Ascension of Jesus to facilitate the obligation to attend Mass. Saint Jerome held that it was of Apostolic origin, but in fact the ascension was originally part of Pentecost (the coming of the Holy Spirit), and developed as a separate celebration only slowly from the late 4th century onward. In the Catholic tradition it begins with a three-day "rogation" to ask for God's mercy, and the feast itself includes a procession of torches and banners symbolising Christ's journey to the Mount of Olives and entry into heaven, the extinguishing of the Paschal candle, and an all-night vigil; white is the liturgical colour. The
Ascension of Jesus in Christian art in the Eastern Church) the Virgin Mary is at the center of the group of Apostles (representing the Church) who look upwards towards the ascending Jesus who usually signals a blessing with his right hand. Testament scenes that appear in the Christian art of the 3rd and 4th centuries typically deal with the works and miracles of Jesus such as healings, the multiplication of the loaves or the raising of Lazarus. Although versions of the subject of "Christ in Majesty", which show the resurrected and ascended Christ in heaven, appear earlier, the Ascension itself is not depicted until about 400.