Dear Friend of Carmel Mission,
Every Second Sunday of Lent we hear the Gospel story of the Transfiguration of the Lord. This year in our lectionary cycle, we hear Luke’s account. Jesus, accompanied by three of His disciples goes up to the top of Mount Tabor to pray. The disciples, exhausted by the climb, fall asleep and awake to find Jesus aglow and in conversation with two of the greatest Hebrew prophets, Moses and Elijah. We truly cannot imagine what must have gone through the disciples’ minds. We see from their words and actions thus far that they love Jesus, they believe in Jesus, but they do not truly understand Jesus, His identity or His mission.
It might be easy to lose sight of the fact that, to the disciples, Jesus was very much a human being. We have the benefit of hindsight to know that Jesus died, rose again from the dead, and is truly the Son of God. The disciples believed that Jesus was their Lord, but they could not possibly have had a full understanding of what that meant as they were living these events in real time. As such, they are left to react to Jesus in the moment, and they are left speechless by the events on the mountaintop.
We too would likely be left speechless to see our friend and teacher glowing with supernatural light and in conversation with long dead heroes. But Jesus’s transfiguration is not a magic trick, it is a manifestation of His inner being, His inner glory. We long to be filled with that same light, and we have the same tool to access it, prayer. Jesus is transfigured, transformed, when he is at prayer, speaking to His Father from His heart. We may not be transfigured, but when we open our hearts to God in prayer, the opportunity to be transformed presents itself. This week I invite you to join in opening our hearts to God, seeking transformation.
I wish you and your loved ones Lenten blessings of good health and open hearts. Please continue to pray for peace and reconciliation in our wounded world,
Fr. Paul,
Please take a moment to read our Carmel Mission Weekly Bulletin.