Thoughts on the Transfiguration, part 2

Ave Maria Meditations

(picture is the mosaic from the Church of the Transfiguration on Mt. Tabor)

Immediately a cloud overshadowed them. It reminds us of that other cloud that accompanies the presence of God in the Old Testament: Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.  It was the sign that was the guarantee of divine interven­tion. And the Lord said to Moses, ‘Lo, I am coming to you in a thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with you, and may also believe you forever.  Now on Mount Tabor that cloud overshadows Christ, and the powerful voice of God the Father is heard coming from it: This is my Son, my Chosen, listen to him.  

And God the Father speaks through Jesus Christ to all men of all ages. His voice is heard in every cage, in a particular way through the teachings of the Church, who continu­ally seeks ways of bringing this mystery of her Master and Lord to humanity, to the peoples, the nations, the succeeding generations, and every individual human being.  

And when they lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only.  Elijah and Moses were no longer there. They only see Our Lord. They see the Jesus they know, who is sometimes hungry, sometimes tired, who tries to make himself understood. They see Jesus without any special manifestations of glory. It was normal for the Apostles to see Our Lord like that: what was exceptional was to see him transfigured.  

This is the Jesus we have to find in our ordinary life, in the· midst of our work, out in the street, in the people around us, in our prayer. We have to find Him when he for­gives us in the Sacrament of Penance and, above all, in the Holy Eucharist where he is truly, really and substantially present. Normally he does not show himself to us with any special manifestations. Rather, we have to learn to find Our Lord in what is ordinary and every day, and we must flee from the temptation of ever wanting anything extraordinary.  

We must never forget that this Jesus whom those three privileged men were with on Mount Tabor, is the same Jesus who is daily at our side. When God grants you the grace of feeling his presence, and desires that you should speak to him as your most beloved friend, tell him about your feelings with all freedom and confidence. Without waiting for you to come close to him, he hastens towards you when you seek his love, and he presents himself to you, granting you the graces and remedies that you need. He only waits for one word from you in order to show you that he is beside you and wants to listen to you and console you. 

Other friends, those who are friends in the world, have times that they spend talking together and other times when they  are separated, but between God and yourselves, if you want, there need never be any time of separation.

Would our lives not be different if we were to make this presence of God a reality in the habitual things of each day; if we tried to say more ejaculatory prayers, more acts of love and reparation, more spiritual communions?

Fr. Francis Fernandez