Dear friends in Christ

On two occasions during the liturgical year, we remember the Transfiguration of Jesus in a special way. First, on the second Sunday of Lent, to affirm the divinity of Christ, before we commemorate his passion. And the second, today, as we recall the exaltation of Christ in anticipation of His eternal glory. This revelation prefigured the splendour of Heaven, where we will see God face-to-face. Through grace, we acquire the seed of eternal life during our present existence, and begin to participate to a certain extent in the promise of salvation even now.

Our life is a roadway to Heaven, but one that passes by way of the cross and through sacrifice. Until our final moments, we shall have to swim against the current. Saint Thomas Aquinas teaches that if we want to follow the path of Jesus, then we must keep the destination clearly fixed before our eyes...just as the archer does not accurately launch an arrow without first, looking at the target. This is necessary, above all, when the road is rough and hazardous, and the path laborious. It is fitting, therefore, for Christ, to reveal to His disciples, the splendour of His glory, to become transfigured before them, since in the same glory, He would one-day transfigure His own.

If we live in this way, nothing on this path can harm us, however tragic or catastrophic it may seem to be. Let us look to Christ in glory on this feast of His Transfiguration, that we may be led to our rebirth into everlasting life and see His glory face-to-face!

May God bless you!

Msgr Kevin Hale