Transfiguration?

From WikiMedia Commons. Saint Catherine's Monastery, Sinai (Egypt) / K. Weitzmann: "Die Ikone"

Jesus was transfigured.  His appearance changed.  I believe he became other worldly in appearance.  Many commentators state that the transfiguration is a view into the glory Jesus has as Son of God and will receive in his resurrection from the dead.¹  This is the glory that God wants to give us.  This is the glory we participate in because we are part of the Body of Christ, the Church. (See Col 1:18; Eph 5:23)

During this week, we are reminded that we are not merely creatures.  God has a purpose for us: We are to have the glory that the resurrection provides.  Our prayer, penance and almsgiving should bring us closer to the glory of God.  Although what we do does not earn us God’s love and salvation simply by prayer, penance and almsgiving, our Lenten practices do prepare us to receive the grace of God.  Like when we pound on a piece of beef so that the marinade can permeate it, our Lenten practices  (when done in the right spirit) allows the graces of God to permeate our being.  When we allow the grace of God to be a part of us, we also allow the glory of God to be manifested in us.

In St. Luke’s version of the transfiguration (which we read this weekend), the voice says that Jesus is the Chosen, unlike the versions (of Ss. Matthew and Mark) which say that Jesus is the Beloved.  Because Jesus is chosen, he is to be listened to.  God chose Jesus to carry out His Will and proclaim His Word.  God’s offer of salvation is made through Jesus.  Thus, to listen, that is, to hear and put into practice what Jesus teaches is paramount.  When we are able to listen and then do what the Chosen One has proclaimed, we also prepare ourselves to receive the glory that God wants to give.  Thus, prayer, penance and almsgiving must include that which Jesus teaches and commands: love.  After all, love is the reason we were made and the reason we were saved.

Let us pray this week to persevere in our Lenten preparations.


1.  See, for example, Luke Timothy Johnson, The Gospel of Luke, Sacra Pagina Series Volume 3 (Collegeville: The Liturgical Press, 1991), 152-153.

Our Temptations

(Apologies: I had neglected to post this on the First Sunday of Lent.  I only realised this when I began to prepare for my post for the Second Sunday of Lent.)

Temptations are not to be trifled with.  They can be a serious problem in our lives, especially when we are making a great effort to be at rights with God.  The problem is that we have made temptations less to do with the spiritual and supernatural, and more to do with the physical world.  That is the evolution of language, I suppose.  However, we must not mix up the temptations from the evil one with the non-supernatural kinds.  Of course, the evil one can tempt using non-supernatural or non-spiritual means.  However, we must trace the non-supernatural and non-spiritual to the supernatural and the spiritual to know the danger the evil one poses.

Let me provide a simple example:

I was tempted to eat ice cream.

Ice Cream Dessert by Lotus Head. From WikiMedia Commons.

Why is eating ice cream wrong?

1. Am I unhealthily overweight?
1. Am I being indifferent to my health?
2. Am I being a glutton?


2. Am I trying to look slim?
1. I want to look good.  Am I being vain?
2. I want to fit back into my clothes.  Do I regret going on a binge?

When I say “I was tempted to eat ice cream”, what is actually happening?  From the above list of possible answers, I have to consider whether eating ice cream was the actual temptation.  Wanting to look one’s best might be due to wanting to show respect for the person we are meeting or simply to impress, in other words, to raise our standing with that person.  The actual temptation for 1A above is more about not treasuring the gift of our bodies and health and less about eating the ice cream itself.  Gluttony is a capital sin and vanity is part of pride, another capital sin.  In 1B, the eating is wrong because it is linked to gluttony.  In 2A, it is the result of not eating that is dangerous.  2B needs more questions and discernment to get to the spiritual meaning of the main sentence: I was tempted to eat ice cream.

As we can see, in most cases, the real temptation was not directly about eating the ice cream but the reasons and motivations behind the act of eating.  If I struggle with temptations that are from spiritual or supernatural origins, I should not despair.  It is an indication to me that I am clear with what is of God and what is not.  What should be worrying to me is when there is no struggle.  Have I given up trying to be closer to God?  Or perhaps, I do not even recognise that I am drifting away from the Lord.  After all, the devil will not need to do anything to me if I am on my way to hell.  

As we begin Lent, let us pray that our hearts might be graced to be open to Him who aids us when we struggle with temptation to sin.  The spiritual activities of prayer, penance and almsgiving help us in being open to him.

Our Call to be Disciples

(Apologies: I had forgotten to publish this and the next post after writing them.  Only discovered my negligence when I started to prepare the post for the Second Sunday of Lent)

Our call to be Christ’s followers is meant to elevate us to be truly children of God.  Many people remark that they did not choose their parents.  I believe that it is the same way when it comes to God: we did not choose to be made by Him nor called by Him.  However, it is our response that we choose.  Just as we can choose to treat our parents as parents, we can choose to respond to God’s call with a Yes or a No.  If we say Yes, it is not because we were good enough to choose to be God’s child but that God makes us good enough when we respond with a Yes.  Here lies the mystery of the grace of God and His gift of free will.  In history, there have been many who have struggled to understand this mystery.  In our limited human capacity to reason, we cannot seem to understand how the human will is dependent on the grace of God and yet remain really free.  (If you are interested in this, you can refer to New Advent's article on Pelagianism and the summary of St. Augustine’s treatise on Grace and Free Will.)

The earliest portrait of Saint Augustine in a 6th century fresco, Lateran, Rome.
From WikiMedia Commons

Let us get back to our call to be disciples.  Observing the First Reading of this Sunday’s Liturgy (5th Sunday in Ordinary Time), we discover the truth that God makes us worthy to be His Son’s disciples. It was and will never be because we were worthy in our own right.  So, if we feel we deserve to be Christian, perhaps we need to revisit our understanding regarding the virtue of humility.  If we feel unworthy, we should need to continue to humbly pray to the Lord to help us, with a prayer not  unlike the father of a boy who was possessed by a dumb spirit (Mark 9:14-27) who exclaimed, “I believe; help my unbelief!” (v. 24).  The paradox of the disciple is that it is that it is when we are aware of our unworthiness that we are able to totally depend on the grace of God.  As St. Paul wrote, “for when I am weak, then I am strong.” (2 Cor 12:10)  The temptation is for us to think that because we are made worthy, we become worthy in ourselves.  We should then take note of next week’s Gospel reading on the Temptations of Christ.

Let us continue to bask in the grace of God and ask God to keep us humble so that we can do great things for God, just like St. Peter, who became a true fisher of men.