Reading I Genesis 15:5-12, 17-18 The Lord God took Abram outside and said, “Look up at the sky and count the stars, if you can. Just so,” he added, “shall your descendants be.” Abram put his faith in the LORD, who credited it to him as an act of righteousness.
He then said to him, “I am the LORD who brought you from Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land as a possession.” “O Lord GOD,” he asked, “how am I to know that I shall possess it?” He answered him, “Bring me a three-year-old heifer, a three-year-old she-goat, a three-year-old ram, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.” Abram brought him all these, split them in two, and placed each half opposite the other; but the birds he did not cut up. Birds of prey swooped down on the carcasses, but Abram stayed with them. As the sun was about to set, a trance fell upon Abram, and a deep, terrifying darkness enveloped him.
When the sun had set and it was dark, there appeared a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch, which passed between those pieces. It was on that occasion that the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying: “To your descendants I give this land, from the Wadi of Egypt to the Great River, the Euphrates.”
Responsorial Psalm Psalm 27:1, 7-8, 8-9, 13-14.
R. (1a) The Lord is my light and my salvation.
The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom should I fear? The LORD is my life’s refuge; of whom should I be afraid? R. The Lord is my light and my salvation. Hear, O LORD, the sound of my call; have pity on me, and answer me. Of you my heart speaks; you my glance seeks. R. The Lord is my light and my salvation. Your presence, O LORD, I seek. Hide not your face from me; do not in anger repel your servant. You are my helper: cast me not off. R. The Lord is my light and my salvation. I believe that I shall see the bounty of the LORD in the land of the living. Wait for the LORD with courage; be stouthearted, and wait for the LORD. R. The Lord is my light and my salvation.
Reading II
Philippians 3:17—4:1 Join with others in being imitators of me, brothers and sisters, and observe those who thus conduct themselves according to the model you have in us. For many, as I have often told you and now tell you even in tears, conduct themselves as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their end is destruction. Their God is their stomach; their glory is in their “shame.” Their minds are occupied with earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we also await a savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. He will change our lowly body to conform with his glorified body by the power that enables him also to bring all things into subjection to himself.
Therefore, my brothers and sisters, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, in this way stand firm in the Lord.
or:
Philippians 3:20—4:1
Brothers and sisters: Our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we also await a savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. He will change our lowly body to conform with his glorified body by the power that enables him also to bring all things into subjection to himself.
Therefore, my brothers and sisters, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, in this way stand firm in the Lord, beloved.
Gospel Matthew 17:5 From the shining cloud the Father’s voice is heard: This is my beloved Son, hear him.
Gospel Luke 9:28b-36
Jesus took Peter, John, and James and went up the mountain to pray. While he was praying his face changed in appearance and his clothing became dazzling white. And behold, two men were conversing with him, Moses and Elijah, who appeared in glory and spoke of his exodus that he was going to accomplish in Jerusalem. Peter and his companions had been overcome by sleep, but becoming fully awake, they saw his glory and the two men standing with him. As they were about to part from him, Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is good that we are here; let us make three tents, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” But he did not know what he was saying. While he was still speaking, a cloud came and cast a shadow over them, and they became frightened when they entered the cloud. Then from the cloud came a voice that said, “This is my chosen Son; listen to him.” After the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. They fell silent and did not at that time tell anyone what they had seen.
ANGELUS 13 March 2022 The Gospel of the Liturgy of this second Sunday of Lent narrates the Transfiguration of Jesus (cf. Lk 9: 28-36). While praying on a high mountain, he changes in appearance, his robe becomes bright and radiant, and in the light of his glory, Moses and Elijah appear, who speak with him about the Passover that awaits him in Jerusalem, namely, his Passion, Death and Resurrection.
The witnesses to this extraordinary event are the apostles Peter, John and James, who went up the mountain with Jesus. We can imagine them with their eyes wide open before that unique sight. And, certainly, it must have been so. But the evangelist Luke notes that “Peter and those who were with him were heavy with sleep”, and that “when they wakened” they saw the glory of Jesus (cf. v. 32). The drowsiness of the three disciples appears to be a discordant note. The same apostles then fall asleep in Gethsemane too, during the anguished prayer of Jesus, who had asked them to keep watch (cf. Mk 14:37-41). This sleepiness in such important moments is surprising.
