The transfiguration of Jesus is that event that invites us to transfigure ourselves and then rise again with him
Homiletics of the Fathers of The Island of Patmos
THE TRANSFIGURATION OF JESUS IS THAT EVENT THAT INVITES US TO TRANSFIGURE OURSELVES AND THEN RISE WITH HIM
prayer also gives us the authority and courage to account for the hope that is in us. Therefore to bear witness to the faith even in environments that reject it
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Author:
Gabriele Giordano M. Scardocci, o.p.
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The transfiguration of Jesus, by Raffaello Sanzio
On this second Sunday of Lent, in readings from the Liturgy of the Word we remember the moment of the Transfiguration, an event that gives life to a celebration in which God asks us to be intimately united with him in prayer and to listen to him. About listening, feel a bit’ what does Clive S write?. Lewis, imagining he was the imp Screwtape, who gives instructions to his nephew Malacoda to lead man away from God:
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“My dear Wormwood, the amateurish propositions which appear in your last letter suggest to me that it is high time I wrote to you at length on the painful subject of prayer […] the best thing, if it were possible, would be to keep the patient completely away from any serious intention of praying".
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For the devil it is really important that we cease to pray because in doing so we cease to be under the gaze of God and heart to heart with Jesus. Let's take a closer look at these points.
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“About eight days after these talks, Jesus took Peter with him, John and James and went up on the mountain to pray".
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Trying to imagine a bit’ the scene, we can see mount tabor. Desertic, hot and high. Perhaps inhospitable place for a walk. But Jesus calls three apostles right there. To be alone with him. So Jesus makes them leave the desert tracks of Palestine to make them climb the high mountain. This image is a reminder of the Church that walks with Jesus. But that's a bit’ meaning for us too in this Lent: walk and let ourselves be taken by the Lord, that comes in our moments of desert, of misunderstanding, in the moments when our souls grow, in a moment of deep prayer. Like Peter, James and John so we too can enter the secret space between God the Eternal Father and God the Eternal Son, wedge ourselves together to be alone. Alone with God to renew our view of all things and observe them from above. From a divine and human point of view together. Jesus himself while praying changes in appearance. His tunic turns white. Color of the presence of God. Suddenly Moses and Elijah appear. A sudden appearance [cf.. vv. 29 – 32] as Jesus begins to speak of his coming days in Jerusalem. A truly glorious and at the same time tremendous scene must have appeared to the three apostles. Moses, the one who received the law, Elia, the great prophet. The two Old Testament messengers par excellence. All while Jesus is offering the central message of his mission: offering himself on the cross for our redemption. Probably the three apostles are a bit’ dazed. Until a few moments later the cloud breaks over the mountain, and then they begin to fear. To make matters worse, immediately after, the most important announcement happens. The very reason why the Lord had brought them there. We feel:
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“A voice came out of the cloud, who said: "This is my Son, the chosen one; listen!».
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This voice is the Eternal Father who asks to listen to Jesus his Son. A revelation shock for the poor three, who had also been spectators, until that moment, of various extraordinary events. Jesus is man but also God. God is also the Eternal Father who announces him and asks to listen to him. Indeed, after moments of intimacy with Jesus, in deep prayer one must listen.
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What does this mean for us today? Listening means transforming prayer into concrete actions. Like this, as happened to Peter, prayer also gives us the authority and courage to account for the hope that is in us. Therefore to bear witness to the faith even in environments that reject it [cfr.1 Pt 4]. Exactly like in Giacomo's experience, prayer allows us to carry out the material and spiritual works of mercy, to show the beauty and fullness of faith precisely through works [cf.. GC 2]. In the end, like John, prayer allows us to contemplate the profound mystery of the Incarnation, to meditate that who was in the beginning of the World, God is also the principle and sap of our life [GV 1, 2 -4].
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The transfiguration of Jesus it is therefore that event that invites us to transfigure ourselves in order to then rise again with him. By listening and putting it into practice, all of us, day by day, we are transfigured in Christ, with a changed face, smiling and open to the dimensions of the sacred, to marvel at a love that welcomes us to the end. For this we ask the Lord, with the example and help of Mary, humility of heart to open ourselves to attentive listening to God to give the world the hope of eternal life.
Rome, 12 March 2022
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