The Collect for Ascension

Gladden us with holy joys, almighty God, and make us rejoice with devout thanksgiving, for the Ascension of Christ Your Son is our exaltation, and, where the Head has gone before in glory, the Body is called to follow in hope. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, Who lives and reigns with You in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

Gladden us with holy joys – Holy joys. Isn't that a wonderful phrase? Do we take delight in holy things? Are we joyful when we pray and go to Mass? Are we glad to read Scripture and study our faith? Do we rejoice with the saints and angels? If not, we should!

make us rejoice with devout thanksgiving – Our rejoicing and devotion must be accompanied by thanksgiving. We should thank God for every blessing He gives to us, and those blessings are innumerable. We will never be able to count them all. God gives us everything we have and everything we are. We should strive to express our gratitude deeply, widely, and frequently.

for the Ascension of Christ Your Son is our exaltation – With the Ascension of Jesus, humanity has entered into the very midst of the Blessed Trinity. Think about that for a moment. Jesus has raised human nature to infinite heights. What's more, He promises that we shall join Him in Heaven and sit with Him on His throne, first in our resurrected souls and later in our resurrected bodies, which will be rejoined to our resurrected souls. How can we not exalt at the top of our lungs, praising God for the wonder and beauty of His love?

where the Head has gone before in glory, the Body is called to follow in hope – Jesus is now in Heaven with part of His Body, the Church, i.e., with the saints who have gone before us. Yet we, too, are members of His Body, and we are called as pilgrims to travel through this world, following Jesus all the way to Heaven. We are called to proceed in hope, the assurance that by God's grace, we will reach our destination even though we are not there yet. We look forward with faith, hope, and love to the day when Jesus will come to take us home to be with Him forever.