We see a very human response to Jesus’ transfiguration in Matthew’s Gospel today on the 2nd Sunday of Lent. First, the disciples are intently engaged by what they see. Then, Peter expresses his desire to remain in this moment of grace with Jesus, wishing to build tents for them in order to remain on the mountaintop. Then, there is a sense of fear and awe when they hear God’s come out of the cloud, as the disciples fall prostrate on the ground. The mystery of this encounter penetrates the depths of their hearts.
The mystery of God’s mercy was present in the transfiguration on the mountaintop. The mystery of God’s mercy is ever-present in our lives as well. God’s mercy invites us to trust in his holy presence and to ponder the ways God’s love and mercy can transform our lives into lives of faith and instruments of God’s love and grace.
It is important for us to open ourselves to moments of transfiguration in our lives. In the US, we had a Eucharistic revival starting in June 2022, with a national Eucharistic congress being held in Indianapolis in 2024. The ideal of a Eucharistic revival came out of the pandemic when we are separated from the Eucharist for a time. The revival was meant to be a joyful grassroots response of the Church and the Catholic faithful to God’s invitation to be united around the Eucharist as the source and summit of our Catholic faith, as the place where we receive new life and as place where we are sent out to bring the Gospel message to the world. Through the Eucharist, God can heal us, renew, and unify us.
The Eucharist can be the source of transformation as well. This year, I celebrated Ash Wednesday Masses at the federal prison, the state prison, and at the parishes at Clinton, Raymond, and Pearl. I left the house at 5:30 in the morning to go to an early mass at St Jude in Pearl and I got home at 9:10 pm after celebrating the Spanish evening mass in Pearl. Even though I was extremely physically exhausted at the end of that long day, I was edified by the many faithful who came to receive ashes on their foreheads and to receive Christ’s body and blood in the Eucharist. As a priest, I am always in awe of the presence of Christ that we receive in the Eucharist. By the way he feeds us and nurtures us through the Eucharist. By the way he enters our lives in a special way and forms us as the Body of Christ in the Church. That is true transformation that we can never take for granted.
As you all know, we just had the ACTS retreat for men two weekends ago. What an amazing faith-filled transformative experience. I saw the men being transformed before my very eyes that entire weekend as the Holy Spirit worked in their lives. We are actually going to have a reunion this Sunday over in Vicksburg for all the retreatants and team members who went on that retreat. We want to keep the transformation of that retreat alive in the lives of these men. We want to keep the spirit of that retreat alive as well.
If we feel the power of Christ in the Eucharist within us, if we feel transformed by the ACTS retreat program, we also will want to bring that transformation to others. As you all know, in the prison ministry, I aim to transform the lives of the inmates there. It can be challenging work trying to navigate the Mississippi prison system, but I see transformation in the men there all the time. Last Tuesday, I was asked to be a speaker at a press conference with a group called Defend Mississippi, which is trying to advocate for reform the public defense system in Mississippi, which does not have the adequate resources that it needs. It is not enough to be there for the inmates in this ministry. We need to advocate for justice in a system that often fails our population. And this group is appreciative of having my voice as a Catholic priest united with them, as I work on the ground level with the incarcerated men and women through our Catholic prison ministry. We have to work toward transformation in different ways. As a priest, I in turn am transformed and transfigured through my ministries and through the men and women whom I serve as a priest.
The mystery of God is at work in our lives in different ways. It makes us aware of the change that is manifested in the transfiguration of Jesus in the Gospel and the transfiguration at work in our lives of faith. We can sometimes want to give up on our efforts with the challenges and struggles we go through. However, with open and thankful hearts, with fortitude and prayers, we can see the way that God’s mercy is gradually at work in our lives and to trust in that mercy.
Today’s Gospel begins by saying that Jesus led the disciples up the mountain. He could have easily gone up the mountain alone and experienced his own transformation. However, the Gospel emphasizes that Jesus intentionally took these 3 disciples, who subsequently witnessed the grace and mystery of his transfiguration. Jesus’ invitation to encounter and receive this grace and mystery extend to us today.
No comments:
Post a Comment