However, if we read carefully, we see that Peter, John and James fall asleep precisely before the Transfiguration begins, that is, while Jesus is in prayer. The same would happen in Gethsemane. This is evidently a prayer that continued for some time, in silence and reflection. We may think that, at the beginning, they too were praying, until tiredness prevailed, until sleep prevailed.
Brothers, sisters, does this ill-timed slumber perhaps resemble many of our own that come in moments we know to be important? Perhaps in the evening, when we would like to pray, to spend some time with Jesus after a day of rushing around and being busy. Or when it is time to exchange a few words with the family and we no longer have the strength. We would like to be more awake, attentive, participatory, not to miss precious opportunities, but we are unable to, or we manage it somehow, but poorly.
The powerful time of Lent is an opportunity in this regard. It is a period in which God wants to awaken us from our inner lethargy, from this sleepiness that does not let the Spirit express itself. Because — let us bear this in mind — keeping the heart awake does not depend on us alone: it is a grace and must be requested. The three disciples of the Gospel show us this: they were good, they had followed Jesus onto the mountain, but by their own strength they could not stay awake. This happens to us too. However, they awoke precisely during the Transfiguration. We might think that it was the light of Jesus that reawakened them. Like them, we too are in need of God’s light, that makes us see things in a different way: it attracts us, it reawakens us, it reignites our desire and strength to pray, to look within ourselves, and to dedicate time to others. We can overcome the tiredness of the body with the strength of the Spirit of God. And when we are unable to overcome this, we must say to the Holy Spirit: “Help us, come, come, Holy Spirit. Help me: I want to encounter Jesus, I want to be attentive, awake”. Asking the Holy Spirit to bring us out of this slumber that prevents us from praying.
--->In this Lenten time, after the labours of each day, it will do us good not to switch off the light in the room without placing ourselves in the light of God. To pray a little before sleeping. Let’s give the Lord the chance to surprise us and to reawaken our hearts. We can do this, for instance, by opening the Gospel and letting ourselves be amazed by the Word of God, because the Scripture enlightens our steps and inflames the heart. Or we can look at the crucified Jesus and wonder at the boundless love of God, who never tires of us and has the power to transfigure our days, to give them a new meaning, a new, unexpected light.
May the Virgin May help us to keep our heart awake, to welcome this time of grace that God offers to us.
After the Angelus
Brothers and sisters, we have just prayed to the Virgin Mary. This week, the city that bears her name, Mariupol, has become a city martyred by the heartbreaking war that is devastating Ukraine. Faced with the barbarity of the killing of children, and of innocent and defenceless citizens, there are no strategic reasons that hold up: the only thing to be done is to cease the unacceptable armed aggression before the city is reduced to a cemetery. With an aching heart I add my voice to that of the common people, who implore the end of the war. “In the name of God, let the cries of those who suffer be heard and let the bombings and attacks cease! Let there be a real and decisive focus on negotiation, and let the humanitarian corridors be effective and safe. In the name of God, I ask you: stop this massacre!”
I would like once again to urge the welcoming of the many refugees, in whom Christ is present, and to give thanks for the great network of solidarity that has formed. I ask all diocesan and religious communities to increase their moments of prayer for peace . God is only the God of peace, he is not the God of war, and those who support violence profane his name. Now let us pray in silence for those who suffer, and that God may convert hearts to a steadfast will for peace.
I greet all of you, people of Rome and pilgrims who have come from Italy and from various countries. In particular, I greet the faithful of the Dioceses of Naples, Fuorigrotta, Pianura, Florence and Carmignano, as well as the delegation of the Non-violent Movement.
I wish everyone a happy Sunday, and please do not forget to pray for me...
