My Dear People,
By his Transfiguration, Jesus strengthens his disciples’ faith, revealing a trace of the glory his body will have after the Resurrection. He wants them to realize that his passion will not be the end, but rather the route he will take to reach his glorification. “For a person to go straight along the road, he must have some knowledge of the end—just as an archer will not shoot an arrow straight unless he first sees the target. This is particularly necessary if the road is hard and rough, the going heavy, and the end delightful.” (St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae, 3, q. 45, a 1).
Through the miracle of the transfiguration Jesus shows one of the qualities of glorified bodies—brightness, by which the bodies of the saints shall shine like the sun, according to the words of our Lord recorded in the Gospel of St. Matthew: “the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father’ (Mt 13, 43). To remove the possibility of doubt on the subject, he exemplifies this in his transfiguration. This quality the apostle sometimes calls “glory,” sometimes “brightness”: He ‘will change our lowly body to the like of his glorious body’ (Phil 3:21). Of his glory the Israelites beheld some image in the desert, when the face of Moses, after he had enjoyed the presence and conversation of God, shone with such luster that they could not look on it. (cf. Ex34:29) This quality is not common to all in the same degree. All the bodies of the saints will be equally impassible; but the brightness of all will not be the same.
He spoke of his departure: that is, his departure from this world, in other words, his death. It can also be understood as meaning our Lord’s ascension.
“Listen to him!”: everything God wishes to say to mankind he has said through Christ, now that the fullness of time has come, “Therefore,” St. John of the cross explains, “if any now should question God or desire a vision or revelation, not only would he be acting foolishly but he would be committing an offence against God, by not fixing his gaze on Christ with no desire for any new thing. For God could reply to him in this way: “If I have spoken all things to you in my Word, what answer can I give you now, or what can I give you now, or what can I reveal to you that is greater than this? Fix your eyes on him alone, for in him I have spoken and revealed to you all things, and in him you will find even more than what you ask for or desire. Hear him, for I have no more faith to reveal, nor I have any more things to declare.’” (Ascent of Mount Carmel, book 2, chap 22.5).
Congratulations to all the candidates who received Confirmation. Continue to live your faith and follow the inspiration daily of the Saint that you have chosen and continue to depend on Christ.
Happy St. Patrick’s day to everyone!
Yours in Christ,
Fr. Vincent Clemente