also their role as witnesses of the things Jesus had said and done while he was still with them. They had finally come to understand how the events that followed the arrest of Jesus were integral to the fulfillment of Jesus’ life and mission. Moreover, the disciples were able to understand the role they had to play in the mission of Jesus. And with this understanding, they were ready to go and preach the forgiveness of sins in Jesus’ name.
Like the disciples who were joyful as they witnessed their master being lifted up into the heavens, we commemorate the event of the ascension as a celebration of our faith because in it we see a fulfillment of God’s promises to us. “It is good for you that I go for only then will I be able to draw all of you to myself,” Jesus had said to his disciples (cf. John 12:32; 16:7). Jesus’ ascending back to the Father was not a loss to his followers. On the contrary, it was a gain for them (and for the entire created universe) because it brought to full circle the salvific mission which had been the ministry of Jesus. 
The ascension fulfills the purpose of the entire Christ event: from the Incarnation to the resurrection. The main reason for Jesus’ “descent” when he assumed the flesh is to bring humanity back to God’s plan. God had intended creation to enjoy eternal life at the side of God (cf. John 3:16). Although distorted by the sin of man, this plan of God has been restored in Jesus Christ. Eternal life, which can only be attained in its fullness when humanity is reunited with God in Jesus Christ (cf. I John 5:11ff), is now within our reach. In assuming our nature, Jesus has incorporated his brothers and sisters to himself and has thus made it possible for us to be re-united to God. In Jesus’ ascension back to the Father, the entire created universe has been saved. In the ascension, God has opened for humanity access to a life with God. As members of Christ’s body, the ascension gives us confidence that we too shall go where Christ, our head, has preceded us (cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church, 661).