BENEDICT XVI - ANGELUS - St Peter's Square - Sunday, 24 2 -2013 Today, the second Sunday of Lent, we have a particularly beautiful Gospel, that of the TRANSFIGURATION of the Lord. The evangelist Luke places particular emphasis on the fact that Jesus TRANSFIGURED himself while praying: his is a profound experience of relationship with the Father during a sort of spiritual retreat that Jesus lives on a high mountain in the company of Peter, James and John, the three disciples always present at the moments of the divine manifestation of the Master (Lk 5:10; 8:51; 9:28). The Lord, who shortly before had foretold His death and resurrection (9:22), offers the disciples a foretaste of His glory. And also in the TRANSFIGURATION, as in the baptism, the voice of the heavenly Father resounds: "This is my Son, the chosen one; listen to Him!" (9,35). The presence of Moses and Elijah, who represent the Law and the Prophets of the ancient Alliance, is very significant: the whole history of the Alliance is oriented towards Him, the Christ, who makes a new "exodus" (9:31), not towards the promised land as in the time of Moses, but towards Heaven. Peter's intervention: "Master, it is good for us to be here" (9:33) represents an attempt to make a new "exodus". (9:33) represents the impossible attempt to stop this mystical experience. Saint Augustine comments: "[Peter]...on the mountain...had Christ as food for his soul. Why should he have come down to return to labors and sorrows, while up there he was filled with feelings of holy love for God and which therefore inspired him to holy conduct?" (Sermon 78:3: PL 38:491). Meditating on this Gospel passage, we can draw a very important lesson from it. First of all, the primacy of prayer, without which all commitment to the apostolate and charity is reduced to activism. In Lent we learn to give the right time to prayer, both personal and communal, which gives breath to our spiritual life. Moreover, prayer is not an isolation from the world and its contradictions, as Peter wanted to do on Tabor, but prayer leads back to the path, to action. "Christian existence," I wrote in the Message for this Lent, "consists in a continual ascent of the mountain of the encounter with God, and then descent bringing the love and strength that come with it, so as to serve our brothers and sisters with the same love of God" (no. 3). Dear brothers and sisters, I feel this Word of God addressed to me in a special way at this moment of my life. Thank you! The Lord is calling me to "go up the mountain", to devote myself even more to prayer and meditation. But this does not mean abandoning the Church; on the contrary, if God is asking me to do this it is precisely so that I can continue to serve her with the same dedication and love with which I have tried to do so until now, but in a way that is more suited to my age and strength. Let's invoke the intercession of the Virgin Mary: She will help us all to always follow the Lord Jesus, in prayer and hard-working charity
S.JOHN PAUL 2 - HOMILY 15-3- 92 On this second Sunday of Lent the liturgy presents the episode of the Transfiguration of the Lord on Mount Tabor. which reaches its highest point in the words of the Father: "This is my Son, my chosen one. listen to him!" (Lk 9:35). Let us contemplate this moving event, in which Jesus manifested His glory in order to prepare His beloved disciples for the difficult passage of His Passion. Luke writes: "Jesus took Peter, John and James with Himself and went up the mountain to pray" (Lk 9, 28). It is a characteristic of Luke to highlight the habit of Jesus with the prayer, as a moment of solitude, contemplation and intimacy with the Father. TThe Evangelist tells The Evangelist tells us that He was praying at the Jordan when the Father's voice first revealed itself (Lk 3:21). and before choosing the Twelve, when He stayed up all night in prayer (Lk 6:21), and in His frequent retreats to solitary places (Lk 6:21). in his frequent retreats to solitary places (Lk 5:5-16) and, above all, in Gethsemane, where he "knelt down and prayed: - Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me" (Lk 22:39-46). These examples and the frequent exhortations that He addressed to His disciples tell us that prayer must have the first place in the Christian life, especially in this time of Lent which is a privileged time of communion with God.
2. On Tabor, while Jesus was praying, His face changed in appearance, His garment became white and radiant. and two men appeared beside Him, Elijah and Moses, who spoke of "His departure, which He was to bring to completion in Jerusalem" (Lk 9:31), that is, of His imminent Passion and Death. Moses and Elijah are famous characters of the Old Testament: one the leader and legislator of the people. the other the prophet of fire that destroys iniquity; two prefigurations of the Messiah, the new the new liberator and bearer on earth of the new fire of salvation. The beauty of the vision fascinates the three Apostles.
