Humbly Exalting Christ

Second Sunday of Lent 

01 March 2026

 

First Reading: Genesis 12:1-4a

Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 33:4-5, 18-19, 20, 22

Second Reading: 2 Timothy 1:8b-10

Gospel: Matthew 17:1-9

 

Reflection

By: Anton B. Ocampo

 

We hear the narrative of the Transfiguration of the Lord twice during the celebration of the Holy Mass in each liturgical year. The first time is this very day, the Second Sunday of Lent. The second time we hear the narrative in this very important event in the life of the Lord during the Eucharistic celebration is on August 6, the date that the Church designated to reflect and celebrate this event. In both days, the significance of this event in the life of the Lord is the primary focus of reflection. Aside from His wonderous Nativity, His Baptism in the Jordan River, His most dolorous and sorrowful Passion and Death, and His most glorious Resurrection, the Transfiguration is a very significant moment in Jesus’ earthly life.

By introducing Jesus as the promised Messiah, the Father shows everyone how to exalt His Son. Even though Jesus brought only three apostles – Peter, James, and John – with Him to the mountain, the words the Father spoke at that very moment were for everyone. The Father mandates everyone to listen and to obey Jesus. Like Abram, who we now know as Abraham, in the featured narrative in the First Reading, we should humbly exalt the Lord Jesus Christ with all our hearts and minds by listening and obeying Him.

In the context of the Lenten season, the Church invites us to reflect on this very significant moment in the life of Jesus, namely His Transfiguration, as a moment of revelation. Upon being transfigured, the identity of Jesus as true God was revealed. The Father spoke from Heaven, introducing Jesus as the promised Messiah who should be listened to (Matthew 17:5). As the Messiah, Jesus showed the great mercy of God that was referred to very clearly in the song of praise which the Responsorial Psalm features. The way Jesus did so is clearly explained to by Saint Paul the Apostle in the Second Reading. He did this through His Holy Cross and glorious Resurrection.

As a community of faith who form the Church, let us not steal the spotlight from the Lord Jesus. Rather, we should humble ourselves and exalt Him by wholeheartedly listening and obeying Him. By doing this, we are expressing our faith and devotion to Him.

    

Prayer

O Lord Jesus Christ, we humbly present ourselves to You. We, Your humble servants, humbly ask Your forgiveness for trying to steal the spotlight from You. We humbly thank You for showing us Your love, mercy, compassion, and grace. May we be humble of heart, like You, who we humbly exalt and praise forever and ever. Amen.

Tune in to Jesus

   

Second Sunday of Lent

16 March 2025

 

First Reading: Genesis 15:5-12, 17-18

Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 27:1, 7-8, 8-9, 13-14

Second Reading: Philippians 3:17–4:1

Gospel: Luke 9:28b-36

 

Reflection

By: Anabelle P. Balla

I hear a myriad of voices throughout the day, including my own, both those spoken aloud and those that swirl nonstop in my head. Like you, I live in a world filled with noise. These noises, particularly the ones I can view in my phone, can be overwhelming. There are addictive contents that steal away my precious time, health, and energy. Because of this, I often find myself too busy to truly listen. It is a challenge to pause, breathe, relax, and enjoy moments of quiet reflection, or to truly listen during conversations, both to what is said and unsaid. There is always something that steals my attention, making me restless.

Thankfully, God's grace has anchored me to Him. He gently pulls me closer when I drift away. He blesses my plans and grants me serene moments to marvel at the wonders of His creation, especially during family outings to the hills, mountains, forests, or seas. In these peaceful moments, I can hear His whispers and feel His loving presence. He provides me countless opportunities each day to connect with Him, even if only briefly—when I wake, eat, drive, gaze at the sky, trees, sunset, flowers, and plants, or feel the cool wind on my face, or look upon my daughters' faces. These moments fill me with gratitude and turn my heart towards Him.

However, this awareness of His presence in my life is not the same as truly listening to Him. I still need to devote time to genuinely listen to Him, to hear Him through His Son, our Savior, Jesus. As He said, "This is my beloved Son: hear him.", I should take time listen.  And I am certain that this instruction from God is for my best interest and my salvation.

