MAY DEVOTION
Day 29, Wednesday - The Luminous Mysteries
(In Thanksgiving)
The Transfiguration
Connecting to Jesus' glory
To set the scene for this mystery, we see
Jesus inviting Peter, James and John to
withdraw with him from the busy plain of
everyday life and come to a place apart—to a
high mountaintop. Pope John Paul II calls the
Transfiguration "the mystery of light par
excellence," presumably because during this
exalted event, the glory of Jesus' divine nature
glowed brilliantly through his humanity,
totally transfiguring Jesus: "[H]is face shone
like the sun and his clothes became white as
light" (Matthew 17:2).
The event dramatically reminds us that Jesus
is truly divine as well as human. The glory of
Jesus' divine nature is usually hidden by his
humanity. But now God's voice from the cloud
proclaims the full meaning of Christ: "This is
my beloved Son, with whom I am well
pleased; listen to him" (Matthew 17:5).
Writing about the Transfiguration in his
apostolic exhortation, The Consecrated Life,
Pope John Paul II offers this reflection: "The
Transfiguration is not only the revelation of
Christ's glory but also a preparation for facing
Christ's cross. It involves both 'going up the
mountain' and 'coming down the mountain.'
"The disciples who have enjoyed this intimacy
with the Master—surround ed by the
splendor of the Trinitarian life and of the
communion of saints and, as it were, caught
up on the horizon of eternity—are
immediately brought back to daily reality,
where they see 'Jesus only,' in the lowliness
of his human nature. And we are invited to
return to the valley, to share with him the toil
of God's plan and to set off courageously on
the way of the cross" (#14).
Application to my life today. Even if we feel
crushed, oppressed or dehumanized, it's
consoling to know that nothing can really
separate us from God's glory. By clinging to
God in trust and prayer, we, the branches,
remain one with the Vine (John 15:5), sharing
in the divine life.