FAUSTI - The heart of the mystery of Jesus is revealed. The disciples are admitted to enter into the knowledge of the Father/Son. Obedience to "Jesus alone", which the Father commands - "Listen to Him" - is the highlight of the Story. It is the eighth day, Sunday, the eternal today of the open sky on the earthly today of the Nativity scene and Baptism, of Capernaum and of Calvary: it is the Kingdom opened up to man by the life of Jesus which begins on the wood of the manger and ends on the wood of the Cross. It is the day of the Lord, the "dies dominica" in which we feast with Him in the Coena Domini. It is both the end and the beginning, with a continuous dynamism that grows infinitely, transforming us from Glory to Glory (2 Cor 3:18). Already now we are what will then appear (1 Jn 3:2): children of God! All creation participates in the generation of this new man. The destiny of creation is not disfiguration and death, but the transfiguration and glory of God. Although still in exile, we are children of the King, who are returning to the house of the Father. As before breaking the Bread, Jesus took the Apostles with Himself, so now He takes with Himself Peter, John and James. Jesus unites them to Himself by His initiative: He takes them and transposes them into a particular situation of revelation: He takes them with Himself into the secret space of His Communion with the Father. They ascend the mountain, known to the disciples, the mountain par excellence, the mountain of prayer and election, the mountain of revelation; the disciples are burdened with slumber and the descent from the mountain will take place the next day. Sleep and night can only be enlightened by Communion with the Father. The praying of Jesus becomes a complement of time and place, almost the space that contains the Transfiguration, Revelation of the Father and Glory of the Son. It is the place where we discover God as Abba, our source and are generated in the Glory of the Son. Luke stops to contemplate the Face of Jesus, emphasizing His visible image, as other, different, holy! Of this Face he gives us the true aspect, invisible and now revealed, through one trait, the Glory, God in His splendor of beauty. It is a luminosity that comes from the inside eliminating every shadow, it shows on the face the hidden reality, it gives visibility to the invisible. Of this glory he describes the dress. It is white and emanates lightning. If so is the dress, what will the Body be? But the Body itself is the dress of the person and the humanity of Jesus, in turn, is the dress of His Divine person, from which it fully emanates the "dynamis" of the glory of God. The lightning, expression of God, is the attribute of the garment! Jesus in the Transfiguration, reveals Himself as the center of everything, of God and of man, united in a single story, incredible if it were not witnessed by Moses and Elijah. Moses, the law, and Elijah, father of the prophets, are in dialogue with Jesus. He answers them because He is the One who the law and the prophecy have promised and expected. The Glory of the Law and of prophecy is the obedient Son, the Word itself, the perfect Hearer of the Father. It is the Glory of the God of law and prophecy, who fulfills the promise and fills the expectation. The Transfiguration is that anticipated experience of the Resurrection, the opening of the disciple's eye on Jesus' Communion with the Father, his being awake with Jesus praying. "Look to him and you will be radiant" (Ps 34:6).
-->The disciples wish to arrest the visible Glory of the Lord. The experience made by Peter and his friends is that of beauty, the original beauty of the Face of the Son who has raised a strip of the veil that covers it. On the eighth day, in the light of its splendour, it breaks the sleep and the night of the disciples. The cloud is a sign of the Glory of God, they enter into it, that is, into the potency of God that envelops: this is obeying to the " Voice " that comes out, this voice is Jesus himself, Eternal Word of God, obedient Son, Who must be Listened ."This is my Son, the Elect, listen to Him!" It is the centre of the Transfiguration, where the vision is linked to listening. That God who has no face has a Voice: a Voice who seeks a face. Jesus, the perfect Face of the Father, the obedient Son, the Word accomplished, full of Love. Obedience to Jesus, Which is addressed to all, indicates the path by which we can all be among those the three who come to the vision of the mystery of the Son. Listening to Him is the tent that contains the Glory. Those who listen see the Face of the Father in the Son now reflected in their own faces.
RispondiEliminaReading I
Genesis
15:5-12, 17-18
The Lord God took Abram outside and said,
“Look up at the sky and count the stars, if you can.
Just so,” he added, “shall your descendants be.”
Abram put his faith in the LORD,
who credited it to him as an act of righteousness.
He then said to him,
“I am the LORD who brought you from Ur of the Chaldeans
to give you this land as a possession.”
