Feast of the Transfiguration

Today is the Feast of the Transfiguration. Often in the gospels we read that Jesus withdrew to a lonely place usually a high mountain with few of His chosen disciples Peter, James and John to pray. We need to do the same in order for us to welcome the messengers of God who bring us personal and communal messages for our spiritual journey. In Matthew chapter 17 and Luke chapter 9 we see Elijah and Moses appear to Jesus who was completely transformed in appearance as He conversed with them. Elijah (prophets) and Moses (law) spoke to Jesus about His upcoming passion, death and resurrection giving Him the strength to drink the bitter cup of suffering which would commence immediately after His arrival in Jerusalem. Since Jesus is truly divine and truly human He was strengthened for His suffering, this is a mystery that we seek to comprehend to the extent that it is humanly possible with our limitations. Jesus went willingly and knowingly towards Jerusalem to undergo His passion and death, even His disciples couldn’t fully understand why He was not trying to escape the suffering and death that awaited Him in Jerusalem. Jesus paid in full the price of our salvation on Calvary so we could live eternally and not perish. Mount Tabor still exists in Holyland and on top of that mount there is a beautiful Church with stained glass windows that depict both Elijah and Moses. This Church of the Transfiguration was built by the Franciscan Friars to commemorate this very crucial event in the life of Jesus. If Jesus’ life is a model for us then we should also often withdraw to pray and gather up strength to face the challenges in our own life from time to time. Going on a weekend or a week long retreat annually is an excellent way to do that!