Dear Brothers and Sisters,
In today’s Gospel, Jesus leads his closest disciples to the mountaintop. These disciples experience, they witness the transfiguration. Christ shows them visibly what their minds could never reason. He shows them what has been hidden in the Incarnation, a glimpse of his divine glory.
Even God, the father, speaks to the disciples. “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased, listen to him.” The disciples are shown and told the truth about Jesus and themselves. He is the Messiah, the fulfillment of the prophets, the Son of God. They are disciples; they are to trust in him and follow him.
The experience is so wonderful, Peter wants to stay there but they can’t. They must go back down the mountain, to the world, to normality, to their mission, to Jerusalem. We all need the mountaintop experience, either physically or figuratively.
It’s my hope that this season of Lent, we might go up the mountain, take some time away from the routine, even 10 minutes a day. Some time for personal prayer alone and some time to pray as a family.
My hope is that Sunday mass could be a mountaintop experience for us every week in life, that Sunday could be a different type of day, a precious time; to draw closer to heaven, to see the truth of who Christ is, the truth of who we are; to be consoled, to be prepared for another week, return to life, to people, to our mission, but a little changed for the better.
Love and Blessings,
Fr Damian