Catholic Caucus: Daily Mass Readings, 8-06-03, Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord

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

As I watched:

Thrones were set up
and the Ancient One took his throne.
His clothing was bright as snow,
and the hair on his head as white as wool;
his throne was flames of fire,
with wheels of burning fire.
A surging stream of fire
flowed out from where he sat;
thousands upon thousands were ministering to him,
and myriads upon myriads attended him.
The court was convened and the books were opened.

As the visions during the night continued, I saw:

One like a Son of man coming,
on the clouds of heaven;
When he reached the Ancient One
and was presented before him,
The one like a Son of man received dominion, glory, and kingship;
all peoples, nations, and languages serve him.
His dominion is an everlasting dominion
that shall not be taken away,
his kingship shall not be destroyed.

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

R (1a and 9a) The Lord is king, the Most High over all the earth.
The LORD is king; let the earth rejoice;
let the many islands be glad.
Clouds and darkness are round about him,
justice and judgment are the foundation of his throne.
R The Lord is king, the Most High over all the earth.
The mountains melt like wax before the LORD,
before the LORD of all the earth.
The heavens proclaim his justice,
and all peoples see his glory.
R The Lord is king, the Most High over all the earth.
Because you, O LORD, are the Most High over all the earth,
exalted far above all gods.
R The Lord is king, the Most High over all the earth.

Reading II
2 Pt 1:16-19

Beloved:
We did not follow cleverly devised myths
when we made known to you
the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ,
but we had been eyewitnesses of his majesty.
For he received honor and glory from God the Father
when that unique declaration came to him from the majestic glory,
"This is my Son, my beloved, with whom I am well pleased."
We ourselves heard this voice come from heaven
while we were with him on the holy mountain.
Moreover, we possess the prophetic message that is altogether reliable.
You will do well to be attentive to it,
as to a lamp shining in a dark place,
until day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.

Gospel
Mk 9:2-10

Jesus took Peter, James, and his brother 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 fuller on earth could bleach them.
Then Elijah appeared to them along with Moses,
and they were conversing with Jesus.
Then Peter said to Jesus in reply,
"Rabbi, it is good that we are here!
Let us make three tents:
one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah."
He hardly knew what to say, they were so terrified.
Then a cloud came, casting a shadow over them;
from the cloud came a voice,
"This is my beloved Son. Listen to him."
Suddenly, looking around, they no longer saw anyone
but Jesus alone with them.

As they were coming down from the mountain,
he charged them not to relate what they had seen to anyone,
except when the Son of Man had risen from the dead.
So they kept the matter to themselves,
questioning what rising from the dead meant.

From: 2 Peter 1:16-19

The Transfiguration, an Earnest of the Second Coming

[16] For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to
you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were
eyewitnesses of His majesty. [17] For when He received honor and glory
from God the Father and the voice was borne to Him by the Majestic
Glory, "This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased," [18] we
heard this voice borne from heaven, for we were with Him on the holy
mountain.

Prophecy and the Second Coming

[19] And we have the prophetic word made more sure. You will do well
to pay attention to this as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until
the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.

Commentary:

16-18. The transfiguration of Jesus Christ, at which the voice of God
the Father was heard (verses 16-18), and the testimony of the Old
Testament prophets (verses 19-21) are a guarantee of the doctrine of
Christ's second coming.

"The power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ": this phrase sums up
the purpose of apostolic preaching: "power" indicates that Jesus Christ
is God and is almighty like the Father; the "coming (literally
"Parousia") means the same as His manifestation in glory at the end of
time. This is not a matter of "myth"; it will be as real as His
sojourn on this earth, of which the Apostles are "eyewitnesses". When
speaking of the Transfiguration, the sacred writer refers to the
"majesty" of Jesus Christ (an attribute which He always possesses,
because He is God) and the "voice" of the Father confirming Christ's
divine nature (cf. Matthew 17:5). The simple line of argument is that
if Jesus Christ allowed His divinity to be glimpsed just for a moment,
He will also be able to manifest it in its fullness and forever at the
end of time.

"On the holy mountain": this wording indicates that he is referring to
the transfiguration and not to the baptism of our Lord (Matthew
3:16-17). The mountain is described as "holy" because a theophany
occurred there; similarly, in the Old Testament Zion is called a
"holy mountain" because God revealed Himself there (cf. Psalm 2:6;
Isaiah 11:9).

19-21. "The prophetic word" finds its complete fulfillment in Jesus
Christ (cf. Hebrews 1:1). This does not refer to a particular
prophecy; at that time "the prophetic word" meant the messianic
prophecies or (more usually) all the Old Testament insofar as it
proclaims the enduring salvation to come.