Can you hear Him? Do you want to? I trust that you do, and you have the power to make that choice.

Choose to tune in to Jesus. Hear Him and be blessed!

Prayer

Father, help us to stay still and truly listen to Your Words through Jesus Christ, our Savior. Amen.

Transfiguration, Confession, Reconfiguration

    

Second Sunday of Lent

25 February 2024

 

First Reading: Gn 22:1-2, 9a, 10-13, 15-18

Responsorial Psalm: Ps 116:10, 15, 16-17, 18-19

Second Reading: Rom 8:31b-34

Gospel: Mk 9:2-10

 

Reflection

By: Ma. Rosalina S. Flores

Last week, my fellow lector requested to swap schedule with me as he had a work-related travel. I instantly said yes, though that would mean, I might have to attend two Masses in a day, first at the Manila Cathedral for my service, then in Quiapo Church for my Friday devotion.

On Thursday night before going to sleep, I was not quite sure if I be able to attend Mass in Quiapo. Justifying my thoughts, I kept telling myself that maybe Jesus would understand if I just drop by Quiapo after my serve at the Manila Cathedral, at least, I still went, even for a visit.

On Friday morning, I came to realize that since I was feeling lazy to hear a second Mass in Quiapo, then I might just go to confession, instead, timely for the season of Lent. But the problem, I was not yet ready to face the Lord in the sacrament of reconciliation. I was not spiritually and emotionally prepared to admit my sins before the priest. So, I prayed to God on my way to the Manila Cathedral saying, "Lord, please disturb me and give me the courage I needed in order to go to confession." Immediately an answered prayer, upon hearing the word "turn", I could not contain my heart from its burning desire, I badly wanted to go to confession, NOW.

After the Mass at the Manila Cathedral, I went straight to Quiapo Church, uttering another prayer, to be at the shortest queue for confession, so that temptation of shyness and laziness will not deter my reconciliation with God.

Entering Quiapo Church, I was second in the line to the confession box, and in less than five minutes, I was there mentioning my sins to the priest. And that, I could say was my transfiguration moment, Jesus made me and my plans even more beautiful. I did not only hear Mass but also got the chance to be reconciled with Him on that Friday.

Jesus' transfiguration in this Sunday's Gospel brought peace of mind to Peter, James, and John that urged them to just stay on the mount. In our Modern world today, may the transfiguration of Jesus shake us so we be led to changing our ways of life.

In the Transfiguration, a voice was heard from the cloud, declaring Jesus as the Father's beloved Son and we must listen to Him. In Confession, we get back our identity of being beloved children of God, ready to amend our lives and align our paths to Him.

Prayer

Dear Lord Jesus, may Your transfiguration inspires us to reconfigure our lives so we may always be united to Your will. This we ask in Your Holy Name, Amen.

Configuration to Christ

    

Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord

06 August 2023

 

First Reading: Dn 7:9-10, 13-14

Responsorial Psalm: Ps 97:1-2, 5-6, 9

Second Reading: 2 Pt 1:16-19

Gospel: Mt 17:1-9

 

Reflection

By: Bro. Emerson C. Maala

Pastoral Year Formation

Diocese of Imus

Tahanan ng Mabuting Pastol

Tent is a good place to stay – during vacation, on camping trips, or on a beach trip. And it is easy to carry. However, there is no such thing as a self-building tent. There is always someone who will configure it for it to be built. In the Gospel, Peter wants to build a tent – one for Abraham, one for Elijah, and one for Jesus. However, he was not able to do so for they heard a voice from the cloud and witnessed Jesus transfigures. With Jesus’ transfiguration, the disciples configure their lives and follow Jesus more.

Configuration to Christ is a life-changing experience starting from attraction, leading to conversion and mission that helps us to transform our lives. Allow me to share to you how configuration is a life-changing experience. The common theme of today’s readings is metamorphosis or transformation. The readings invite us to configure our lives by renewing them with Christ, and to radiate the grace of the transfigured Lord around us by our Spirit-filled lives.

