Understand What the Transfiguration Should Mean for Our Own Spiritual Life
Fr. Hugh Gillespie, SMM
Understand What the Transfiguration Should Mean for Our Own Spiritual Life
In the first reading (not included within this audio) we are told without faith it is impossible to please God.
This is an important statement to understand. We must understand it. If you are a believer, it is not enough to believe things about the Lord. We must be in the Lord. Faith is not just knowing details about the Lord and believing they are true. Faith is belief in a person. Moreover, faith is belief in the Lord. Hear more within the Homily.
In today’s Gospel from St. Mark, we hear about the Transfiguration. It is important that we understand what is happening in this event. In the days before this Gospel, and within this Gospel reading, we hear that St. Peter is there at each event.
In the days before, the Lord asks His disciples, who do people say that I am? Then He asks, who do you (the disciples) say I am? Finally, the Lord talks about Himself. He talks about Himself in the words of The Cross. The Lord will be rejected, He will suffer, He will die, and finally, He will rise.
Peter immediately objects to this description of the Passion. Peter states this is not a good plan. The Lord corrects Peter. Furthermore, the Lord has not come to fulfill Peter’s expectations, or our expectations. The Lord continues in the readings. He says, if anyone wants to come after me, let him deny himself, pick up his cross, and follow me.
Jesus Shows the Disciples Where They Are Going with the Lord When They Follow Him
In today’s Gospel, the Lord takes Peter, James and John and tells them to follow Him to what would be the Transfiguration. The Homily talks about the significance of these three disciples. It is the moment for these three. It is not the moment for the other disciples.
In our own Spiritual Life, there are times when the Lord will say come with me. Hear more about this! The Transfiguration has a message for us as well. It was not just about the Lord revealing His Glory to the three disciples. It was that, but more. When we deny ourselves, and pick up our cross and follow Him…there is a reason. The Lord will show us, from time to time, His Glory. He does so when it is the right time for us . . . spiritually. Jesus will show you where we are going when we follow Him in this manner. When He reveals to us . . . when He shows us Him, in His Glory . . . He is revealing what Heaven says about the Lord.
The sequence in the Transfiguration (and before) is important. What does the world say about Me? What do you say about Me? Let Me tell you about Me! And, Let Heaven tell you about Me!
The disciples are overwhelmed in seeing the Glory of the Lord. They see Moses and Elijah and Jesus. Jesus, in His Glory, allows the disciples to see scripture in a way they could not before this event. The disciples are changed. They come down from the mountain different than they were when the ascended.
Understand what the Transfiguration should mean for our own Spiritual Life. Listen further to this Homily. Listen to this Mediation Media.
Understand What the Transfiguration Should Mean for Our Own Spiritual Life
