In some places the Feast of the Ascension (which since the 4th century has fallen on a Thursday because before that it always would have been on a Thursday) has been transferred to next Sunday, thus making it “Ascension Thursday Sunday”. That’s just wrong.
The 3rd edition of the Missale Romanum of 2002 provided a Mass for the Vigil of Ascension, which wasn’t in previous editions of the Novus Ordo.
The prayers for the new Vigil of Ascension are not the same as those found in the pre-Conciliar Missale for the Vigil.
In case you don’t have the Latin texts, here are the antiphons for the Vigil. Ant. ad introitum: Regna terrae cantata Deo, psallite Domino, qui ascendit super caelum caeli; magnificentia et virtus eius in nubibus, alleluia. (Ps 67:33,35) Ant. ad communionem: Christus, unam pro peccatis offerens hostiam, in sempiterum sedet in dextera Dei, alleluia. (Cf. Heb 10:12)
COLLECT (2002MR):
Deus, cuius Filus hodie in caelos,
Apostolis astantibus, ascendit,
concede nobis, quaesumus,
ut secundum eius promissionem
et ille nobiscum semper in terris
et nos cum eo in caelo vivere mereamur.
This was modified from a prayer in ancient sacramentaries such as the Liber Sacramentorum when it was used on Ascension Thursday having its Station Mass at St. Peter’s Basilica.
The eucological formulas (the collection of prayers), for the Ascension could be the oldest prayers we have in the Roman liturgy! They are found in what was once often called the Leonine Sacramentary, which survived in one 7th c. manuscript in Verona, thus making it what modern scholars call it: the Veronese Sacramentary.
You might not immediately recognize astantibus as being from asto or adsto, which that ascendant lexicon of Latin lemmata, the Lewis & Short Dictionary, says means, “to stand at or near a person or thing, to stand by” The L&S will also inform you that asto has the synonym adsisto.
If you have ever heard the phrase “to assist (adsisto) at Holy Mass” this is the concept: you are present and actively participating.
Also, during the Roman Canon, the priest describes the people as circumstantes, “standing around”. This doesn’t mean they there around the altar with their hands in the their pockets (though that happens in the Novus Ordo). Rather, they are there morally and spiritually “around” the altar, participating each according to their vocation and capacity. So, circumstantes is used to identify the baptized who are present.
The Apostles, who were adstantes, actively participating in the Lord’s Ascension before, during and after the actual moment of the Ascension, both listened to the Lord and watched the Lord. Similarly, at Holy Mass we actively participate before, during and after the consecration, both by listening to the Lord speak through the texts and watching what the Lord does in the liturgical action.
LITERAL VERSION:
O God, whose Son today ascended
into the heavens as the Apostles were standing close by,
grant us, we beseech You,
that, according to His promise,
we may be worthy both that He lives with us on earth,
and that we live with Him in heaven.
NEW CORRECTED ICEL (2011):
O God, whose Son today ascended to the heavens
as the Apostles looked on,
grant, we pray, that, in accordance with his promise,
we may be worthy for him to live with us always on earth,
and we with him in heaven.
When the Second Person took up our human nature into an indestructible bond with His divinity we were thereby destined to sit at God’s right hand, first in Christ and then on our own.
Christ makes us worthy, no one else. Christ alone. It’s all His.
Because it’s His, it’s ours.
Our Lord’s Ascension brought our humanity to the right hand of the Father in glory, a first-fruit and token of what awaits us.
The Collect for the Vetus Ordo is from the 5th Sunday after Easter.
Deus, a quo bona cuncta procédunt, largíre supplícibus tuis: ut cogitémus, te inspiránte, quæ recta sunt; et, te gubernánte, eadem faciámus.
O God, from Whom all good things come, grant to Your supplicants, we beseech You, as You inspire we may think what is right, as You guide, accomplish the same.
God loves us so much that He makes us cooperators in His action. He gives us good things to do. He then makes our hands strong enough to handle them, such as His works are also our works. As Augustine says, he crowns His own merits in us.
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Observing the Ascension is so complicated. Ascension Thursday Sunday is indeed ridiculous. What’s with the 40 days being ignored? Put in place ostensibly for the convenience of the laity, some out here wonder if the new schedule isn’t for the comfort of the clergy.
If one attends the old Mass, ya miss the Ascension completely if you can’t find an old Mass for Holy Thursday. So then, do you have to attend the new Mass on that Sunday, thus missing the Sunday after the Ascension of the old rite?
There are a few of us who were able to attend [a canonically jurisdictionally accepted] Mass for Holy Thursday, Deo Gratias. it is a lot of effort, typically with added travel time. Why can’t we just go to a nearby parish and celebrate Holy Thursday properly. Wouldn’t THAT be the most convenient for the laity? harrumph.
So, I’d support moving the observation back to Thursday, but if you intend to make it a Holy Day of Obligation there probably needs to be a discussion of “…and this is what the clergy need to do as far as altering the daily mass offerings to accommodate folks meeting their obligations” (I’d probably say, at a minimum, offering either a vigil mass or an evening mass – preferably both – at parishes in an area [1] to accommodate work schedules). But this falls under the banner of “if X is going to be made mandatory by the Church, the Church also has some duty to facilitate it”.
[This is, by the way, related to my view on mandatory abstinence from meat on Fridays – I’m not utterly offended by that change, but I /am/ offended by the casual “Well, just do /something/” guidance. I much prefer clear guidelines/direction (even if it’s just a few clear examples). And if they can’t be bothered to give that…then yeah, bring back meatless Fridays.]
[1] I don’t mind if a few parishes in an area share the load (e.g. one does the vigil and another does the evening-of-the-day). The key is that for a Holy Day of Obligation, “your only option is an 0900 service” just isn’t acceptable on what is, for most people, a work/school day.