Devotion for today: He was transfigured before them.

The fourth Mystery of Light is the Transfiguration.

Scripture for Meditation: 2 Corinthians: 13-18

We are not like Moses, who used to hide his face with a veil so that the Israelites could not see the final fading of that glory. Their minds, of course, were dulled. To this very day, when the old covenant is read the veil remains unlifted; it is only in Christ that it is taken away. Even now, when Moses is read a veil covers their understanding. “But whenever he turns to the Lord, the veil will be removed.” The Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. All of us, gazing on the Lord’s glory with unveiled faces, are being transformed from glory to glory into his very image by the Lord who is the Spirit.

The Gospel of Matthew tells us: Matthew 17: 1-3, 5-8

Six days later Jesus took Peter, James and his brother John and led them up on a high mountain by themselves. He was transfigured before their eyes. His face became as dazzling as the sun, his clothes as radiant as light. Suddenly Moses and Elijah appeared to them conversing with him. …suddenly a bright cloud overshadowed them. Out of the cloud came a voice which said, “This is my beloved Son on whom my favor rests. Listen to him.” When they heard this, the disciples fell forward on the ground, overcome with fear. Jesus came toward them and laying his hand on them said, “Get up! Do not be afraid.” When they looked up they did not see anyone but Jesus.

Blessed John Paul II tells us, in his apostolic letter “ROSARIUM VIRGINIS MARIAE”:

9. “And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun” (Mt 17:2). The Gospel scene of Christ's transfiguration, in which the three Apostles Peter, James and John appear entranced by the beauty of the Redeemer, can be seen as an icon of Christian contemplation. To look upon the face of Christ, to recognize its mystery amid the daily events and the sufferings of his human life, and then to grasp the divine splendor definitively revealed in the Risen Lord, seated in glory at the right hand of the Father: this is the task of every follower of Christ and therefore the task of each one of us. In contemplating Christ's face we become open to receiving the mystery of Trinitarian life, experiencing ever anew the love of the Father and delighting in the joy of the Holy Spirit. Saint Paul's words can then be applied to us: “Beholding the glory of the Lord, we are being changed into his likeness, from one degree of glory to another; for this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit” (2Cor 3:18). 21. The mystery of light par excellence is the Transfiguration, traditionally believed to have taken place on Mount Tabor. The glory of the Godhead shines forth from the face of Christ as the Father commands the astonished Apostles to “listen to him” (cf. Lk 9:35 and parallels) and to prepare to experience with him the agony of the Passion, so as to come with him to the joy of the Resurrection and a life transfigured by the Holy Spirit.

Prayer:  Collect for the Mass of the Feast of the Transfiguration

God our Father, in the transfigured glory of Christ your Son, you strengthen our faith by confirming the witness of your prophets, and show us the splendor of your beloved sons and daughters. As we listen to the voice of your Son, help us to become heirs to eternal life with him, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, on God, forever and ever. Amen. (St. Joseph Weekday Missal, Volume II, 1975, Catholic Book Publishing Co.)

My thoughts:  Blessed John Paul II tells us that this mystery is the Mystery of Light par excellence. It is in this event in Christ’s public life that he displays his God-nature. Whereas in yesterday’s mystery of the Proclamation of the Kingdom we were called to action, today’s Mystery of the Transfiguration calls us to contemplation. Today we are to study the face of Christ, to see its radiance and glory, and to live. Christ came so that we would no longer be afraid of God, for He is a glorious God, one who wants to fill us with his glory. He radiates light as we are to do; we learn from gazing upon him, in the Eucharist, on the cross, as he is transfigured. May we never veil our faces so that our glory is hidden, but fearlessly allow ourselves to be the children of light that God wants us to be. God commands, “Listen to Him”, and we must take time to be silent and do just that. Let God speak in the silence of your heart. Contemplation, and action: the two cornerstones of a well-balanced spiritual life, are both found in the Mysteries of Light.

Our prayer to God: As we pray our decade today, concentrating on the Mystery of the Transfiguration, let us remember what Blessed John Paul II told us: we must remember that in accepting the glory, we also accept the cross. May our prayer today include our willingness to do just that.