Reflection for the Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord

"The cloud reminds us of the hour of the Transfiguration, in which the bright cloud falls on Jesus and the disciples. It reminds us of the hour of Mary's encounter with God's messenger, Gabriel, who announces to her the 'overshadowing' with the power of the Most High. It reminds us of the holy tent of God in the Old Covenant, where the cloud signified the Lord's presence, the same Lord who, in the form of a cloud, led the people of Israel during their journey through the desert. This reference to the cloud is unambiguously theological language. It presents Jesus' departure, not as a journey to the stars, but as his entry into the mystery of God. It evokes an entirely different order of magnitude, a different dimension of being."

--Pope Benedict XVI, Jesus of Nazareth--Part Two: From the Entrance into Jerusalem to the Resurrection (Ignatius Press, 2011), p. 282