Catechism Links[1]
CCC 554-556. 568: the Transfiguration
CCC 59, 145-146, 2570-2572: The obedience of
Abraham
CCC 1000: Faith opens the way
to comprehending the mystery of the Resurrection
CCC 645, 999-1001: The resurrection of
the body
 |
| “Transfiguration” by Marco Benefial, c. 1730 |
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
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 .”
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Commentary on Gn
15:5-12, 17-18
We hear, in this reading, of the
ritual formalization of the covenant between God and Abram (before his name was
changed to Abraham). In this covenant God promises Abram that he will be the
father of a great nation. God promises him this posterity and the land to
support it. Within the context of this selection is a prophecy (v. 13-16)
of some of the trials to come. But God makes this promise, sealed with a
sacrifice indicating a pledge on both sides.
A three year old animal was
ritually mature, and the animal being cut in half is preserved in ritual as a
sign of that covenant. We see it in the sacrifice of the Mass when the priest
breaks the large host in half and pronounces the words: “This is the Lamb of
God…” While it is not explicit in this text, Abram probably walked between the
halves of the sacrifice to symbolize what happened to them would also happen to
him if he failed in his part of the agreement (see Jeremiah 34:18).
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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.
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Commentary on Ps
27:1, 7-8, 8-9, 13-14
Similar in tenor to Psalm 23, we hear in this passage both a
profession of faith (“The Lord is my light and my salvation”) and a plea
for help (“Hear, O Lord, the sound of my call”). Taken in total it
is a consolation for all who have faith.
Psalm 27 begins in the form of a soliloquy asserting God’s role as
refuge and savior. This passage continues with a prayer as the psalmist yearns
to see God’s face to obtain his indulgence. “Commenting on this psalm, St.
Augustine writes; ‘In the most hidden place, where only you may hear it, my
heart says to you: Lord, I seek your face: and I will continue in this search,
without ever taking rest, so that I may love you freely, for I will never find
anything more precious than [your face]’ (Enarrationes in Psalmos, 26.8)."
[5]
CCC: Ps 27:8 2730
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Reading II
Longer Form: 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.
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Commentary on Phil
3:17—4:1
In the first part of the reading
St. Paul exhorts the community to imitate him and those who act in accord with
his teaching. He first calls on the Christians at Philippi to imitate the
evangelist himself.
"Paul knows that his witness
will leave a more lasting impression than his words. He appeals to
readers to follow his example as he models his own life after Christ (1 Corinthians 4:9; 1 Corinthians 11:1)." [6]
"’There is no better teaching
than the teacher's own example,’ St John Chrysostom exclaims, commenting on
this passage; ‘by taking this course the teacher is sure of getting his
disciple to follow him. Speak wisely, instruct as eloquently as you can ...,
but your example will make a greater impression, will be more decisive.... When
your actions are in line with your words, nobody will be able to find fault
with you’ ("Hom. on Phil, ad loc.")." [7]
He then (Philippians 3:17-20)
identifies those who “conduct themselves as enemies of the cross of Christ.”
They do so by focusing their efforts on themselves (their stomach, their glory,
earthly things). In contrast, the selection concludes, the Christian should
focus on spiritual gifts and the promise of the resurrection.
The second part of the reading is
the promise to the faithful members of the community. The promise is that, in
the end, they will be conformed to Christ in spirit and body.
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Or
Shorter Form: 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.
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Commentary on Phil
3:20---4:1
The shorter form of the reading
omits the contrasting secular values of the enemies of Christ but retains the
promise to the faithful members of the community. The promise is that, in the
end, they will be conformed to Christ in spirit and body.
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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.
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Commentary on Lk 9:28b-36
In this passage, St. Luke relates
the account of the Transfiguration. Jesus goes up a mountain, to a high place
with Peter, James, and John. ["Open-air cultic sites. The term 'high
place' is the usual translation of these worship sites. Although these
sites were often located on hills, they were not all so placed (cf. 1 Kings 11:7, 2 Kings 16:4, 17:9-10; Jeremiah 7:31, 32:35). They
could be sited on mountain-tops (Deuteronomy 32:13; Isaiah 58:14; Amos 4:13; Micah 1:3) or even
by the sea (Job 9:8).
