Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord
Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord on Mount Tabor.
Memorial of Hiroshima in Japan, where the first atomic bomb was dropped in 1945.
Többet
Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord
Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord on Mount Tabor.
Memorial of Hiroshima in Japan, where the first atomic bomb was dropped in 1945.
First Reading
Daniel 7,9-10.13-14
While I was watching, thrones were set in place and one most venerable 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. The court was in session and the books lay open. I was gazing into the visions of the night, when I saw, coming on the clouds of heaven, as it were a son of man. He came to the One most venerable and was led into his presence. On him was conferred rule, honour and kingship, and all peoples, nations and languages became his servants. His rule is an everlasting rule which will never pass away, and his kingship will never come to an end.
Psalmody
Psalm 28
Antiphon
Ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.
O give the Lord you sons of God,
give the Lord glory and power;
give the Lord the glory of his name.
Adore the Lord in his holy court.
The Lord's voice resounding on the waters,
The God of glory thunders.
the Lord on the immensity of waters;
The voice of the Lord, full of power,
the voice of the Lord, full of splendour.
The Lord's voice shattering the cedars,
the Lord shatters the cedars of Lebanon;
He makes Lebanon leap like a calf
and Sirion like a young wild-ox.
The Lord's voice flashes flames of fire.
The Lord's voice shaking the wilderness,
The Lord shakes the wilderness of Kadesh;
the Lord's voice rending the oak tree and stripping the forest bare.
The Lord sat enthroned over the flood;
the Lord sits as king for ever.
The Lord will give strength to his people,
the Lord will bless his people with peace.
In this temple
they all cry : 'Glory!
Second Reading
2 Peter 1,16-19
When we told you about the power and the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, we were not slavishly repeating cleverly invented myths; no, we had seen his majesty with our own eyes. He was honoured and glorified by God the Father, when a voice came to him from the transcendent Glory, This is my Son, the Beloved; he enjoys my favour. We ourselves heard this voice from heaven, when we were with him on the holy mountain. So we have confirmation of the words of the prophets; and you will be right to pay attention to it as to a lamp for lighting a way through the dark, until the dawn comes and the morning star rises in your minds.
Reading of the Gospel
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Yesterday I was buried with Christ,
today I rise with you who are risen.
With you I was crucified;
remember me, Lord, in your kingdom.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Matthew 17,1-9
Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and his brother John and led them up a high mountain by themselves. There in their presence he was transfigured: his face shone like the sun and his clothes became as dazzling as light. And 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 want me to, I will make three shelters 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 suddenly 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, saying, 'Stand up, do not be afraid.' And when they raised their eyes they saw no one but Jesus. As they came down from the mountain Jesus gave them this order, 'Tell no one about this vision until the Son of man has risen from the dead.'
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Yesterday I was buried with Christ,
today I rise with you who are risen.
With you I was crucified;
remember me, Lord, in your kingdom.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Homily
Today we celebrate the feast of the Transfiguration of Jesus. It is one of the most mysterious of the Gospel. The Church - aware of the connection of this event with the mystery of the cross - marks this celebration on August 6, that is 40 days from September 14, the feast of the Exaltation of the Cross. There is a tight bond between the face of the Crucified and the one on the Mount Tabor: both are marked by love. It is a love that gives itself till the end and right because of this is able to transfigure everything. Jesus wanted to involve his three closest disciples in this mystery. All starts from a friendship which on Mount Tabor, in front of what is happening, reveals in Peter's words: "It is good for us to be here." Peter discovers the meaning of a totally different life. it is the amazement of those who experience every day that life is not beautiful but rather marked by bitterness, misunderstanding, by our anxieties, uncertainties and questions to which we cannot find an answer. How is it possible to be different? Aren't we condemned to always repeat ourselves? Stuck in our limits, defects and habits? And don't society and the world seem to be condemned to violence and abuse? In today's reading the prophet Daniel speaks of a nocturnal vision in which God manifests himself in history. it is an ancient prophecy that asks us to raise from being harshly hardened. The Gospel comes towards us and shows Jesus who transfigures himself in front of us. It is the god news that there is a way of life different from what we think and see. Certainly the memorial of the atomic bomb dropped in Hiroshima reminds us that tragedies are possible if the world cannot transfigure itself. In such cases it risks to be "disfigured" in a dramatic way as during that year of second world war. Jesus transfigures himself because he wants that we and the world transfigure ourselves. And, just stopping on one only reflection, we could say that friendship with Jesus, allowing to love us, transfigures us and makes us capable of transfiguring also the world.
Prayer is the heart of the life of the Community of Sant'Egidio and is its absolute priority. At the end of the day, every the Community of Sant'Egidio, large or small, gathers around the Lord to listen to his Word. The Word of God and the prayer are, in fact, the very basis of the whole life of the Community. The disciples cannot do other than remain at the feet of Jesus, as did Mary of Bethany, to receive his love and learn his ways (Phil. 2:5).
So every evening, when the Community returns to the feet of the Lord, it repeats the words of the anonymous disciple: " Lord, teach us how to pray". Jesus, Master of prayer, continues to answer: "When you pray, say: Abba, Father". It is not a simple exhortation, it is much more. With these words Jesus lets the disciples participate in his own relationship with the Father. Therefore in prayer, the fact of being children of the Father who is in heaven, comes before the words we may say. So praying is above all a way of being! That is to say we are children who turn with faith to the Father, certain that they will be heard.
Jesus teaches us to call God "Our Father". And not simply "Father" or "My Father". Disciples, even when they pray on their own, are never isolated nor they are orphans; they are always members of the Lord's family.
In praying together, beside the mystery of being children of God, there is also the mystery of brotherhood, as the Father of the Church said: "You cannot have God as father without having the church as mother". When praying together, the Holy Spirit assembles the disciples in the upper room together with Mary, the Lord's mother, so that they may direct their gaze towards the Lord's face and learn from Him the secret of his Heart.
The Communities of Sant'Egidio all over the world gather in the various places of prayer and lay before the Lord the hopes and the sufferings of the tired, exhausted crowds of which the Gospel speaks ( Mat. 9: 3-7 ), In these ancient crowds we can see the huge masses of the modern cities, the millions of refugees who continue to flee their countries, the poor, relegated to the very fringe of life and all those who are waiting for someone to take care of them. Praying together includes the cry, the invocation, the aspiration, the desire for peace, the healing and salvation of the men and women of this world. Prayer is never in vain; it rises ceaselessly to the Lord so that anguish is turned into hope, tears into joy, despair into happiness, and solitude into communion. May the Kingdom of God come soon among people!