“O Lord GOD,” he asked,
“how am I to know that I shall possess it?”
He answered him,
“Bring me a three-year-old heifer, a three-year-old she-goat,
a three-year-old ram, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.”
Abram brought him all these, split them in two,
and placed each half opposite the other;
but the birds he did not cut up.
Birds of prey swooped down on the carcasses,
but Abram stayed with them.
As the sun was about to set, a trance fell upon Abram,
and a deep, terrifying darkness enveloped him.
When the sun had set and it was dark,
there appeared a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch,
which passed between those pieces.
It was on that occasion that the LORD made a covenant with Abram,
saying: “To your descendants I give this land,
from the Wadi of Egypt to the Great River, the Euphrates.”
Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 27:1, 7-8, 8-9, 13-14.
R. (1a) The Lord is my light and my salvation.
The LORD is my light and my salvation;
whom should I fear?
The LORD is my life’s refuge;
of whom should I be afraid?
R. The Lord is my light and my salvation.
Hear, O LORD, the sound of my call;
have pity on me, and answer me.
Of you my heart speaks; you my glance seeks.
R. The Lord is my light and my salvation.
Your presence, O LORD, I seek.
Hide not your face from me;
do not in anger repel your servant.
You are my helper: cast me not off.
R. The Lord is my light and my salvation.
I believe that I shall see the bounty of the LORD
in the land of the living.
Wait for the LORD with courage;
be stouthearted, and wait for the LORD.
R. The Lord is my light and my salvation.
Reading II
Philippians 3:17—4:1
Join with others in being imitators of me, brothers and sisters,
and observe those who thus conduct themselves
according to the model you have in us.
For many, as I have often told you
and now tell you even in tears,
conduct themselves as enemies of the cross of Christ.
Their end is destruction.
Their God is their stomach;
their glory is in their “shame.”
Their minds are occupied with earthly things.
But our citizenship is in heaven,
and from it we also await a savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.
He will change our lowly body
to conform with his glorified body
by the power that enables him also
to bring all things into subjection to himself.
Therefore, my brothers and sisters,
whom I love and long for, my joy and crown,
in this way stand firm in the Lord.
or:
Philippians 3:20—4:1
Brothers and sisters:
Our citizenship is in heaven,
and from it we also await a savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.
He will change our lowly body
to conform with his glorified body
by the power that enables him also
to bring all things into subjection to himself.
Therefore, my brothers and sisters,
whom I love and long for, my joy and crown,
in this way stand firm in the Lord, beloved.
Gospel
EliminaMatthew 17:5
From the shining cloud the Father’s voice is heard:
This is my beloved Son, hear him.
Gospel
Luke 9:28b-36
Jesus took Peter, John, and James
and went up the mountain to pray.
While he was praying his face changed in appearance
and his clothing became dazzling white.
And behold, two men were conversing with him, Moses and Elijah,
who appeared in glory and spoke of his exodus
that he was going to accomplish in Jerusalem.
Peter and his companions had been overcome by sleep,
but becoming fully awake,
they saw his glory and the two men standing with him.
As they were about to part from him, Peter said to Jesus,
“Master, it is good that we are here;
let us make three tents,
one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”
But he did not know what he was saying.
While he was still speaking,
a cloud came and cast a shadow over them,
and they became frightened when they entered the cloud.
Then from the cloud came a voice that said,
“This is my chosen Son; listen to him.”
After the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone.
They fell silent and did not at that time
tell anyone what they had seen.
POPE FRANCIS
RispondiEliminaANGELUS 13 March 2022
The Gospel of the Liturgy of this second Sunday of Lent narrates the Transfiguration of Jesus (cf. Lk 9: 28-36). While praying on a high mountain, he changes in appearance, his robe becomes bright and radiant, and in the light of his glory, Moses and Elijah appear, who speak with him about the Passover that awaits him in Jerusalem, namely, his Passion, Death and Resurrection.