Configuration starts from attraction. In the Gospel, as they were up to the mountain, Peter, James, and John were in awe as they saw Jesus transfigured, with His face shone like the sun and His clothes became white as light. There, Moses and Elijah also appeared conversing with Jesus. With this, Peter was attracted to the manifestations in the mountain. He did not want to go down anymore and even asked Jesus to stay there and he will make a tent for them. When I was in high school, I joined the Ministry of Altar Servers. One of the reasons why I joined was the attraction from the vestments and for my sister who told me that she will give me money every time I serve. When I was a child, my mother would take me with her to the church to attend mass. There, I saw the altar servers serving at the altar wearing a white robe. I said to my mother that I want to also wear a white robe, and she said that when I grow up, I can. The attraction instills in me until high school. There, I joined the Ministry of Altar Servers and was able to wear the white cassock. My experience in joining the ministry transformed me to deeply love God and the Church.

However, Configuration does not stop there. It leads to conversion. While Peter was still speaking, a bright cloud cast a shadow over them, then from the cloud came a voice that said, "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to Him." When the disciples heard this, they fell prostrate and were very much afraid. But Jesus came and touched them, saying, "Rise, and do not be afraid." And when the disciples raised their eyes, they saw no one else but Jesus alone. The scenes changed the hearts of the disciples, that it is not the comfort that God wants them to see but what Jesus would fulfill after. I was known to be a bully when I was in High school. I always tease my classmates just to annoy and make fun of them to make my other classmates laugh. I used to tease my classmate with asthma saying “Hinga! Hinga! Hinga lang nang Hinga!" until it became a chant in the classroom. However, everything changed when I joined the Ministry of Altar Servers. It made me realize that bullying and annoying my classmates are wrong. It leads me to deeply love and understand people and not to tease them or anything no matter what.

Lastly, conversion should entail action, thus, Configuration acts to mission. Jesus and the disciples did not stay in the mountain. They went down for there is a mission they need to fulfill specially for Jesus who will suffer in the cross.  From the attraction in joining the Altar Servers Ministry, to conversion and renewal of life to the Lord. All that configuration experience that I would call a religious experience leads me to enter the seminary. At first, I thought I would be an engineer. I would always say to my mother that I would become an engineer. “Nay magiging engineer ako.” However, God has always another plan for us. I find joy in the service in the Church. And this leads me to find that here is where my mission is. Transformations leads us to mission.

And so, let us configure our lives with Christ. Let us reflect in Jesus’ life and experiences, for our experiences was first experienced by Him. That is where attraction starts in the life of Jesus. Second, we go to confession and there, we will feel the mercy and compassion of God. And lastly, for our mission, we help any persons who are in need. With all these, we can configure our lives with Christ and renew ourselves.

As St. Thomas Aquinas would say, At His Transfiguration, Christ showed His Disciples the splendor of His beauty, to which he will shape and color those who are His. And so, let God configure our lives.

Prayer

Lord Jesus Christ, You showed your disciples the transfiguration of Yours that led them to configure their lives and follow You.  May we also be witnesses of Your transfiguration by letting us see You in our daily lives through the different people we encounter. So that we too may follow You and be a true missionary disciple. You who live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, God forever and ever. Amen. 

Beautiful in White

    

Second Sunday of Lent

05 March 2023

 

First Reading: Gn 12:1-4a

Responsorial Psalm: Ps 33:4-5, 18-19, 20, 22

Second Reading: 2 Tm 1:8b-10

Gospel: Mt 17:1-9

 

Reflection

By: Ma. Rosalina S. Flores

 

Today's Gospel narrates the Transfiguration of Jesus, the moment up a high mountain when His face shone like the sun and His clothes became white as light, as witnessed by Peter, James, John and his brother. His disciples also saw Moses and Elijah conversing with Jesus. They even heard a voice came from the cloud that said, "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to Him."

At the end of the Transfiguration event, Jesus charged His disciples to "Do not tell the vision to anyone until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead."

In line with the transfiguration, my father always tells me that I am God's daughter and I am robed in white garment. He then challenges me to keep my garment white until death by loving God and my neighbors in preparation for eternal life.

But isn't it difficult to make your spiritual garment white all the time, same with washing your white clothes? Sometimes, we need to try different detergents to find the perfect one that will make our clothes as white as new.