These verses encapsulate the whole notion of biblical prophecy--its
value, interpretation and divine origin. They also show the close
connection between the Old and the New Testaments. "The books of the
Old Testament, all of them caught up into the Gospel message, attain
and show forth their full meaning in the New Testament (cf. Matthew
5:17; Luke 24:27; Romans 16:25-26; 2 Corinthians 3:14-16) and, in their
turn, shed light on it and explain it" (Vatican II, "Dei Verbum", 16).

By reaching their fulfillment in Jesus Christ, the Old Testament
prophecies confirm the truthfulness of what Jesus said and did.
Together with the Transfiguration they constitute a guarantee of the
second coming of the Lord.

The comparison of prophecy to the morning star is a very good one, for
that star is designed to bring light and announce the coming of day.
Similarly, the fullness of Revelation which begins with the earthly
life of Christ will reach its climax when He comes in glory.

Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text
taken from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries
made by members of the Faculty of Theology of the University of
Navarre, Spain. Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock,
Co. Dublin, Ireland.

From: Mark 9:2-10

The Transfiguration (Continuation)

[2] And after six days 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, [3] and His garments became glistening,
intensely white, as no fuller on earth could bleach them. [4] And
there appeared to them Elijah with Moses; and they were talking to
Jesus. [5] And Peter said to Jesus, "Master, it is well that we are
here; let us make three booths, one for You and one for Moses and one
for Elijah." [6] For he did not know what to say, for they were
exceedingly afraid. [7] And a cloud overshadowed them, and a voice
came out of the cloud, "This is My beloved Son; listen to Him." [8]
And suddenly looking around they no longer saw any one with them but
Jesus only.

[9] And as they were coming down the mountain, He charged them to tell
no one what they had seen, until the Son of Man should have risen from
the dead. [10] So they kept the matter to themselves, questioning what
the rising from the dead meant."

Commentary:

2-10. We contemplate in awe this manifestation of the glory of the Son
of God to three of His disciples. Ever since the Incarnation, the
divinity of our Lord has usually been hidden behind His humanity. But
Christ wishes to show, to these favorite disciples, who will later be
pillars of the Church, the splendor of His divine glory, in order to
encourage them to follow the difficult way that lies ahead, fixing
their gaze on the happy goal which is awaiting them at the end. This
is why, as St. Thomas comments (cf. "Summa Theologia", III, q. 45, a.
1), it was appropriate for Him to give them an insight into His glory.
The fact that the Transfiguration comes immediately after the first
announcement of His passion, and His prophetic words about how His
followers would also have to carry His cross, shows us that "through
many tribulations we must enter the Kingdom of God" (Acts 14:22).

What happened at the Transfiguration? To understand this miraculous
event in Christ's life, we must remember that in order to redeem us by
His passion and death our Lord freely renounced divine glory and became
man, assuming flesh which was capable of suffering and which was not
glorious, becoming like us in every way except sin (cf. Hebrew 4:15).
In the Transfiguration, Jesus Christ willed that the glory which was
His as God and which His soul had from the moment of the Incarnation,
should miraculously become present in His body. "We should learn from
Jesus' attitude in these trials. During His life on earth He did not
even want the glory that belonged to Him. Though He had the right to
be treated as God, He took the form of a servant, a slave (cf.
Philippians 2:6)" (St J. Escriva, "Christ Is Passing By", 62).
Bearing in mind WHO became man (the divinity of the person and the
glory of His soul), it was appropriate for His body to be glorious;

given the PURPOSE of His Incarnation, it was not appropriate, usually,
for His glory to be evident. Christ shows His glory in the
Transfiguration in order to move us to desire the divine glory which
will be given us so that, having this hope, we too can understand "that
the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the
glory that is to be revealed to us" (Romans 8:18).

2. According to Deuteronomy (19:15), to bear witness to anything the
evidence of two or three much concur. Perhaps this is why Jesus wanted
three Apostles to be present. It should be pointed out that these
three Apostles were specially loved by Him; they were with Him also at
the raising of the daughter of Jairus (Mark 5:37) and will also be
closest to Him during His agony at Gethsemane (Mark 14:33). Cf. note
on Matthew 17:1-13.

7. This is how St. Thomas Aquinas explains the meaning of the
Transfiguration: "Just as in Baptism, where the mystery of the first
regeneration was proclaimed, the operation of the whole Trinity was
made manifest, because the Son Incarnate was there, the Holy Spirit
appeared under the form of a dove, and the Father made Himself known in
the voice; so also in the Transfiguration, which is the sign of the
second regeneration [the Resurrection], the whole Trinity appears--the
Father in the voice, the Son in the man, the Holy Spirit in the bright
cloud; for just as in Baptism He confers innocence, as signified by the
simplicity of the dove, so in the Resurrection will He give His elect
the clarity of glory and the refreshment from every form of evil, as
signified by the bright cloud" ("Summa Theologiae", III, q. 45, 1.4 ad
2). For, really, the Transfiguration was in some way an anticipation
not only of Christ's glorification but also of ours. As St. Paul says,
"it is the same Spirit Himself bearing witness with our spirit that we
are children of God, and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and
fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with Him in order that we
may also be glorified with Him" (Romans 8:16-17).

