The August 6the Church solemnly celebrates the Transfiguration of the Lordone of the many illuminating moments of the Gospels. Jesus goes up, accompanied by his disciples Peter, James and John, to a "high mountain", and there his face becomes resplendent "like the sun", and his garments, "white as the light". At that moment, Moses and Elijah, representatives of the Law and the Prophets, are presented to them, in dialogue with Christ, reviewing how the Salvation of the whole human race will be. The scene culminates with a voice from a cloud: "This is my Son, the Beloved; listen to him" (Matthew 17:5).
This scene is key because it configures the moment when heaven and earth meet in a tangible way. The evangelists Matthew, Mark and Luke, the synoptic gospels, relate the episode, each with their own nuances, but all reveal the importance of this Christian mystery.
The Transfiguration was initially celebrated by the consecration of a basilica at the Mount TaborThe traditional place of the event. Since the ninth century it began to be celebrated in the West and, between the eleventh and twelfth centuries, the feast was established in Rome. Finally in 1457the pope Calixto III elevated it to a solemnity in the Roman calendar to commemorate the victory in the battle of Belgrade (1456), a victory considered a sign of divine intervention.
In the oriental tradition, the Transfiguration is part of the twelve great solemnitiesIt is considered a theological pillar, together with Christmas, Easter and the Exaltation of the Cross, because it expounds the divinization of man by divine grace.
Mount Tabor, located in Lower Galilee about 17 km. west of the Sea of Galilee, rises to an altitude of about 575 meters and dominates the surrounding landscape. It is also known as Yabel at-Tur o Mount of the Transfiguration, traditionally considered the high mountain to which Jesus and the apostles climbed.
At its summit stands a Franciscan basilicaThe building, designed by the architect Antonio Barluzzi, was inaugurated in 1924 on the ruins of Byzantine and earlier structures from the time of the Crusades.
Its interior contains a multitude of mosaics and a gilded apse, where the glorified Christ occupies the center, flanked by Moses and Elijah, and a dove symbolizes the Spirit. This iconography seeks to translate with beauty the passage of the Gospels.
The moment of the Transfiguration reaffirms that Jesus is truly the Son of the living God. According to the Catechism, it expresses the divine glory, confirms Peter's confession, and anticipates the glory that would come after the Passion and Resurrection.
The presence of Moses and Elijah is not accidental: they represent the Old Testament and its mission in the History of Salvation. But Jesus has come to fulfill it perfectly and must be heard.
The cloud-visions the presence of the Father and the Holy Spirit-and the voice that defines Jesus as Son, manifest the reality of the Trinity and is exposed before the eyes of the disciples.
The Transfiguration prepares the disciples for the Cross. It tries to make them understand the scandal of the Cross and to strengthen them for the coming Passion and Resurrection. Moreover, the forty-day period between August 6 and the Exaltation of the Cross is likened to a second Lent.
Origins of Alexandria and medieval theologians affirmed that the glory of the glorified body after the Resurrection is anticipated here. The very light that envelops them on the mountain foreshadows the light of the new creation.
St. Josemaría Escrivá emphasizes that we are called to be contemplatives in the middle of the worldWhere interior silence allows us to listen to the voice of Jesus: "Our Lord, here we are ready to listen to whatever you want to tell us... May your conversation, falling into our soul, inflame our will so that it fervently throws itself into obeying you".
One of his works, Friends of Godencourages the reader to turn each daily task into a loving dialogue with the Lord, transforming routine into service and contemplation. In this way we seek God's presence in the ordinary.
Characterized by its solemnity, the liturgy of the day of the Transfiguration is clothed with whitesymbol of the glorious light of Christ. We leave you the Gospel of the day to meditate on it.
"Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter, James and John. his brother, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, so that his face became radiant like the sun, and his garments white as the light. And there appeared to them Moses and Elijah talking with him. Peter, taking the word, said to Jesus:
-Lord, how good it is 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 a cloud of light overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said:
-This is my Son, the Beloved, in whom I am well pleased: listen to him.
When the disciples heard this, they fell on their faces in fear. Then Jesus came and touched them and said to them:
-Get up and don't be afraid.
When they raised their eyes, they saw no one. Only Jesus. As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus commanded them:
-Do not tell anyone about the vision until the Son of Man has risen from the dead".
Meditate, contemplate, pray in silence (if you can before a Tabernacle where Our Lord is present); relive the scene and decide with Jesus some purpose and commitment to improve this day.
St. Josemaría invites us to this contemplation in Holy Rosary, Appendix, 4th mystery of Light.
"And he was transfigured before them, so that his face became radiant like the sun, and his garments white as the light (Mt 17:2). Jesus, to see you, to speak to you! To remain thus, contemplating you, absorbed in the immensity of your beauty and never, never cease in this contemplation! Oh, Christ, who could see you! Who could see you, to be wounded with love for you!
And a voice out of the cloud said, "This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him" (Mt 17:5). Our Lord, here we are ready to listen to what you want to tell us. Speak to us; we are attentive to your voice. May your conversation, falling into our soul, inflame our will so that it may throw itself fervently into obeying you.
"Vultum tuum, Domine, requiram" (Ps. 26:8), I will seek, Lord, your face. It excites me to close my eyes, and to think that the time will come, when God wills, when I will be able to see him, not as in a mirror, and under dark images... but face to face (I Cor. 13:12). Yes, my heart thirsts for God, for the living God: when shall I come and see the face of God (Ps. 41:3)?".
Climbing Mount Tabor should not be a flight from the world in which we live; in your daily life raise your heart to meet Christ, Jesus "light of the world", sustained and strengthened to embrace his cross and, in it, discover the promise of future glory.
No, it is not obligatory to attend Mass on the day of the Transfiguration of the Lord.. Although it is an important feast in the Catholic Church, it is not a day of obligation, which means that it is not obligatory to attend Mass as on Sundays and other holy days of obligation.
The CARF Foundation invites all those who wish to attend Mass on this day to pray and ask for vocations. prieststhat there may be many of them, and that they may be very holy vocations.
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