Good thing, Jesus has already given us the secrets to transfiguration: prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, the three pillars of Lent.

In fact, immediately, after descending the mountain, Jesus has mentioned about prayer and fasting in His next encounter where at the multitude, He healed a demon-possessed boy. 'Then the disciples approached Jesus privately and said, "Why were we unable to cast him out?" Jesus said to them: "Because of your unbelief...But this kind is not cast out, except through prayer and fasting."' Following that, Jesus also taught almsgiving as He instructed Peter to pay the temple tax. "But so that we may not become an obstacle to them: go to the sea, and cast in a hook, and take the first fish that is brought up, and when you have opened its mouth, you will find a shekel. Take it and give it to them, for me and for you."

We are now on the Second Sunday of Lent, exactly 28 days before the Holy Week, may we spend well the remaining days of preparation for the much-anticipated Easter, the resurrection of Our Lord Jesus Christ.

Prayer

Jesus, help us to prepare not only our garments but also our hearts in our journey to Holy Week and to eternal life. Help us to become prayerful, generous, and deny ourselves for a much better purpose. All these we ask in Your Mighty Name, Amen.

Jesus' Salvivic Sacrifice

Second Sunday of Lent

28 February 2021 

 

First Reading:  GN 22:1-2, 9a, 10-13, 15-18

Responsorial Psalm:  PS 116:10, 15, 16-17, 18-19

Second Reading:  ROM 8:31b-34

Gospel:  MK 9:2-10

 

Reflection

By: Jose Paulo M. Gonzales

 

Today, we behold the story of Jesus' magnificent Transfiguration. Jesus, spending many of His human days with the apostles, had miracles of prophecy, healing, and deliverance to hint at the apostles His divine reality, but in the Transfiguration, Jesus' divinity takes to another degree. At such moment, Jesus transformed before the apostles lucidly so mystically! I can only imagine how incredible a sight it was for the apostles to behold!

The placement of Jesus amid Moses and Elijah, would you believe it has a rather popular and interesting interpretation? It was not arbitrary. To have Jesus situated deliberately in the midst of the two signifies His being culmination of what they represented: Moses, the Law, and Elijah, the Prophets!

In the Transfiguration, God the Father greatly extolled Christ the same way Christ was exulted in His Baptism. In Jesus' Baptism, the Father called Jesus "the Son whom [He] loves, with whom He is well-pleased" (Matthew 3:17). In the Transfiguration, Jesus was held as the Beloved Son, whom we should listen to" (Mark 9:6). It is clear as day in the Transfiguration how to Jesus, we must be all ears, but also minds, hearts, and souls.

Apart from listening, God also assigns us the task of evangelization. He may have told the apostles to observe silence as regards the Transfiguration, but He told them to proclaim Jesus' resurrection. Jesus' Transfiguration gave the apostles a glimpse at His God Nature, with His Ascension to the Father, soon to follow the Transfiguration, meaning we have a Great Advocate to speak to the Father on our behalf (as our Representative) and in our behalf (for our benefit); but it was Jesus' Passion and Resurrection in the first place that meant: in His death and triumph over it, we have One whose sacrifice pays ultimately for our sins. In the Bible,"the wages of sin is death", (Romans 6:23) and to exonerate the guilt, a sacrifice must be paid. Jesus is the eternal Price paid for the cost of our sins—multiple generations of them—would have incurred. This is why it is understandably  apparent the necessity to spread His salvivic Resurrection.

 

Prayer

 

Jesus, thank You for dying for us on the cross and for rising to life. It is with Your triumph over death that we have life. May the life You promise us in heaven afforded by Your sacrifice move us to be cultivators of good here on earth, and as we complete our good work, may we enjoy the fruits of our labors in heaven with You for eternity. Please always be with us and replenish us in our work of spreading You and Your good work. We ask these, in Jesus' most holy Name, Amen.

 

 

 

Blooming

Second Sunday of Lent 17 March 2019
First reading 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."

Second reading                                                         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.

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.

