The Transfiguration of Our Lord

4/8/2017

In the Entrance Antiphon and Gospel for this day we hear, as did Peter, James and John, the Father proclaiming Jesus as His Beloved Son, and calling on us to ‘Listen to Him’. The Apostles were granted this advance sight of the Risen and Glorified Jesus and the Prophets, Moses and Elijah, to strengthen them for the coming ordeal of witnessing His Passion and Death; the vision was pointing them beyond that traumatic challenge to their faith which would come on Good Friday (when the forces of evil appeared to have abruptly ended Jesus’ Mission) to His ultimate Triumph over Satan. This is the triumph in which, should we hear and choose to live by the Word of God in our lives we, like Moses and Elijah, will share for all Eternity in Heaven.

The Supreme Kingship of Christ, prophesied in the Old Testament by Daniel, is acknowledged by us, the People of the New Covenant, in the Response to the Psalm. Our first Pope, Saint Peter, in his second Letter, recalls the momentous vision on the mountain; directly from God, independent of any human agency it confirms the Prophecies of old and ‘spotlights’ Christ as our sure guide through the challenges of life; we need only watch the daily news to see how destructive is ‘independence’ from God’s Laws!

Transfiguration – painted by Raphael (1483-1520) in 1520, and unfinished at the time of his death

In the Gospel account, the humanity and humility of Saint Peter are demonstrated in his offer to construct some kind of earthly dwelling for Jesus, Moses and Elijah. Of course, as The Father reminds him (and us), what is needed for our worship of God and consequent Salvation is firstly internal, i.e. our loving acceptance of and positive response to the Truth.

As created beings of flesh and blood, we are called to and certainly must employ our God-given bodies and our senses in participating in the Life of the Church. Today’s Feast firmly grounds all that we think, do and say on the ‘Truth that comes from God…’ which, alone, can strengthen us against and, ultimately, free us forever from the constant ‘pull’ of our Fallen Nature. Through the Teachings of the Church, challenging as they undoubtedly can be in this life, and through the Mass and the Sacraments, we are provided with a sure ‘route-map’ to our Heavenly destiny. God has endowed Humans, His highest Creation, with intelligence; we are capable of reason and can discern right and wrong. While intimately knowing our weakened Nature and making full allowance for our being misled, through ignorance, into genuine error, He will respect any choices we make with full knowledge and understanding for or against His Laws.

Perhaps we can interpret The Father’s words to the Apostles that day as reminding us that although, being Human, we must live as and where God has put us, we have immortal spiritual Souls and so we must keep our sights firmly set on our true purpose, to ‘know, love and serve God in this life so as to be Happy forever with Him in Heaven’. May God continue to grant us the Gifts of Faith, Hope and Charity, ever drawing us Homewards! May we ever, ‘…listen to Him...’.

The Transfiguration of Our Lord

From St. Bart's

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