Atende, Domine et Miserere, qui apec abimus Tibi.
Abimus Tibi.
Eternal light and blessedness.
In sacred scripture, light, physical light, is always a sign and pledge of faith and the fruit of faith, which is salvation.
In the Old Testament today, from the reading from the book of Genesis,
we see how God uses the fiery torch in the middle of the night,
the frightful night in which Abraham fell,
and finds himself in as a sign of his covenant,
his promise that he will be with Abraham and his descendants forever.
And we see that sign used over and over again in the Old Testament
as when the fire, the column of fire leads the chosen people of God through the desert.
God is always using his signs to confirm his presence.
And specifically, light.
Like the light under a bushel basket, we're supposed to take it out and let it shine before men.
The city of God lit on the mountaintop.
The lamps carried by the virgins before the bridegroom.
All of these are to remind us of the importance of faith,
of our ascent to the truth that God has revealed to us as our guide through the,
through the latest evils and trials of this life.
Specifically, in regard to this second Sunday of Lent and the Gospel reading,
which we have today of the Transfiguration,
we are called to remember how our Lord sustained his apostles, his friends.
You know, Peter, James, and John were those who were closest to our Lord,
and our Lord took them aside from everyone else
and led them up onto the ladder of salvation.
they were close to our Lord. And our Lord took them aside from everyone else and led them up onto the ladder of salvation.
up onto the top of the mountain and there
before them he was transfigured
his countenance
and his garments
turned into light
he was glorified in their presence
saints tell us that
saints and holy doctors tell us that this was really
our Lord's state
and it was hidden
most of the time
but here he allowed his glory to be revealed
to his closest friends
so that they might be
sustained
that they might be strengthened
for the things that were to come
our Lord appears with
Moses and Elijah
Moses which represents
the law that God had given
to his people
and Elijah the prophet
who represents how
God had continually
intervened into the lives
of his people to call them back
to his truth
these two are standing
as
as
, prefigurements of things to come
in the presence of the fulfillment
in the presence of Jesus
all the whole law
and the preaching of the prophets
is fulfilled in the coming of Christ
and there Elijah and Moses
are speaking as St. Luke tells us today
of the passing
that Jesus was to accomplish
in Jerusalem
Jesus was to pass from this life to the next
from suffering
into glory
from life into death
and back to life
as a fulfillment of everything
that God had promised
and this is specifically
the light of Christ
this is
what God's word
wishes to teach us
it's all about
our redemption
all about the sacrifice of Christ
and our incorporation into this mystery
and this is our challenge
because for us the light seems to be dark
our Lord is asking us
to be dark
to unite our lives
in the midst of suffering
the sacrifices that we have to make
the temptations which we experience
the challenges which we experience
in terms of being faithful
to our daily duties
the burden that weighs upon our shoulders
come to me all you who are weary
and are heavily burdened
and I will give you rest
for my yoke is easy
and my burden light
this is the message that Christ gives us
we experience the light
of Christ
in the midst of what seems to be darkness
and there are moments in our lives
when we seem to experience that light
we feel the consolations of God
we see how our life
sort of fits into God's plan
and we recognize
that God is with us
but probably most of the time
it doesn't necessarily feel that way
it seems as though we're going
in the midst of darkness
and we don't always know what to do
there are many doubts in our lives
we don't always know what to do
we don't always know what God's will is
it seems that we're not receiving confirmation
about what we're supposed to be doing
and our Lord is showing the apostles
that they can be sure
that if they follow our Lord to Jerusalem
if they pick up their cross and carry it
if they remember his promises
that ultimately our fidelity leads to glory
our willingness to carry the cross
leads to Easter Sunday
that we will reach God
that we will reach the goal
the problem is
that most of the time
we're not on the Mount of Transfiguration
most of the time
we're in the Valley of Darkness
and it's up to us
to remember the words of Christ
this is what our Lord
is trying to encourage his apostles to do
you've been with me
all this time
you've heard what I have to say
you've heard the message
that I have to give
this light that you're experiencing
with your eyes right now
is to remind you who I am
so that when you don't see the light
at least you will remember my words
if you remember on Easter Sunday
when the two disciples were on the road to Emmaus
and our Lord appeared to them on the road
he upbraided them for being slow of mind
and dull of heart
to remember all the words that had been spoken
about him
they knew the prophecies
they knew the law
they heard the words of our Lord
and yet when our Lord actually suffered and died
they thought everything had come to naught
and our Lord didn't excuse them
he said you should have known better
you should have remembered the things that I told you
you should have remembered
that all these things were prophesied
it was the destiny of the Son of Man
to suffer and to die
to be delivered over into the hands of God
to be delivered over into the hands of God
to be delivered over into the hands of God
to be delivered over into the hands of God
wicked men
and then to rise on the third day
and so the apostles and our Lord's followers
for the most part
had a real hard time with this message
St. Peter for example
at Caesarea Philippi
was the one to proclaim the divinity of our Lord
who do they say I am
who do you say that I am
Peter replies
you are the Christ
the Son of the Living God
and then no sooner
did Peter say that I am
had he done that
that our Lord begins to speak about
his suffering and death
and Peter says
far be this from you
allow this to happen
