2nd Sunday Lent, Year A Transfiguration - Eucharist

 

In today’s Gospel, Jesus took Peter, James and John up a very high mountain and was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun and His clothes became dazzling white. The extra ordinary incredible event would be something the three apostles would never forget. But, why would Jesus reveal the magnificence of His glory to them?

Christ's Transfiguration aims at strengthening the apostles' faith in anticipation of his Passion. Pope Leo the Great, said “the principle aim of the Transfiguration was to banish from the disciples’ souls the scandal of the Cross”.

The revelation of His glory on Mount Tabor would give the apostles hope, in the midst of the terrible tragedy of His death. As Jesus said, He would be raised up on the third day. It would give them hope of the life to come.

God wants us contemplate the transfiguration-- and the glory and joy of heaven, because of the great suffering that every one of us will experience in the future. We can do this especially when we meditate on the 4th luminous mystery of the Rosary, the transfiguration.

Have you ever had a transfiguration event? Where God gave you a glimpse of His glory? After a thunderstorm, when clouds open and the sun shines through, we see the beautiful rays of light. Or if we look at the mountains in Colorado and see the clouds and snow tops, we are in awe and think of God’s glory. Or when a rainbow shines across the entire sky. We can exclaim, Oh Lord, my God, When I, in awesome wonder, consider all the worlds Thy hands have made, I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder, Thy power throughout the universe displayed, how can I not contemplate thy glory?

When I was here 10 years ago, I was serving at three parishes rotating on the weekend, Holy Name in Bushton, St. Paul in Lyons and here at Holy Trinity in Little River.

After I was here for about a year, there was a period of two weeks, something amazing happened. One weekend, we had a Holy Hour in Bushton, and after the Holy Hour, an elderly woman came up to me and told me a story from her childhood. She said, when she was about 16 years old, during a Holy Hour, as she was gazing upon the Sacred Host in the monstrance, she saw Jesus. She told me this event that happened, over 70 years ago.

Then a few weeks later, I came here to Holy Trinity and after Mass a young girl from our parish told me the exact same thing. She said one day, during a Holy Hour when gazing upon the Host in the monstrance, here on the altar, she said she saw the face of Jesus. I don’t recall her name, but she was from our parish.

So within two weeks an elderly woman told me when she was about 16 she saw Jesus in a Host and then 70 years later, a young girl about the age of 16, from our parish told me, she too saw the face of Jesus in the Host. Isn’t that amazing.

Then, a few years later, I was assigned to Sacred Heart in Halstead as their pastor. One day, after Mass, a woman, about 70 years old, who had been singing in the choir, came down the steps from the choirloft and was crying. I said, “What’s the matter? What happened? Are you okay?” Wiping the tears from her face, she said, “You won’t believe what just happened. Father, when you were holding the Sacred Host above the altar, after the consecration, I saw Jesus!” She said, “I really did, I saw Jesus!”

Not much after that happened, at Sacred Heart, we started a Eucharistic Adoration Chapel. A 12 year old boy and his two sisters and their grandmother, had just become Catholic. The children had only been Catholic for several months, when the grandmother and her three grandchildren were praying and doing a Holy Hour. The boy, said while they were praying, Jesus came out of the Host and stood in front of the altar. He said, he was wearing a golden crown and was wearing a white garment and a golden sash. Jesus told the boy, “Remove your shoes, and tell the others to remove their shoes. The ground on which you are standing is holy ground.” His sisters and grandmother knew something had just happened, because the boy was looking up and removed his shoes. He told them to remove their shoes and they did. When they came to me to tell me what happened, I was dumbfounded and didn’t know what to say. But, I believed him, especially since, he had never heard of the burning bush story in the bible, where God told Moses to remove his shoes because the ground he was standing is holy.

Back in Oct., when I was in Medjugorje, the little village, where its believed the Virgin Mary is appearing, some women from our group, saw what they called, “The miracle of the sun.” They saw the sun spin and then, the sun turned into what they said looked like a “white host”. They all believed the white host represented the Eucharist. It seems to me, it was sign from heaven. It is as though God was pointing them to the Holy Mass, to come to Mass often, to receive Holy Communion and adore Him during Eucharistic Adoration.

This last Christmas, I know of a priest, who had an interesting experience. During midnight Mass, after the consecration, as he elevated the Sacred Host above the altar, he said, the Host disappeared and there in his hands, he was suddenly holding the baby Jesus wrapped in a blue blanket. The priest said he saw the face of the divine Child, who looked at him. Then the child looked toward heaven and white and red rays came forth from His Heart toward heaven. Wow! Amazing!

None of these events have been investigated and these are just personal testimonies from people. But, I believe them and thought I would share them with you.

At Mass, God's glory is made manifest.  At Mass heaven is opened and we join the angels and saints who are giving God glory in heaven. At Mass, we sing with the angels and saints, Holy, Holy, Holy, Holy Lord, God of Hosts, heaven and earth are full of your glory. At Mass we sing the words of the angels, Glory to God in the highest. And we say, we glorify you. We give you thanks for your glory.

Today, and every day, we have the opportunity to be a witness of God’s glory at Mass, when the bread is changed into the person of Jesus. During our Holy Hour, with the eyes of faith, we can gaze upon the glorious face of Jesus. We believe, He is here, just as He appeared on Mount Tabor, to Peter, James and John.

Let us pray,

O Lord, we pray, open the eyes of my heart, I want to see you! Your Sacred Host is the cloud of glory and we want to look beyond the Host and see your glorious face. O Lord, as the Host is lifted up, we pray, shine the light of your glory, on us. Lord pour out your power and love, as we sing, holy, holy, holy, holy. Open the eyes of my heart Lord, I want to see you. I want to see you. Let the light of your radiant face break through the Host and shine upon us, O Lord! (Psalm 4:6)

And grant us your salvation through the intercession and prayers of the Virgin Mary. Amen.