The witnesses to this extraordinary event are the apostles Peter, John and James, who went up the mountain with Jesus. We can imagine them with their eyes wide open before that unique sight. And, certainly, it must have been so. But the evangelist Luke notes that “Peter and those who were with him were heavy with sleep”, and that “when they wakened” they saw the glory of Jesus (cf. v. 32). The drowsiness of the three disciples appears to be a discordant note. The same apostles then fall asleep in Gethsemane too, during the anguished prayer of Jesus, who had asked them to keep watch (cf. Mk 14:37-41). This sleepiness in such important moments is surprising.
However, if we read carefully, we see that Peter, John and James fall asleep precisely before the Transfiguration begins, that is, while Jesus is in prayer. The same would happen in Gethsemane. This is evidently a prayer that continued for some time, in silence and reflection. We may think that, at the beginning, they too were praying, until tiredness prevailed, until sleep prevailed.
Brothers, sisters, does this ill-timed slumber perhaps resemble many of our own that come in moments we know to be important? Perhaps in the evening, when we would like to pray, to spend some time with Jesus after a day of rushing around and being busy. Or when it is time to exchange a few words with the family and we no longer have the strength. We would like to be more awake, attentive, participatory, not to miss precious opportunities, but we are unable to, or we manage it somehow, but poorly.
The powerful time of Lent is an opportunity in this regard. It is a period in which God wants to awaken us from our inner lethargy, from this sleepiness that does not let the Spirit express itself. Because — let us bear this in mind — keeping the heart awake does not depend on us alone: it is a grace and must be requested. The three disciples of the Gospel show us this: they were good, they had followed Jesus onto the mountain, but by their own strength they could not stay awake. This happens to us too. However, they awoke precisely during the Transfiguration. We might think that it was the light of Jesus that reawakened them. Like them, we too are in need of God’s light, that makes us see things in a different way: it attracts us, it reawakens us, it reignites our desire and strength to pray, to look within ourselves, and to dedicate time to others. We can overcome the tiredness of the body with the strength of the Spirit of God. And when we are unable to overcome this, we must say to the Holy Spirit: “Help us, come, come, Holy Spirit. Help me: I want to encounter Jesus, I want to be attentive, awake”. Asking the Holy Spirit to bring us out of this slumber that prevents us from praying.
--->In this Lenten time, after the labours of each day, it will do us good not to switch off the light in the room without placing ourselves in the light of God. To pray a little before sleeping. Let’s give the Lord the chance to surprise us and to reawaken our hearts. We can do this, for instance, by opening the Gospel and letting ourselves be amazed by the Word of God, because the Scripture enlightens our steps and inflames the heart. Or we can look at the crucified Jesus and wonder at the boundless love of God, who never tires of us and has the power to transfigure our days, to give them a new meaning, a new, unexpected light.
EliminaMay the Virgin May help us to keep our heart awake, to welcome this time of grace that God offers to us.
After the Angelus
Brothers and sisters, we have just prayed to the Virgin Mary. This week, the city that bears her name, Mariupol, has become a city martyred by the heartbreaking war that is devastating Ukraine. Faced with the barbarity of the killing of children, and of innocent and defenceless citizens, there are no strategic reasons that hold up: the only thing to be done is to cease the unacceptable armed aggression before the city is reduced to a cemetery. With an aching heart I add my voice to that of the common people, who implore the end of the war. “In the name of God, let the cries of those who suffer be heard and let the bombings and attacks cease! Let there be a real and decisive focus on negotiation, and let the humanitarian corridors be effective and safe. In the name of God, I ask you: stop this massacre!”
I would like once again to urge the welcoming of the many refugees, in whom Christ is present, and to give thanks for the great network of solidarity that has formed. I ask all diocesan and religious communities to increase their moments of prayer for peace . God is only the God of peace, he is not the God of war, and those who support violence profane his name. Now let us pray in silence for those who suffer, and that God may convert hearts to a steadfast will for peace.
I greet all of you, people of Rome and pilgrims who have come from Italy and from various countries. In particular, I greet the faithful of the Dioceses of Naples, Fuorigrotta, Pianura, Florence and Carmignano, as well as the delegation of the Non-violent Movement.
I wish everyone a happy Sunday, and please do not forget to pray for me...