Reflection

By Bernard M. Borja

One Monday morning, Marie woke up early with a smile on her face. Not knowing why but she's feeling very positive for that day. She was singing all through out as she prepares for work. Her smile did not fade even in the midst of the chaotic commute from her house to her office. As she arrived at the office, she greeted everyone she passes by with her contagious smile. She was about to sit at her place when her supervisor approached her and said, "Blooming ka. Anong meron?" (You look blooming. What's up?) while leaving a pile of paperwork complete with a long checklist of additional requests from their boss that she needs to work on for the day. She then whispered to herself, "Monday nga pala ngayon" (Oh, it's Monday.).

Oftentimes, we are like Marie. In fact, everyday we receive graces to be grateful for especially the grace of waking up and being given the opportunity to bless as we are blessed. If we can immediately recognize such grace from God, and let it sustain our smile through the day, it can be a significant change in how we look at everyday. Especially how it can help transform other's perspective through our positive outlook. Reminding ourselves that God transforms us into something good everyday is also reminding others that they too have received the same grace to console them in whatever it is they are going through, or just simply be reminded how good life is. In our story above, what do you think happened after Marie reminded herself that it is the start of the week? Imagine you are Marie. How would the rest of the day turn out if you keep telling yourself the same thing? Maybe it depends on what else will happen next. But what if you remind yourself how you felt positive at the moment you woke up? How would you react to someone telling you how good (or beautiful) you look today, in spite of having loads of work to do? 

Another story: 
Mon: "Paano ba magpakilig ng babae?" (How would you impress girls and win their hearts?)
Gon: (bragging) "Alam mo, gamitan mo lang ng mga pick up lines, sure yan!" (Use pick up lines, that would do the trick!)

Suddenly, Gon's crush approached them and greeted them. Gon was stunned and got lost as his confidence crumbled in front of the girl he really likes. 

Mon: (whispering to Gon) "Ayan sakto. Pakiligin mo nga sya." (Now's your chance. Impress her.)
Gon, struggling to speak while staring at his crush for a minute, uttered just two words "Knock knock…?" 

I got that story from an advertisement. It made me think that there are times when we are not sure of what to say and sometimes during moments of amazement, we do not really know what we’re saying because we were captured by the stunning beautiful image in front of us. Suddenly in a brief moment, it makes us feel all the good things we want in life, but cannot find the right words to explain it. 

The disciples experienced something like this during the Transfiguration of Jesus. Even before that moment, they were able to experience a lot of signs that made their faith grow deeper. The Transfiguration of Jesus is another reminder to them that they are in good hands. This was also affirmed when the voice from the cloud said, “This is my beloved Son. Listen to him.” 

Just as Jesus’ image was transformed, God also continues to transform us and reflects His image as a reminder to others that everything that comes from the Lord is good. We can be assured that God will also transform our broken selves and mould with Christ’s body to start everyday full of hope, with a reminder to look at everything through heaven’s eyes, and reflect to others a beautiful image to help them go through the day. 

Prayer

Dearest Lord, we thank You for reminding us that everyday is a new opportunity to receive Your blessings and to be a blessing to others as well. We ask for the grace of a grateful heart to look at things through heaven’s eyes, and let ourselves find You in all these. We seek Your face in the midst of all our struggles to remind us of the beautiful future You planned for us, as You transform us everyday to reflect Your goodness. With our dear mother Mary, we pray that we recognize You more in each other as we share the joy of receiving Your graces even in our difficulties. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. 

Changed for Love

2nd Sunday of Lent  25 February 2018

First reading: Genesis 22:1-2, 9-13, 15-18 After these things God tested Abraham. He said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” He said, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains that I shall show you.” When they came to the place that God had shown him, Abraham built an altar there and laid the wood in order. He bound his son Isaac, and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. Then Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to kill his son. But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven, and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” He said, “Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.” And Abraham looked up and saw a ram, caught in a thicket by its horns. Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son. The angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time from heaven, and said, “By myself I have sworn, says the Lord: Because you have done this, and have not withheld your son, your only son, I will indeed bless you, and I will make your offspring as numerous as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore. And your offspring shall possess the gate of their enemies, and by your offspring shall all the nations of the earth gain blessing for themselves, because you have obeyed my voice.”      Second reading:  Romans 8:31-34 What then are we to say about these things? If God is for us, who is against us? He who did not withhold his own Son, but gave him up for all of us, will he not with him also give us everything else? Who will bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? It is Christ Jesus, who died, yes, who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who indeed intercedes for us. Gospel: Mark 9:2-10 Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain apart, by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his clothes became dazzling white, such as no one on earth could bleach them. And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses, who were talking with Jesus. Then Peter said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” He did not know what to say, for they were terrified.