The high places were dedicated to God or to Canaanite deities, and in the
period before the establishment of the Temple at Jerusalem, such worship
centers could be considered legitimate (Exodus 20;24; Judges 6:26; 2 Kings 14:4; 1 Chronicles 21:15).
The first mention of them is in 1 Samuel 9:13, likely a reference to
Ramah." [8]]
His appearance changed and the disciples observe him conversing about “his
exodus” with Moses and Elijah (Jesus’ exodus would be the
Passion toward which he was moving).
The disciples' response to this
vision was first to “make three tents,” alluding to the Jewish feast of
Tabernacles, placing the Lord at the same level of importance as Moses and
Elijah. Before any response was made, a cloud came and cast a shadow over them,
and God’s voice came from the cloud announcing: “This is my chosen Son,
listen to him.” (Reminiscent of the words heard at his baptism in the
Jordan: Matthew
3:17; Mark
1:11; and Luke
3:22.) Jesus is elevated above Moses and Elijah to a place with
God himself.
It is clear from this story, and
the other transfiguration accounts, that what had happened was kept secret
until after Jesus' death and resurrection. It was at that time that the true
significance of the event was understood by the Christian community, and the
experience placed in its proper position chronologically.
CCC: Lk 9:28 2600; Lk
9:30-35 2583; Lk
9:31 554,
1151; Lk 9:33 556; Lk
9:34-35 659,
697; Lk 9:35 516,
554
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Reflection:
In professing our faith in
Christ we accept his sacrifice of atonement for our sins. In accepting his sacrifice we are bound by
our promise to accept his yoke and follow his commandments. That is our part of the covenant which Christ
seals by offering his life on the cross.
We can only imagine what will
happen when we come before the judgment seat of Christ. He will ask us, “Have you failed to love God
in your earthly life?”
We must answer, “I
have.”
He will ask us, “Have you
failed to love your brothers and sisters whom I also created?”
We must answer, “I
have.”
And then will he ask, “And
what sacrifice have you offered to atone for these sins?” What answer will we have? We must look at the Risen Lord and profess
that it was his own sacrifice that freed us from this debt.
A jealous god or a vengeful
god would scoff at us and say you have created the filth of sin, now you must
live in it for all eternity. But our God
is love and mercy itself. Again we
imagine him on the judgment seat looking down upon us, and in his eyes we do
not see anger, we do not see disappointment, we see the love of a parent whose
child has learned a difficult lesson.
With that look of love that follows the long period that is time out of
time, in what we understand as purgatory, we are invited into the heavenly
banquet that is the destination he discussed with Moses and Elijah at his
transfiguration.
We now look with renewed
respect at the Sacrifice of the Mass.
The rules of the ancient
covenant were these, that in return for the promise of God, humankind must
demonstrate their love of God by following his commandments. Our Lenten journey is intended to provide us
with a time to check ourselves, to make sure we are fulfilling our vows to the
Lord, and practicing our faith in a manner pleasing to him. That is what we promise when we accept his
covenant; when we say “Amen” to the Body and Blood of Christ.
Pax
In other years on this date:
Optional Memorial for Saint Patrick, Bishop
[1]
Catechism links are taken from the Homiletic Directory, Published by the Congregation for
Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, 29 June 2014.
[2]
The picture is “Transfiguration” by Marco
Benefial, c. 1730.
[4]
The readings are taken from the New American Bible with the exception of the
Psalm and its response which were developed by the International Committee for
English in Liturgy (ICEL). This republication
is not authorized by USCCB and is for private use only.
[5]
The Navarre Bible: “Psalms”, Scepter Publishers, Princeton, NJ, © 2003, p. 109..
[6]
Ignatius Catholic Study Bible, © 2010, Ignatius Press, San Francisco, CA. p.
361
[7]
The Navarre Bible: “Letters of St. Paul,” Scepter Publishers, Princeton, NJ, ©
2003, p. 448.
[8]
Catholic Bible Dictionary, © 2009 by Scott W. Hahn p.
361.
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