BENEDICT XVI - ANGELUS - St Peter's Square - Sunday, 24 2 -2013
RispondiEliminaToday, the second Sunday of Lent, we have a particularly beautiful Gospel, that of the TRANSFIGURATION of the Lord. The evangelist Luke places particular emphasis on the fact that Jesus TRANSFIGURED himself while praying: his is a profound experience of relationship with the Father during a sort of spiritual retreat that Jesus lives on a high mountain in the company of Peter, James and John, the three disciples always present at the moments of the divine manifestation of the Master (Lk 5:10; 8:51; 9:28). The Lord, who shortly before had foretold His death and resurrection (9:22), offers the disciples a foretaste of His glory. And also in the TRANSFIGURATION, as in the baptism, the voice of the heavenly Father resounds: "This is my Son, the chosen one; listen to Him!" (9,35). The presence of Moses and Elijah, who represent the Law and the Prophets of the ancient Alliance, is very significant: the whole history of the Alliance is oriented towards Him, the Christ, who makes a new "exodus" (9:31), not towards the promised land as in the time of Moses, but towards Heaven. Peter's intervention: "Master, it is good for us to be here" (9:33) represents an attempt to make a new "exodus". (9:33) represents the impossible attempt to stop this mystical experience. Saint Augustine comments: "[Peter]...on the mountain...had Christ as food for his soul. Why should he have come down to return to labors and sorrows, while up there he was filled with feelings of holy love for God and which therefore inspired him to holy conduct?" (Sermon 78:3: PL 38:491).
Meditating on this Gospel passage, we can draw a very important lesson from it. First of all, the primacy of prayer, without which all commitment to the apostolate and charity is reduced to activism. In Lent we learn to give the right time to prayer, both personal and communal, which gives breath to our spiritual life. Moreover, prayer is not an isolation from the world and its contradictions, as Peter wanted to do on Tabor, but prayer leads back to the path, to action. "Christian existence," I wrote in the Message for this Lent, "consists in a continual ascent of the mountain of the encounter with God, and then descent bringing the love and strength that come with it, so as to serve our brothers and sisters with the same love of God" (no. 3).
Dear brothers and sisters, I feel this Word of God addressed to me in a special way at this moment of my life. Thank you! The Lord is calling me to "go up the mountain", to devote myself even more to prayer and meditation. But this does not mean abandoning the Church; on the contrary, if God is asking me to do this it is precisely so that I can continue to serve her with the same dedication and love with which I have tried to do so until now, but in a way that is more suited to my age and strength. Let's invoke the intercession of the Virgin Mary: She will help us all to always follow the Lord Jesus, in prayer and hard-working charity
S.JOHN PAUL 2 - HOMILY 15-3- 92
RispondiEliminaOn this second Sunday of Lent the liturgy presents the episode of the Transfiguration of the Lord on Mount Tabor.
which reaches its highest point in the words of the Father: "This is my Son, my chosen one.
listen to him!" (Lk 9:35). Let us contemplate this moving event, in which Jesus
manifested His glory in order to prepare His beloved disciples for the difficult passage of His Passion.
Luke writes: "Jesus took Peter, John and James with Himself and went up the mountain to pray" (Lk 9,
28). It is a characteristic of Luke to highlight the habit of Jesus with the
prayer, as a moment of solitude, contemplation and intimacy with the Father. TThe Evangelist tells The Evangelist tells us that He was praying at the Jordan when the Father's voice first revealed itself (Lk 3:21).
and before choosing the Twelve, when He stayed up all night in prayer (Lk 6:21), and in His frequent retreats to solitary places (Lk 6:21).
in his frequent retreats to solitary places (Lk 5:5-16) and, above all, in Gethsemane, where he "knelt down and prayed:
- Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me" (Lk 22:39-46). These examples and the frequent
exhortations that He addressed to His disciples tell us that prayer must have the first place in the Christian life, especially in this time of Lent
which is a privileged time of communion with God.
2. On Tabor, while Jesus was praying, His face changed in appearance, His garment became white and radiant.
and two men appeared beside Him, Elijah and Moses, who spoke of "His
departure, which He was to bring to completion in Jerusalem" (Lk 9:31), that is, of His imminent Passion and Death. Moses and Elijah are famous characters of the Old Testament: one the leader and legislator of the people.
the other the prophet of fire that destroys iniquity; two prefigurations of the Messiah, the new
the new liberator and bearer on earth of the new fire of salvation.
