TRANSFIGURATION

Image: Unsplash/Joanne Francis

Did you know that it is the intense heat of a forest fire that releases the seeds of the pinecone so that new growth can take place?

…tall, black tree trunks scarred from fire, now delicately outlined with fresh, white snow

…the lush, green of the forest floor in spring, following a fire

…the pinkish, purple blossoms of the fireweed plant growing in the spaces left vacant by fire.

These are images I see as I drive along our highway and roads after several years of intense summers of forest fires, These are transformation images for me.

As I reflect on the encounters I have had in my varied ministry, they too, speak of transfiguration.

…from two seven- year- old children in First Communion, one sharing her time when she talks with Jesus and the light in her heart as He speaks to her, and the other child telling of seeing Jesus, authentic, true and transforming.

…to the man who asked if I would come with him to a telehealth conference call…holding his anxiety.

…to the Inuit woman, sitting on my living-room floor, sharing for the first time her story of pain, trauma, and abuse, she, being transformed in the telling, me being transformed in the holding of story.

…to keeping vigil with my dying friend and eventually being able to say, “It is okay to go.”

In this second week of Lent, Jesus invites us to go up the mountain with him. He had a conversation with Moses and Elijah about his imminent death. Yet, in the intensity of that conversation, new life, glory, is proclaimed by the Father.

What conversation will Jesus have with you, with me? What transfiguration moments do I recognize each day?

 -Sister Maggie Beaudette, csj

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Images: Unsplash/Johannes Plenio; David Dilbert

The Transfiguration and Two Graces: Listening, and Seeing!

LENT II

“In the prayer at the beginning of the Mass we asked the Lord for two graces: “To listen to Your beloved Son”, so that our faith might be nourished by the Word of God, and another grace — “to purify the eyes of our spirit, so that we might one day enjoy the vision of glory”. To listen, the grace to listen, and the grace to purify our eyes.

This is directly related to the Gospel we heard…”

(excerpt of Pope Francis’ homily on the Transfiguration, March 16, 2014)

For me, the story of Jesus’ Transfiguration, tells the truth about what happens when we go with Jesus, away for quiet prayer, especially when there is an issue of suffering, as Jesus took Peter, James and John with him right after he had told them the hard news of his coming Passion.  What seems, then  gives way to what is, as surely as the person of Jesus became transformed and shining, divinely beautiful, while God told the apostles, This is my beloved Son, Listen to Him.

As Pope Francis says it, the graces of prayer change our hearing and our sight, so that what we bring to prayer, takes on a new light, coming from the Lord himself and his  silent message of love and support, his inspiration, and kind call for outreach.

Sister Wendy Cotter, CSJ, Ph.D

Transformation and Transfiguration

In Philippians 3:17, we hear St. Paul challenge “Sisters and brothers, join in imitating me.” How can we imitate Paul? We see it in the earlier passage (3 b) “for Him I have accepted the loss of everything, and I look on everything as so much rubbish if only I can have Christ and be given a place in Him.” Paul put his faith in God as did Abram in our first reading, Genesis 15:5

How blessed we are today to know that we have Christ and have a place in Him if we keep our eyes fixed on Him, trust Him and as Paul encourages “stand firm in the Lord”.

In St. Luke’s Gospel 9:28-36, the Transfiguration is the final event before Jesus took the road to Jerusalem. Peter, James and John saw the divinity of Jesus – yet in their human weakness during Jesus’ Passion, Peter denied Jesus and the other two ran away.

How often do we fail to see the divine in those we meet daily? The first line of a hymn that we sing on this Sunday is– “We behold the splendor of God, shining on the face of Jesus.” Let us replace the word “Jesus” with the names of those we meet today.

If we keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, “He will transform our wretched bodies into copies of his glorious body.” Phil. 3:21

 - Carole Anne Guay CSJ

Transfiguration

Did you know that it is the intense heat of a forest fire that releases the seeds of the pine cone so that new growth can take place?

. . . tall, black tree trunks scarred from fire, delicately outlined with fresh, white snow,

. . . the lush green of the forest floor in the spring following a fire,

. . . the pinkish, purple blossoms of the fireweed plant growing in the spaces left vacant by fire,

These are the images I see as I drive along our highway and roads after two intense summers of forest fires. These are transfiguration moments for me.

As I reflect on the encounters I have had in the past few months, they speak of transfiguration.

. . . from two seven year old children in First Communion class, one sharing her time when she talks with Jesus and the light in her heart as he speaks to her and the other child telling of seeing Jesus, authentic, true, transforming

. . . to the man who asked if I would come with him to a telehealth conference call….holding his anxiety

. . . to the Inuit woman sitting on my living-room floor sharing for the first time her story of pain, trauma and abuse, she being transformed in the telling, me being transformed in the holding of story

. . . to keeping vigil with my dying friend and eventually being able to say “It is okay to go”

In this second week of Lent, Jesus invites us to go up the mountain with him. He had a conversation with Moses and Elijah about his imminent death. Yet, in the intensity of that conversation, new life, glory is proclaimed by the Father.

What conversation will Jesus have with you, with me? What transfiguration moments do I recognize each day?

Margaret Ann Beaudette, CSJ