Blessed Veronica of Milan was blessed with countless mystical visions of the life of Our Lord. Here she recounts a vision she received of the ascension of Jesus Christ. This excerpt was taken from The Life of Jesus Christ Revealed.
On the night before the Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord, immediately after the Office of Vigils, Blessed Veronica sought out a secluded place where she could devote herself to prayer until dawn. Almost immediately, her mind was taken up into a mystical ecstasy and, while in this state, she experienced a vision.
She was taken to a large upper room. In this upper room was Christ, now risen from the dead, the Blessed Virgin, and the apostles. She heard Christ announcing to them: “Now is the hour for Me to ascend to My Father!”
Upon hearing this, Veronica perceived that Mary and all of the apostles began to look saddened and downcast. But immediately, the Savior offered them the following words of consolation: “Do not let your hearts be troubled, for I shall not leave
You as orphans. Behold, I will be with you always. And I will send you a Comforter—the Holy Spirit—by whom you will be filled with a joy so great that it will exceed all words! Indeed, unless I depart from you, you will not be able to receive this Holy Spirit.”
When He had said this and many other words of encouragement and consolation to them, He was raised up to the heavens. Radiant clouds surrounded Him and concealed Him from their eyes, while a multitude of angels, aflame with celestial splendor, sang His praises in endless streams of transcendent harmonies. As Christ ascended through each of the various orbs of the heavens, new legions of angels greeted Him with heavenly hymns of jubilation and glory. Many of these angels also bore golden thuribles, with which they incensed Him in adoration.
When Jesus entered the very highest heaven—the Heaven of Heavens— in supreme triumph, God the Father and God the Holy Spirit came forth to greet Him, as if in ecstatic contemplation of the Beatific Vision. Christ then assumed His throne at the right hand of the Father. Ineffable and blinding glory suffused and surrounded these three Persons—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—in a such a manner that they became indistinguishable and inseparable in the immortal splendor of the one God.
This wonderful vision continued for Blessed Veronica until the eleventh hour of the day, as calculated according to the customs of Milan. During this time, the mystical delights which she experienced may only be compared with the eternal and infinite joys of heaven itself.
ooo
This article is taken from a chapter in The Life of Jesus Christ Revealed by Blessed Veronica of Milan, Fr. Robert Nixon which is available from TAN Books.