The beauty of the vision fascinates the three Apostles.
FAUSTI - The heart of the mystery of Jesus is revealed. The disciples are admitted to enter into the knowledge of the Father/Son. Obedience to "Jesus alone", which the Father commands - "Listen to Him" - is the highlight of the Story. It is the eighth day, Sunday, the eternal today of the open sky on the earthly today of the Nativity scene and Baptism, of Capernaum and of Calvary: it is the Kingdom opened up to man by the life of Jesus which begins on the wood of the manger and ends on the wood of the Cross. It is the day of the Lord, the "dies dominica" in which we feast with Him in the Coena Domini. It is both the end and the beginning, with a continuous dynamism that grows infinitely, transforming us from Glory to Glory (2 Cor 3:18).
RispondiEliminaAlready now we are what will then appear (1 Jn 3:2): children of God!
All creation participates in the generation of this new man.
The destiny of creation is not disfiguration and death, but the transfiguration and glory of God.
Although still in exile, we are children of the King, who are returning to the house of the Father.
As before breaking the Bread, Jesus took the Apostles with Himself, so now He takes with Himself Peter, John and James. Jesus unites them to Himself by His initiative: He takes them and transposes them into a particular situation of revelation: He takes them with Himself into the secret space of His Communion with the Father. They ascend the mountain, known to the disciples, the mountain par excellence, the mountain of prayer and election, the mountain of revelation; the disciples are burdened with slumber and the descent from the mountain will take place the next day. Sleep and night can only be enlightened by Communion with the Father. The praying of Jesus becomes a complement of time and place, almost the space that contains the Transfiguration, Revelation of the Father and Glory of the Son.
It is the place where we discover God as Abba, our source and are generated in the Glory of the Son.
Luke stops to contemplate the Face of Jesus, emphasizing His visible image, as other, different, holy! Of this Face he gives us the true aspect, invisible and now revealed, through one trait, the Glory, God in His splendor of beauty.
It is a luminosity that comes from the inside eliminating every shadow, it shows on the face the hidden reality, it gives visibility to the invisible. Of this glory he describes the dress. It is white and emanates lightning. If so is the dress, what will the Body be?
But the Body itself is the dress of the person and the humanity of Jesus, in turn, is the dress of His Divine person, from which it fully emanates the "dynamis" of the glory of God.
The lightning, expression of God, is the attribute of the garment!
Jesus in the Transfiguration, reveals Himself as the center of everything, of God and of man, united in a single story, incredible if it were not witnessed by Moses and Elijah.
Moses, the law, and Elijah, father of the prophets, are in dialogue with Jesus. He answers them because He is the One who the law and the prophecy have promised and expected.
The Glory of the Law and of prophecy is the obedient Son, the Word itself, the perfect Hearer of the Father. It is the Glory of the God of law and prophecy, who fulfills the promise and fills the expectation.
The Transfiguration is that anticipated experience of the Resurrection, the opening of the disciple's eye on Jesus' Communion with the Father, his being awake with Jesus praying.
"Look to him and you will be radiant" (Ps 34:6).
-->The disciples wish to arrest the visible Glory of the Lord. The experience made by Peter and his friends is that of beauty, the original beauty of the Face of the Son who has raised a strip of the veil that covers it. On the eighth day, in the light of its splendour, it breaks the sleep and the night of the disciples. The cloud is a sign of the Glory of God, they enter into it, that is, into the potency of God that envelops: this is obeying to the " Voice " that comes out, this voice is Jesus himself, Eternal Word of God, obedient Son, Who must be Listened ."This is my Son, the Elect, listen to Him!" It is the centre of the Transfiguration, where the vision is linked to listening. That God who has no face has a Voice: a Voice who seeks a face. Jesus, the perfect Face of the Father, the obedient Son, the Word accomplished, full of Love.
EliminaObedience to Jesus, Which is addressed to all, indicates the path by which we can all be among those the three who come to the vision of the mystery of the Son.
Listening to Him is the tent that contains the Glory. Those who listen see the Face of the Father in the Son now reflected in their own faces.