2nd Sunday of Lent (Year A) March 16, 2014 I. GOSPEL READING (Matt. 17:1-9) Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. And he was transfigured before them; his face shone like the sun and his clothes became white as light. And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, conversing with him. Then Peter said to Jesus in reply, “Lord, it is good that we are here. If you wish, I will make three tents here, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud cast a shadow over them, then from the cloud came a voice that said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.” When the disciples heard this, they fell prostrate and were very much afraid. But Jesus came and touched them, saying, “Rise, and do not be afraid.” And when the disciples raised their eyes, they saw no one else but Jesus alone. As they were coming down from the mountain, Jesus charged them, “Do not tell the vision to anyone until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.” Points for Reflection The Transfiguration is one of the most mysterious and awe-inspiring visions in the Gospels (Mark 9:2-8; Matthew 17:1-8; Luke 9:28-36). Witnessed by Peter, James and John, it is a privileged revelation of Jesus’ divinity within his humanity. Reading from the Gospel of Matthew, let us look at some details of this majestic story and see their significance in our Lenten preparations - for the celebration of the Paschal Mystery and for the Easter tradition of renewing our baptismal commitments. Typical of Matthew, the details are loaded with Old Testament imagery that express something heavenly and divine. 1. Up a high mountain Though identified with Tabor, the mountain is not specified, because its meaning is theological rather than geographical. It is reminiscent of God revealing Himself to Moses on Mount Sinai (Exodus 24:12-18) and to Elijah at the same place (1 Kings 19:8-18). Moses and Elijah were the only men in the Old Testament ever to speak with God on a mountain. Interestingly, there were prophecies about their “reappearance” in the Scriptures (Deut. 18:15; Malachi 4:5), which came true when they “appeared” conversing with Jesus on the mountain during the Transfiguration. 2. Face shone like the sun and clothes became white as light Since the beginning, light characterizes Gods self-manifestation. It depicts not only His eternal design in creation, redemption and sanctification, but also symbolizes His holiness and perfection. Jesus’ glorious appearance - “his face shone like the sun and his clothes became white as light” - moves us to contemplate what Paul in the Second Reading calls God’s ”design…from before time began, but now made manifest through the appearance of our savior Christ Jesus.” (2 Tim 1:8-10) In his Lenten Message in 2011, Pope Benedict XVI had a beautiful insight on this: “The Gospel of the Transfiguration of the Lord puts before our eyes the glory of Christ, which anticipates the resurrection and announces the divinization of man.” Indeed, Jesus, in his glorious appearance, is revealed as the perfect fulfillment of God’s design - for man and for the entire creation. 3. Moses and Elijah conversing with him The presence of Moses and Elijah is very significant. Representing the Law and the Prophets, respectively, they point to Jesus as the fulfillment of all revelations. The Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC 65) asserts this interpretation, citing Hebrews 1:1-2: In many and various ways God spoke of old to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by a Son. Concerning this, the First Reading (Gen. 12:1-4) makes us look even beyond Moses and Elijah and go back to as early as during the time of Abraham whom God called to form a people through whom He would reveal Himself and bestow His blessings upon all humanity. God would later elevate his promise to an eternal covenant with Moses (Ex. 2:24; 3:8) and with David (Jer. 33:26), which would find fulfillment in Jesus. 4. This is my beloved Son . . . listen to him. We only hear of God speaking twice in the whole of the New Testament - at Jesus’ baptism and here at the Transfiguration. Both times, He speaks only of Jesus, telling us: “Listen to Him.” When the apostles heard God speaking from the cloud, they were frightened and fell to the ground, a consistent reaction to God’s voice. Jesus touched them and said, “Rise, and do not be afraid.” They had been told of the suffering that lay ahead, both for Jesus and themselves. They had also seen the glory that lay ahead, a glory they were destined to share, just as Moses and Elijah did. They were humbled and brought low, but Jesus called them, with his touch, to begin their journey with him without fear. From the desert, Jesus takes us to the mountain. But, in order to see the glory of God and be divinized by Jesus, we must first experience both mountains - Golgotha and Tabor. Let us take the Transfiguration as the