August 6, 2023

August 6: The Transfiguration of the Lord

“Something to Hold On To.”

Msgr. Thomas Gervasio

Throughout life there are certainly events that challenge or shake our faith…illness, the loss of a job, betrayal by a spouse or a friend, instances of injustice, or the death of a loved one. They cause us to question God’s love, or even God’s very existence.

Although the apostles had the privilege of living with the Lord, hearing his words and witnessing his miracles, it is amazing as we meet them in the Gospels, how slow they were to understand, how weak in faith. Our Lord knew this. He knew well those he had chosen. He was certain that their fragile faith would be shaken by his passion and death. So, he took Peter, James, and John to Mt. Tabor to experience his Transfiguration. On that mountaintop, for a moment, the human veil over his divinity would be lifted so that they would behold his heavenly splendor.

Within this extraordinary vision, the appearance of Moses and Elijah reveals that Jesus is the fulfilment of the Law (Moses being the Giver of the Law) and the Prophets (Elijah representing the prophetic tradition). What was Our Lord doing? He was giving his apostles a glimpse of heaven on earth. He was giving them something to hold on to during the difficulties to come. It was his way of saying, “Remember this vision when the dark clouds of Good Friday descend. Remember that there is something else. Remember that there is something better, something yet to come.”

Don’t we need something to hold on to, to keep us going, when dark clouds hover over us? We need to see a tomorrow. We need to hold on to the certainty—the truth—that God’s promises will be fulfilled.

The apostles’ experience on Mt. Tabor is not ours, but we are not without the means to encounter the Lord. We are not without the hope, not without the strength we need to deal with the difficulties of life. We find it here and now because every Mass is, in a certain sense, an experience of Mt. Tabor, because every Mass is heaven come to earth.

Scott Hahn reminds us: “To go to Mass is to go to heaven. To go to Mass is to receive the fullness of grace…no power on earth can give us more than we receive in the Mass, for we receive God into ourselves. We must go to Mass with eyes and ears, mind, and heart open to the truth that is before us…” Mass is not just a prayer service. It is that to be sure, but so much more. It is the greatest prayer because we are mystically joined to the Sacrifice of Christ on the Cross. The Mass is the sacrifice of Calvary renewed on our altar.

We do not see the Lord transfigured as did the apostles, but we encounter the very same Lord under the appearance of bread and wine. We might say that as he sought to sustain the faith of the apostles by his Transfiguration, he desires to sustain ours through the marvel of Transubstantiation. The bread and wine we bring to the altar become the Lord himself—body, blood, soul and divinity…to be our hope and strength. Our Lord indeed gave us the precious gift of himself to hold on to.

Let us pray: “Lord, you know the winds and the waves of my life. I do not see you transfigured before me, but I am commanded to listen to you. Help me to hold on to you and to your promises. Help me, in times of doubt and confusion, to have a lively and literal sense of your reality, your power, and your goodness. Replace my fears with trust, my inclinations to rebel with peace. Living close to you in the Eucharist, listening to you, help me to see your hand, your purpose, and your will through all things. Strengthen my hope in your promises.”