Mt. 17:5-8 (Mk. 9:7-8; Luke 9: 34-36a) Ecce nubes lucida obumbravit eos.  Et ecce vox de nube, dicens: Hic est Filius meus dilectus, in quo bene complacui: ipsum audite.  Et audientes discipuli, ceciderunt in faciem suam, et timuerunt valde.  Et accessit Jesus, et tetigit eos, dixitque eis: Surgite, et nolite timere.  Levantes autem oculos suos, neminem viderunt, nisi solum Jesum.  Behold a bright cloud overshadowed them.  And lo, a voice out of the cloud, saying: This is My beloved Son, in Whom I am well pleased: hear ye Him.  And the disciples hearing, fell upon their face and were very much afraid.   And Jesus came and touched them, and said to them: Arise, and fear not.  And they lifting up their eyes saw no one, but only Jesus. 
 

Dear Parishioners and Friends,

Sometimes it is said that the devil is present in thoughts of discouragement.  I suppose that is said because if we become discouraged, then we can be tempted to give up the faith and thus lose hope.  Once truly discouraged, we can be tempted to become hard and bitter.  This is what the devil wants.  He wants us to give in to defeat and despair.  

At the time of the American Revolution there was a period when the whole enterprise almost folded up.  George Washington’s army was cold, worn out, and hungry.  It seemed as if all the dreams of freedom and independence and a new country would come to nothing.  From all appearances our American soldiers looked like a bunch of losers.   Nevertheless, George Washington rallied the troops, who fought on, and the tide began to turn.   The revolutionary forces grew stronger and fought on to victory.  George Washington provided the encouragement and inspiration needed with God’s help.    The rest is history.

In the Transfiguration the apostles experienced Jesus in all His Glory.  This experience was permitted to them to encourage and strengthen them for the day when all would seem lost and in vain.  Jesus knew that He would be betrayed, crucified, and put to death on the cross.   He wanted his apostles not to lose hope through it all, so he permitted them an experience of His glory in heaven.   He offers the same to us.   Catholics today face forces that would have us give up.  Individually we may have our own struggles.  In Jesus we can fight on with the certainty of Resurrection.  The cross has become a symbol of victory not defeat.

Let each of us resolve to encourage our brothers and sisters in this “vale of tears (Salve Regina).” One spiritual writer comments: “We, too, can bear our hardship for the Gospel because through the grace of the Transfiguration we have been given ‘the strength that comes from God.”  And there is even more.  In heaven we will enter the glory of our Savior to participate in a transfiguration that results from the resurrection of our Lord.

Despite challenges, we must rally to Christ no matter what.  May you and I do our best to live fully in the Lord to help others enter His Transfiguration.  We should never underestimate our power for good in Jesus Christ our Lord.

Yours in the Lord,

Fr. Mark G. Mazza, Pastor