celebration of the presence of Jesus, who takes charge of everything in us and transfigures even that which disturbs us about ourselves. God penetrates those hardened and disquieting areas within us, in the face of which we feel helpless, and penetrates them with the life of his Spirit who acts upon those areas and gives them his own face, his consolation and his peace. II. OUR LADY’S MESSAGE: “In Expectation of His Glorious Return” (Message 402) March 26, 1989 Easter Sunday Dongo, Como, Italy a. Beloved sons, live in the joy of Easter. Jesus Christ, scourged, crowned with thorns, reviled, led to the Cross, crucified and put to death as a malefactor, is risen. With the power which comes to Him from his Person and from his divine nature, He has summoned from death his human nature, and in the splendor of his glory, He comes forth victorious from the sepulchre. b. Christ Risen is alive in your midst. Do not fear: He is guiding the events of human history to the realization of the Will of the Heavenly Father and of his great plan of salvation. Christ Risen is now seated in heaven upon his throne of glory, at the right hand of the Father. c. To Him all things are subjected. Beneath his footstool all his enemies will be humbled and defeated. As of today, human history is opened up to the full glorification of the risen Christ. The risen Christ will come again to you on the clouds of heaven, in the full splendor of his glory. d. Live today in expectation of his glorious return. e. Do not allow yourselves to be discouraged by the momentary triumph of evil and of sin. Do not let the present victory in the world — the victory of the obstinate rejection of God, of rebellion against his Law of love and of a so universal impiety — sadden you. Nor should you allow yourselves to be seized by doubt or lack of confidence in seeing the Church so wounded and stricken, ensnared and betrayed. Let the paschal joy be greater than every human reason for apprehension and sadness. f. Christ Risen is alive in your midst. Christ Risen marks with his victory the events of the world and of history. Christ Risen wills to restore his kingdom in your midst, that He may be glorified by the whole created universe. g. Live always in joy and in a firm hope, in expectation of his glorious return. Points for Reflection 1. Live in the joy of Easter. What has been prefigured in the Transfiguration is now fulfilled in the Resurrection. Jesus Christ, scourged, crowned with thorns, reviled, led to the Cross, crucified and put to death as a malefactor, is risen, with the power which comes from his divine nature and in the splendor of his glory. (402 a) With this victorious accomplishment of her Risen Son, Our Lady invites us to live the joy of Easter. She cites the following as reasons for our joy: The Risen Lord now guides the events of human history (402 b). All things are subjected to him, and all his enemies will be humbled and defeated (402 c). 2. Live in the expectation of his glorious return. Here, Our Lady leads us to look at the Risen Lord beyond the present time. She wants us to look forward to his glorious return. “The risen Christ will come again to you on the clouds of heaven, in the full splendor of his glory. (402 c) In the book, To the Priests, Our Ladys Beloved Sons, she must have mentioned our Lord’s glorious return a hundred times, for this is the centerpiece of her message. 3. Do not allow yourselves to be discouraged. Our Lady refers to the sufferings and crisis of our present time, which she describes as the momentary triumph of evil and of sin. (402 e) As foretold in the Scriptures, all of these are a necessary prelude to the glorious return of Our Lord. In many instances, she warns us of tribulations and chastisements, not to sow fear but, rather, in order to guide us on what to do, offering herself as the safe way to her Son who will come again to reign fully in us. “Do not let the present victory in the world - the victory of the obstinate rejection of God, of rebellion against his Law of love and of a so universal impiety - sadden you. Nor should you allow yourselves to be seized by doubt or lack of confidence in seeing the Church so wounded and stricken, ensnared and betrayed. Let the paschal joy be greater than every human reason for apprehension and sadness.” (402 e) 4. Live always in joy and in a firm hope. Taking this last point of our reflection, let us turn to Our Lady, who kept watch with firm hope at that long and painful moment of her Son’s suffering and death. There, she was called “to hope against the very evidence of things.” (104 h) Likewise during this Lenten period, let us learn to hope the way she did. Let us learn from her how to pray with confidence and how to believe with unshakeable certitude. God bless you all! Yours in the Immaculate Heart, Fr. Omer
Posted on: Fri, 14 Mar 2014 03:53:26 +0000
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