Follow along with the visions of Blessed Veronica of Milan as she describes the Ascension of Our Lord and the sending of the Holy Spirit in striking detail. These visions were excerpted from The Life of Christ Revealed: The Visions of Blessed Veronica of Milan.
The Ascension of the Lord
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.
The Sending of the Holy Spirit
On the night before the glorious festivity of the Solemnity of Pentecost, Veronica experienced a splendid and magnificent vision of the celestial kingdom and saw Christ in the very highest realms of the heavens. He was genuflecting in adoration before the unseen Father, saying: “O My most holy Father and eternal Begetter, You know that I have dwelt among mortals and walked upon the earth. And I pledged most solemnly, both to my glorious ever-Virgin Mother and my faithful apostles, that I would send to them the Holy Spirit. Behold, this very day is the time appointed for the sending of this divine Spirit. Therefore, I beseech You, O heavenly Father, to do this great thing, which I have promised!”
To this humble filial supplication, the eternal Father replied, speaking as if from the unfathomable voids of inaccessible light: “My beloved Son, when I declared that all power on heaven and earth had been given over to You, I thereby pledged Myself to send the Holy Spirit, in accordance to Your promise, and to fulfill everything else You may have pledged!”
Upon hearing these awesome words, Blessed Veronica’s mystical trance ceased, and she returned to her normal senses. She continued in intense prayer and meditation until the celebration of the holy Mass of the Solemnity, at which she received most reverently the Blessed Sacrament of the Eucharist. Upon returning to her place, she was taken up into mystical rapture once more, and her vision was renewed.
She was led by an angel into a large upper room, in which were the holy Mother of God, the apostles, Saint Martha, Saint Mary Magdalene, Marcella, and many other disciples of Jesus, both male and female. Suddenly, a thunderous sound resonated throughout the entire chamber. A multitude of brilliant lights appeared, resembling tongues of fire. These fiery tongues settled over the heads of each one of them.
All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in numerous different languages and dialects. The commotion of all of this could be observed clearly from beyond the house, and at once a multitude gathered to observe what was happening. The apostles then went forth and addressed this crowd, preaching the word of God to them. They did this in numerous different languages, according to the gift of the Holy Spirit, and with such fervor and freedom that they seemed to many observers to be intoxicated.
All the crowds marveled at this. But there were a few who mocked them, saying: “These men are clearly drunk!” And then she saw the apostles go forth throughout the city of Jerusalem, proclaiming the Resurrection of the Christ, and that He was the true Son of God.
When this vision concluded and Veronica returned to her senses, she found that all the sisters were seated together for the festive luncheon to mark the Solemnity of Pentecost. As for Veronica herself, she felt that her whole mind, body, and soul were filled with the Holy Spirit, and her heart melted within her with spiritual joy.
As Blessed Veronica entered the chapel to prayer after the festive meal, one of the other nuns, named Sister Thadea, embraced her, for she sensed that she was filled with the fire of divine love. She felt the body of Veronica to be filled with a miraculous and indescribable warmth of celestial sweetness, which passed into her own body and soul. And she knew that Blessed Veronica had received that day a rare and precious gift from her beloved Spouse, Jesus Christ, the King of Heaven and Earth; to whom be glory forever and ever! Amen.
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This article is taken from a chapter in The Life of Christ Revealed: The Visions of Blessed Veronica of Milan by Blessed Veronica of Milan which is available from TAN Books.