Then a cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud there came a voice, “This is my Son, the Beloved; listen to him!” Suddenly when they looked around, they saw no one with them any more, but only Jesus. As they were coming down the mountain, he ordered them to tell no one about what they had seen, until after the Son of Man had risen from the dead. So they kept the matter to themselves, questioning what this rising from the dead could mean.

Reflection
by Carlo Alexis Malaluan

The scriptures point out to the Transfiguration of our Lord. Peter, James and John experience the Transfiguration of Jesus. Jesus took these three men up to the top of a mountain. When they arrived there, Jesus was transfigured before them. 

The gospel today highlights two important things: change and love.

In the gospel, first, we can see how the Lord “changed” in appearance.  His clothing became dazzling white and then Elijah and Moses appeared and began conversing with Him. This proves that Jesus is not only truly human but also truly divine. Second, we can see the “change” among the disciples. They might have doubts about Jesus, there might be some uncertainties about their faith in Him but this blessed encounter “changed” not only their views but their hearts forever. They have been filled with great awe. They will not see Jesus the way they have seen Him before. Their faith is reinstated, their trust is strengthened.

The second point is that the gospel speaks of love. The Father announced to the disciples, This is my beloved Son! We are all the time God’s favoured ones – it’s ourselves that miss out on it. We live in the big wide world of God’s love, and Jesus on Tabor was allowing Himself be loved in the radiant light of God, shining even in the cloud. Together we are loved. Light is caught from one to the other.

This leaves us a challenge. We are the light of Tabor mountain for each other. All are loved. The one I like and don’t like! We must change the way we look at others. May we remind ourselves that we do not need to see a “shining light” to see Jesus in others. The poverty, the misery, the bitterness of sufferings must not hinder our eyes from seeing the Lord. Secondly, we cannot let love die. We are loved by God as the Father loved Jesus. We are also called to love the unlovely, the lonely, the suffering. The gospel foresees the upcoming death of our Lord. The radiant body of Christ was hammered and killed later by ourselves. But the love killed at Calvary rose again. Love cannot die. We must continue to love the way Jesus loved us.

We must change the way we see others. We must love others as the Father loves Jesus.

Prayer

Lord, make me an instrument of Your love. Allow me to change myself that I can bring the change You want me to bring. Allow me to love you  that I can love Jesus in my brothers each day more. Amen.

Up In the Mountain

The Transfiguration of the Lord

06 August 2017

First reading                                                                                                      Daniel 7:9-10,13-14

As I watched:
Thrones were set in place
and one of great age took his seat.
His robe was white as snow,
the hair of his head as pure as wool.
His throne was a blaze of flames,
its wheels were a burning fire.
A stream of fire poured out,
issuing from his presence.
A thousand thousand waited on him,
ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him.
A court was held
and the books were opened.
And I saw, coming on the clouds of heaven,
one like a son of man.
He came to the one of great age
and was led into his presence.
On him was conferred sovereignty,
glory and kingship,
and men of all peoples, nations and languages became his servants.
His sovereignty is an eternal sovereignty
which shall never pass away,
nor will his empire ever be destroyed.

Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 96(97):1-2,5-6,9 Second reading                                                                                                     2 Peter 1:16-19

It was not any cleverly invented myths that we were repeating when we brought you the knowledge of the power and the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ; we had seen his majesty for ourselves. He was honoured and glorified by God the Father, when the Sublime Glory itself spoke to him and said, ‘This is my Son, the Beloved; he enjoys my favour.’ We heard this ourselves, spoken from heaven, when we were with him on the holy mountain.
  So we have confirmation of what was said in prophecies; and you will be right to depend on prophecy and take it as a lamp for lighting a way through the dark until the dawn comes and the morning star rises in your minds.

Gospel Acclamation Alleluia, alleluia! This is my Son, the Beloved: he enjoys my favour. Listen to him. Alleluia!

