The Transfiguration of the Lord

Year of Saint Joseph

Year of the Family "Amoris Laetitia The Joy of Love"

National Back to School Month

First Friday of the Month

43rd Anniversary of the Death of Saint Giovanni Baptiste Enrico Antonio Maria Montini, Pope Saint Paul VI

Readings of the Day

RB: Ch 54 Letters or Gifts for Monks

Mass: Dn 7:9-10, 13-14; Resp Ps 97; 2 Pet 1:16-19; Mk 9:2-10

The Lord is king, the Most High over all the earth.

HEART OF JESUS, OF INFINITE MAJESTY,

HAVE MERCY ON US.

As is my custom every year on this glorious feast, I pulled out three postcards from my 2000 pilgrimage to the Holy Land. It was during the Jubilee Year and shortly before I entered the monastery. The cards are from Mount Tabor. One is of the Mount, the Mount of the Transfiguration; another from inside the Basilica of the Transfiguration, a picture of the Transfiguration Mosaic by R. Villani; and my favorite is of the stained glass window of the crypt in the Basilica, with peacocks, symbols of immortality. I remember the day of the visit, a beautiful day when I, with a few others, walked up the mountain. At the same time, others were driven up the mountain in cars, cars that were not moving slowly. One thing I remember it that people were hang gliding off the side of the mountain and I wanted to join in. Yes, it was good to be there. And there is another thing I remember. It was so good to be in the Holy Land that I considered staying there to work on a kibbutz. A wise monk in the group suggested that I reconsider. Can you imagine? 😊 Kyrie eleison.

It's the First Friday of the Month and a good day to listen to the voice coming from the cloud: This is my beloved Son. Listen to Him (Mk 9:7). And as Saint Peter writes, "You will do well to be attentive to it, as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts" (2 Pet 1:19).

Since each of us possesses God in his heart and is being transformed into His divine image, we also should cry out with joy: It is good for us to be here-here where all things shine with divine radiance, where there is joy and gladness and exultation; where there is nothing in our hearts but peace, serenity and stillness; where God is seen. For here, in our hearts, Christ takes up His abode together with the Father, saying as He enters; Today salvation has come to this house. With Christ, our hearts receive all the wealth of His eternal blessings, and there where they are stored up for us in Him, we see reflected as in a mirror both the firstfruits and the whole of the world to come.

(From a sermon on the transfiguration of the Lord by Anastasius of Sinai, bishop, in Office of Readings, August 6)

POPE SAINT PAUL VI,

SAINT JOSEPH,

PRAY FOR US.

Today's photo: From the Otto's hike at Wiamea Canyon, Kauai. It was certainly good to be there too. 

© Gertrude Feick 2021

Feast of the Transfiguration

Readings of the Day
RB: Ch 54 The Reception of Letters and Gifts in the Monastery
Mass: Da 7:9-10, 13-14; Resp Ps 97; 2 P 1:16-19; Mk 9:2-10

MOUNT TABOR

MOUNT OF THE TRANSFIGURATION

Second Sunday of Lent

Readings of the day: RB 19 Our Approach to Prayer

Mass: Gn 22:1-2, 9a, 10-13, 15-18; Resp Ps 116; Rm 8:31b-34; Mk 9:2-10

This is my beloved Son.

Listen to him.

Today’s Gospel prompted me to pull out picture postcards from a 2000 pilgrimage to the Holy Land. One of my favorite excursions was the trek to the top of Mount Tabor and the Basilica of the Transfiguration. I have three cards: one a view of the landscape with Tabor rising in the distance; the other two from the basilica—the stained-glass window of the crypt with peacocks and the Transfiguration mosaic. To reach the basilica the pilgrim could either walk up the Mount or take a wild car ride. One memory that lingers is the sight of people hang gliding off the mountain—oh how I wished I could join in. I also remember the sun and heat of the day—the enriching time had by all. I could have stayed on the mountain all day; it was one of those experiences I didn’t want to end. 

The passage from Mark’s Gospel recounts Jesus leading Peter, James, and John up a high mountain apart, by themselves. There, Jesus was transfigured before them—his clothes became dazzling white, such as no one on earth could bleach them. Now Elijah and Moses appear talking with Jesus. This was an experience Peter didn’t want to end. He exclaims: ‘Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.’

We’ve all had moments we wish could last forever: time alone with a loved one; a really good party; the vacation of a lifetime; enjoying a favorite meal with your best friends; receiving accolades; watching your favorite team win the Super Bowl. We know life isn’t like that though. Life is full of joys, delights, thrills. At the same time, we experience times of sadness, grief, illness, diminishment, loneliness, times when we are not recognized or appreciated for our contribution to the family, community, work team. Jesus calls us to come down from the peaks and walk with him on the daily pilgrimage to death and resurrection. Jesus asks us to pick up our cross and follow him. We are on our way to everlasting life; now, we live the ups and downs of daily life; we struggle, we suffer, we die to self. Jesus accompanies us to the mountain tops, to the valleys, into the pits. Jesus is with us; He is with you. Jesus loves us; He loves you. May we walk more closely with Him during this Lenten journey and ‘look forward to the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come’ (Profession of Faith, The Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed).

I consider that the sufferings of the present time

are not to be compared with the future glory that is to be revealed in us.

(Rm 8:18)

If God is with us, who can be against us?

(Rm 8:31b)