The Transfiguration Of Our Lord

First Point

Jesus came upon this earth to make satisfaction for our sins¹and was always considered as the man of sin by his Eternal Father because he was burdened by the sins of the whole world,² even though he never did and never could commit any sin. For that reason he remained on earth, subject to all the sufferings of this life and to all the miseries that are the consequence of sin. Because of this, he always appeared as an ordinary man and kept hidden from the rest of the world the glorious state his holy soul enjoyed, which his sacred humanity had a right to enjoy from the moment of his conception. He was even willing to be mocked, scorned, and insulted by those who did not live according to his teaching. In fulfilling the obligation he had taken to satisfy for us the justice of his Father,³ he considered himself, according to the prophetic expression of David, the most despised of men and the outcast of the people,⁴ even though he was the King of glory.⁵ We, who were born in sin and have lived in sin, must be conformable to Jesus Christ6 in this life and suffer with him if we wish to have him for our head, to be one of his members, and to destroy sin in ourselves.⁷ As Saint Paul teaches us, neither afflictions nor disappointments, neither hunger nor nakedness, and neither dangers nor persecutions ought to be able to separate us from the love of Jesus Christ. If we are put to death for his sake, the same Apostle says, and if we are considered only as sheep destined for the slaughter, amidst all these evils, we will remain victorious,⁸ inspired by the example of him who has loved us so much and who delivered himself up to death for love of us.⁹

Second Point

Although the purpose that the Son of God set before himself on coming into this world was to suffer for us,¹⁰ he willed to show for a short time, as it were in passing, some rays of his glory to three of his Apostles.¹¹ With this in view, he led them to a solitary place on a high mountain.¹² There he first gave himself to prayer and, while praying, was transfigured in their presence. His face became as bright as the sun, his garments all shining with light and as white as snow.¹³ Saint Peter, who was present at this mystery, when giving testimony to what he had seen, says, We ourselves were witnesses of the majesty of Jesus Christ, for he received from God the Father a testimonial to his honor and glory when we were together with him on the holy mountain.¹⁴ Moses and Elias also were there and joined with him to do him homage.¹⁵ Because Jesus Christ always possessed this glory within himself, when he was transfigured, the change that appeared in him was only external. It is not the same with us. The change that must take place in us is interior; we must be entirely transformed by the light and the fulness of grace and by the possession of the Spirit of God. If there were to follow, later on, some change in our exterior, this would come about only as an overflowing of the happiness that we enjoy in the depths of our soul, because we will then be taken up with God alone and with what we must do for love of him.

Third Point

It was while he was in seclusion and during prayer that Jesus Christ was transfigured. The topic on which he conversed with Moses and Elias during his transfiguration was what would be accomplished in him during his Passion and death, which he was going to suffer on a cross outside the city of Jerusalem¹⁶ as he desired. While Jesus Christ was speaking about his sufferings and death, a luminous cloud appeared and covered him and Moses and Elias. From that cloud, where the glory of God appeared, a voice came forth that spoke these words: This is my beloved Son; listen to him.¹⁷ Relating what happened in this mystery, Saint Peter says that they heard this voice coming from heaven.¹⁸ All this ought to make us understand (1) that it is only in seclusion and prayer that a soul can attain a true transfiguration or, rather, a transformation of itself and be enlightened by God, and (2) when the soul is transfigured in this way with Jesus Christ, it must be willing to meditate on his Passion and cross to show that all its desire is to become like Jesus Christ¹⁹ in his sufferings. The Eternal Father will not recognize us as his well-beloved except insofar as we love suffering and give proof of this love by practice and by daily living this spirit. We must remember these words of Jesus Christ, that we must bear our cross daily to be his disciples.²⁰

Historical Context

This feast was extended to the universal Church in 1457 by Pope Calixtus III to commemorate the victory of Saint John Capistrano over the Turks near Belgrade. It was earlier celebrated in the liturgy of the second Sunday of Lent.

Scripture Citation

1. 1 Jn 3:5
2. 2 Cor 5:21
3. Is 53:6; 2 Cor 5:21
4. Ps 22:7
5. Ps 24:7
6. Rom 8:29
7. Eph 4:15; 1 Cor 6:15
8. Rom 8:35–37
9. Eph 5:2
10. Heb 10:5–7
11. Mt 17:1–2
12. Mk 9:1
13. Lk 9:29
14. 2 Pt 1:16–18
15. Mt 17:3
16. Lk 9:29–31
17. Mt 17:5
18. 2 Pt 1:17–18
19. Rom 8:29
20. Lk 9:23