---

Gospel	Matthew  17:1-9

Jesus took with him Peter and James and his brother John and led them up a high mountain where they could be alone. There in their presence he was transfigured: his face shone like the sun and his clothes became as white as the light. Suddenly Moses and Elijah appeared to them; they were talking with him. Then Peter spoke to Jesus. ‘Lord,’ he said ‘it is wonderful for us to be here; if you wish, I will make three tents here, one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.’ He was still speaking when suddenly a bright cloud covered them with shadow, and from the cloud there came a voice which said, ‘This is my Son, the Beloved; he enjoys my favour. Listen to him.’ When they heard this the disciples fell on their faces overcome with fear. But Jesus came up and touched them. ‘Stand up,’ he said ‘do not be afraid.’ And when they raised their eyes they saw no one but only Jesus.
  As they came down from the mountain Jesus gave them this order, ‘Tell no one about the vision until the Son of Man has risen from the dead.’

Reflection

by Theresa Ballo

Last 2014, like most mountain climbers’ must-do list, beginners and professional hikers alike, I climbed Mt. Pulag in Benguet. Standing at 2922 meters above sea level, Mount Pulag is the highest peak in Luzon, the third highest in the Philippines. Unfortunately, I haven’t reached the summit. To reach the summit, we were asked to wake up at 2 a.m. to start trekking. The icy cold and thinness of air disabled me to even stand up. So as to not delay the team, I decided to just stay inside the tent in base camp.

A year after, I tried to climb again. I walked until peak 2 but still wasn’t able to reach the summit. I had difficulty breathing already. By the way, I have asthma but I always try not to get it through my adventures. In spite of my strong will, my body gives warning signs for me to slow down. So, I went back to the base camp. While waiting for the team, I just helped the organizer cooked our breakfast. After some time, a vast sea of clouds started to appear. The breathtaking view appeared from a far but enough for me to be amazed about God’s power and glory. I asked a few minutes from my partner to walk around, embrace God’s presence and pray.

I recalled this experience after reading our Gospel for today. Do the apostles and I share the same feelings at some parts of our experience? My heart was full of so much delight upon seeing a sea of clouds, what more would it feel to see Jesus’transfiguration? For Jesus, the Transfiguration is a foretaste of His glory, and in the strength of His love to endure the sufferings and death on the cross. More so, it is also an affirmation of His Father’s love, “This is my beloved son, listen to him.” For the apostles it was a remarkable experience. They had never seen their master like this before. They all wanted to stay with Jesus yet when He was arrested they all fled.

Like the apostles, there are a lot of times when I feel spiritually dry and could hardly feel God’s glory. My brokenness somehow makes me blind and insensitive to all that He has done for me and the graces He provides. The feeling of being close to God up in the mountain relates also to the feeling of being detached from Him because of my sinfulness.

To get myself out of such state, I have to go in prayer and let the Spirit take full control and allow me to re-live the good times and the high moments I have with our Lord, the times when I felt His loving embrace, His compassion and understanding, the time when He renewed my life and literally picked me up from the gutter and brought me a new life with our Lord. God changed me but He has not stopped. He continues to mold me and change me amidst my frailties, my brokenness and sinfulness.

God’s saving grace in my life meant following in Christ’s steps and taking up my Cross to bring His kingdom of love, healing and compassion to the world in my little ways. It meant giving up some comfort in my very private life to work in His vineyard. It meant living by a certain standard of discipleship and giving more and more of myself to others. God is slowly transforming me into what I should be and not into what I want myself to be.Resistance comes in from time to time because at times I felt tired, misunderstood and hurt. Nevertheless, His grace comes in always on the right time, through the right people and circumstances that fit. As Jesus’ transfiguration inspires us with His glory, let us continue to be more prayerful so that once more God’s glory may be seen in our lives as transformation occurs from deep within us.

Prayer

 O Lord, with Your loving grace, You are changing me for the better and transforming me into Your likeness. My heart is just full of thanksgiving knowing You have never abandoned us. You share our joys and our sorrows too. Purify us, strengthen us and give us a discerning mind so as to resist temptations and always follow Your will. Amen.