10. That the dead would rise was already revealed in the Old Testament
(cf. Daniel 12:2-3; 2 Maccabees 7:9; 12:43) and was believed by pious
Jews (cf. John 11:23-25). However, they were unable to understand the
profound truth of the death and Resurrection of the Lord: they expected
a glorious and triumphant Messiah, despite the prophecy that He would
suffer and die (cf. Isaiah 53). Hence the Apostles' oblique approach;
they too do not dare to directly question our Lord about His
Resurrection.

FEAST OF THE DAY

Today is the Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord and is
celebrated forty days before the feast of the Triumph of the Cross.
This feast remembers when Jesus gave the Apostles, Peter, James
and John, a glimpse of his divinity. This event gives a glimpse of
Jesus being both fully human and fully divine.

The account of the Transfiguration is very similar throughout the
Synoptic Gospels. In the timeline of Jesus' life, the Transfiguration
occurs after Peter's revelation that Jesus is the Messiah and after
Jesus' first prediction of his passion and death.

This feast was widely celebrated in the East by the fifth century and
slowly spread to the West. This feast was extended to the general
calendar in 1457 by Pope Callistus III to celebrate the defeat,
announced in Rome on August 6, of the Turks at Belgrade.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

After six days Jesus took Peter, 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 fuller on
earth could bleach them. Then Elijah appeared to them along with
Moses, and they were conversing with Jesus. Then Peter said to
Jesus in reply, "Rabbi, it is good that we are here! Let us make three
tents: one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah." He hardly knew
what to say, they were so terrified. Then a cloud came, casting a
shadow over them; then from the cloud came a voice, "This is my
beloved Son. Listen to him." Suddenly, looking around, they no
longer saw anyone but Jesus alone with them. -Mk 9:2-8

TODAY IN HISTORY

258 Death of St. Sixtus II, Pope
1458 Death of Pope Colixtus III
1623 Death of Pope Gregory XV
1945 Atomic explosion over Hiroshima

TODAY'S TIDBIT

The readings for the Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord are also
read on the Second Sunday of Lent. This stems from a tradition that
held that the Transfiguration occurred in the weeks immediately prior
to the Passion, Death and Resurrection.

INTENTION FOR THE DAY

On this anniversary of the atomic explosion over Hiroshima please
pray for world peace.

One Bread, One Body

<< Wednesday, August 6, 2003 >>

Transfiguration

Daniel 7:9-10, 13-14
2 Peter 1:16-19

Psalm 97
Mark 9:2-10

View Readings

THE TWO FACES ARE ONE

“Jesus took Peter, James, and John off by themselves with Him and led them up a high mountain. He was transfigured before their eyes.” —Mark 9:2

Isaiah prophesied of the Messiah, the Suffering Servant: “Even as many were amazed at Him — so marred was His look beyond that of man, and His appearance beyond that of mortals” (Is 52:14). Isaiah’s prophecy was fulfilled in Jesus’ crucifixion and death. How could the severely altered face of the crucified Jesus be the face of God?

Jesus “was transfigured before their eyes, and His clothes became dazzlingly white — whiter than the work of any bleacher could make them” (Mk 9:2-3). At the Transfiguration, Jesus’ face was no longer emptied (see Phil 2:7) of His divine glory. His face was clearly recognizable as the face of God.

We must never look at the crucified face of Jesus without remembering His transfigured face. Jesus’ cross is not a denial of His divinity but can be understood only in the light of His divinity.

We must never look at the transfigured face of Jesus without also picturing the thorn-crowned face of the crucified Christ. Jesus’ crucifixion takes us into the mysterious depths of His divinity.

There is an ancient tradition which holds that the Transfiguration took place forty days before Jesus’ crucifixion and death. Thus, in 1457, Pope Callistus III set the date for the feast of the transfiguration: forty days before the feast of the Triumph of the Cross, September 14. The Transfiguration and crucifixion go together. Jesus is both fully God and fully man.

Prayer: Father, on this feast of the Transfiguration, plunge me into the mystery of the cross.

Promise: “His dominion is an everlasting dominion that shall not be taken away, His kingship shall not be destroyed.” —Dn 7:14

Praise: Praise the crucified, transfigured face of Jesus!

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