Hail the day that sees him rise!
Whichever way you look at it, the Ascension seems like an odd sort of a feast.
At first sight, after all, it commemorates a leave-taking; the dramatic departure of the Lord from the community which had so recently welcomed him back into their midst after his Passion and death. Psychological common sense would suggest, surely, that confusion and trauma, rather than rejoicing, would have been the disciples’ reaction, and there doesn’t seem much to celebrate in that.
