REFLECT
The Gospel at Mass today is a familiar one—the Transfiguration of Jesus before the “inner circle” of his apostles. The glory of the divinity of Jesus, Son of God, which is normally hidden behind his humanity, is allowed to shine forth in a brilliant display. While most of us will never get to have this experience on this side of heaven, as Catholics, we have the privilege of being in the actual physical presence of Jesus any time we go into a church or chapel. While he is typically hidden behind the appearance of bread and wine in the Eucharist, if we have the eyes of faith, we will find ourselves saying along with St. Peter, “Master, it is good that we are here.”
It is easy to become numb to this sublime reality of the Eucharist, as I myself can attest. And this is true of the majority of our brother and sister Catholics, who, as polls will tell us, do not believe in the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist at all. The three apostles, however, were given a special grace by God to strengthen their faith in the hidden reality of Jesus’s divinity. While I have not had a full-out transfiguration experience, I have been blessed with some more subtle experiences through others. As an extraordinary minister of holy communion, I’ve witnessed certain communicants where I can see in their eyes that they are grasping the hidden reality in a strong way. Similarly, I have observed certain priests celebrate the Mass in such a way that shows their love of Jesus that can only come from strong faith in the divine mystery.
On this second Sunday of Lent, as we continue to prepare ourselves for the glory of Christ’s resurrection, let’s focus on Christ already present before us. Regardless of how strong our faith is, if we give him an opportunity, “pitching our tent” on the mountain with him in prayer, we can trust that he will grow our faith in him so that we can be apostles to others.
PRAY
Let us pray: Lord Jesus, you made the glory of your divinity known to your apostles at the Transfiguration. Grant that we, too, can come to know you as truly present in the Eucharist and so be transformed to build up your kingdom on earth.
ACT
Spend an extra 5-10 minutes in prayer after Mass today. Reflect on any “transfiguration experiences” in your life (either that you experienced yourself or witnessed in another) and ask the Lord to reinvigorate your faith.