On the Ascension

[In the Ascension] Christ has raised the image of Adam: You are not simply dirt; you extend over all cosmic dimensions up to the heart of God. Christ's Ascension is the rehabilitation of man. ... Christ's Ascension is therefore not a spectacle for the disciples but an event in which they themselves are included. It is a sursum corda, a movement toward the above into which we are all called. It tells us that man can live toward the above, that he is capable of attaining heights. More: the altitude that alone is suited to the dimension of being human is the altitude of God himself. Man can live at this height, and only from this height do we properly understand him. The image of man has been raised up, but we have the freedom to tear it down or to let ourselves be raised. We do not understand man when we ask only where he comes from. We understand him only when we ask where he can go. Only from this height is his essence really illuminated. ... Indeed, faith does teach us the memory of the Cross and of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. But this memory is not subversive. It reminds us certainly that the image of Adam has fallen, but it reminds us above all that this image has been raised up again and that even as fallen ever remains the image of God's beloved creature. Pope Benedict XVI: Images of Hope (Ignatius Press)