and our Lord doesn't excuse Peter
he says
get behind me you Satan
because you think like man
instead of like God
because this is my destiny
this is what I have come to do
and if you are going to
be part of me
you are going to have to pick up your cross
and follow me
you are going to have to walk
in the light of my words
the transfiguration of the cross
the transfiguration of the cross
the transfiguration is all about
giving us an interior
confirmation
and strength
to cling to our Lord's words
because there is this moment of light
when our Lord reveals himself
and you know
there is the voice of his Father
this is my Son
my chosen one
listen to him
and then the light goes away
so they saw the light
they heard the voice of the Father
the light goes away
fades away
the voice of the Father
the voice is heard no more
and then God expects them
to remember the things
that our Lord told them
you know he is not promising
this light
and the special revelation
from the Father
at each step of the way
they are called to cling
to our Lord's words
to remember the promises
that he had made
and to follow the path
that he had laid out for them
and this is our lot as well
of course
you know we see our Lord's signs
we have the scriptures
we live in the light of God
we live in the light of God
we live in the light of God
we live in the light of God
we live in the light of the 2,000 years
of our church's history
we know that our Lord
is really present for us
in the Eucharist
we hear the words of absolution
in the confessional
that we are forgiven
if we are truly repentant
and then we are called
to walk the walk
you know sometimes our Lord
is going to be there
and confirm the faith that we have
confirm us in our fidelity
you know
console us in the midst of our sorrow
you know
but sometimes we are not going to have that
sometimes we are just going to have to
turn to his word
turn to the teaching of the church
recognize that
you know
what the will of God is for us
you know
to be faithful to the promises
that we have made
in our vocation
whether it be to marriage
or to religious life
or to priesthood
and to persevere in that vocation
and to recognize that
our Lord isn't going to
you know
every day is not going to be
a transfiguration Sunday
we are not going to
feel that
that experience
at each step of the way
but
you know
our Lord is feeding us
he is sustaining us
at every step of the way
we do have an opportunity
to come before our Lord's real presence
in the Eucharist every day
and whether we see the light or not
there is this
presence of God's glory
our Lord is in a certain sense
transfigured before us
the bread
and the wine is turned into the body
blood, soul and divinity
of our Lord
and the wine is turned into the body
and he comes to us
in his sacred presence
in his real presence
in the blessed sacrament
and so our Lord is always with us
he is always keeping his promises
I will be with you always
even until the end of the world
you know
not in this transfigured way necessarily
not where we can see the light
with our bodily eyes
but the light of faith
is always present to us
and the grace that comes with faith
that sustains us
especially the sacramental graces
most especially the grace of the Eucharist
is always with us
and always available to us
and so we are always being strengthened
to make the act of faith
and to be transformed
from this vacillating
sometimes faithful state of the apostles
before the ascension
and before Pentecost
to the strength of the apostles
after Pentecost
you know
they hurt us
they saw the transfiguration
even the these three
who are closest to our Lord
saw the transfiguration
and yet
you know
they doubted
you know
only John was at the foot of the cross
they all had to see the sign of the empty tomb
before they believed in the resurrection
and then even after that
you know
there was a sort of
you know
vacillating
you know
at the
at the lake of
Galilee
where our Lord appeared to them
you know
after Easter
and Peter had to be
sort of
you know
remonstrated with again
you know
you're going to
have to
follow me
you know
where you don't want to go
and all of these things
they had to be strengthened
and even until
Pentecost
they were still hiding in the cenacle
they weren't
they weren't courageous
to preach the word of God
we all have to go through this
we all have to go through this
and we're all going to be challenged in our faith
and we're all going to have to
come to terms
with the cross in our life
but our faith
but our Lord does
strengthen us
and that's what we're to remember
at this moment
as we find ourselves
in the midst of
of Lent
we're supposed to be
reassured
that our Lord
will fulfill all of his promises
he rose on the third day
he will be present with us
until the end of
end of the world
and he will
and he will strengthen us
with his grace
in a special way
we have to always
turn to our Blessed Lady
you know
because in the darkest moment
she will be with us
she was with our Lord
in a spirit of
complete fidelity
in a spirit of
perfect faith
stood
at the foot of the cross
and watched
what was
unimaginably
painful to her
the most painful thing
that anybody could have ever experienced
she watched her son
die upon the cross
and she did so
believing that his words
would be fulfilled
and so always
when we want to have
greater faith
we turn to the Blessed Mother
and ask her to
intercede for us
and help us to have her faith
and to believe
with her
her heart and mind
and to love Jesus
as he truly
deserves to be loved
and so
we can
continue with our Lent
in the hope of the resurrection
in the hope that our Lord
will fulfill all of his promises
knowing that he will be with us
knowing that even if we don't see the light
that the light of faith is within us
and that our Lord is as present to us
in the moments of darkness
as he is in the moments of light
and he is pleased
very very pleased
when we are willing to walk with him
at each and every moment
our Lord has been our friend
even unto death
let us walk with him
in good moments
and in moments of trial
in moments of light
and in moments of joy
and in moments of joy
and in moments of light
and in moments of darkness
knowing that he does in fact
fulfill all of his promises
and that he will be with us
until the end of time
we obey
God
we must
hear
me