“Start by doing what's necessary; then do what's possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible” - The “impossible” will never happen - Unless you GET OUT OF THE BOAT

Today the Universal Church celebrates the Feast of the Transfiguration…The event where Jesus showed himself as he truly was - Divine - To his inner circle: Peter, James and John……”Jesus took Peter, John, and James and went up a mountain to pray. While he was praying his face changed in appearance and his clothing became dazzling white. And behold, two men were conversing with him, Moses and Elijah, who appeared in glory and spoke of his exodus that he was going to accomplish in Jerusalem”……Its interesting to me how even Jesus’ closest friends, who lived with him, did not really know him…..What does this reality also say about us?…..Is there “something” within each of us that is “known”….Something that is yet to be revealed?…Something that even we are not aware of?……When we were baptized we were grafted into the life of Christ…The “smallest of seeds” was planted within our soul…..Its for us to cooperate with God and his Church to allow that "seed" to grow…The great St Teresa of Avila, the 16th century Doctor of the Church would say that there are “caverns” within our soul…”Places” we do not even know exist….And to discover those "Places"…..We must as Jesus instructed his first disciples…Get out of the boat!…..Its there we realize our potential…Its there we grow in our faith…Its there we encounter the Living God and fulfill our purpose…..But getting back to the Transfiguration of Jesus…We all know about St Peter - The humble fisherman “called” to become the first Pope…..A herculean mission!….Peter when he sees Jesus transfigured has NO CLUE…..And “this guy” is going to lead the Church after Jesus is brutally murdered?!?…”Peter said to Jesus, Master, it is good that we are here; let us make three tents, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah. But he did not know what he was saying. While he was still speaking, a cloud came and cast a shadow over them, and they became frightened when they entered the cloud”…..Like Peter, we only “see” partially what is to be revealed…Peter allowed Jesus to “mold him”, he too was in a sense “transfigured” over time….But that process as we all know from the Bible was “not pretty”…Peter failed a lot - But here is the thing - St Peter never gave up even after he tried to run away!….”Quo vadis? Peter asks, to which Jesus replies: Romam vado iterum crucifigi. I am going to Rome to be crucified again”……..So Peter went back! - Again and Again! - And in the end, he became the ROCK, which he was born to be……………The same “process” will happen to us - If we cooperate with God - He will transform us - But only if we get out of the boat!

“This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased; listen to him”

Have you ever been terrified - Not just merely afraid - TERRIFIED!…..I have….And allow me to tell you about it…..The first time I flew to Kolkata India, I had all sorts of trouble arriving there - The journey took two whole days…My flight had 3 connections and when I arrived in New Delhi from London, after waiting all night in the airport alone, the airline told me my ticket was not valid….So as any good Italian American son of New Jersey would do - I made a “scene” in the airport that to this day the people of New Delhi could still very well be talking about!…After arguing like a maniac it became very clear they were not letting my on the plane…So I had to buy another ticket on the spot and take up my fight with the airline when I got back home - For the record - I won that battle!….But I digress……When I got on the connecting plane to Kolkata, I get to me seat and believe it or not, someone else was sitting on it…They double booked the seat….At this point I was rattled to the core…I had not slept in over 24 hours and clearly “something” or “someone” did not want me to get to Kolkata…That “someone” was the devil…I am convinced of that to this day but I digress again….So when the flight attendant got me into another seat I started talking to this family sitting next to me…So I told them that I was traveling to Kolkata, that I was alone and I was going to help Mother Teresa’s sisters serve the poor in the slums of the city….The daughter of this well-to-do Indian family looked at me like I was completely crazy!…And when she did - FEAR shot through my body maybe like it never has in my lifetime…I can’t even call it fear - I was becoming TERRIFIED!…..So literally, I sat in my seat trying to “talk myself off the ledge”…..Saying to myself…”Joe - You need to calm down - You have to survive these next three weeks”……This is how the devil works!….The devil uses FEAR to prevent us from growing closer to God…..Looking back, I know this was a direct encounter I had with the devil - I know that sounds weird - But I know it to be true to the core of my being…Why do I know that?…Because I persevered and went to Kolkata and not only did my faith grow as a result of that first trip, but many good things happened for many people…And the devil did not want that to happen!…..Why tell you all this?….In order to be grow…In order to allow God to “transform us”…We have to be uncomfortable…..This is VITAL in the spiritual life of a Catholic…No one likes to be uncomfortable but this is what we must do…..So I will say it again - GET OUT OF THE BOAT…And keep your eyes on Christ…..Allow God to reveal himself to you…And in so doing, you will be transformed!

“You will do well to be attentive to it, as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts”

Today at Mass we hear how Jesus revealed his “true self” to his inner circle - And they “did not get it”…..But here is the good news - Peter, James and John did not give up and in time not only did they “get it” but they become great saints….The same thing can be said of us one day - If we “take a chance”…If we “bet” on the words of Christ….Do we take Jesus at his word?…Do we believe the words of Scripture when St Paul tells us - “I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work in you will continue to complete it until the day of Christ Jesus”……For us to become the people we were born to be, we must allow divine grace to penetrate deep within our soul......We must live daily lives of sacrifice allowing “room” for the Holy Spirit to work…..We must live Sacramental lives…..We must pray daily and fast weekly….And then just watch what happens!…..We will set the world on fire - Why? - Because God will transform us!…..But before that all happens we need to - GET OUT OF THE BOAT.......St. Francis of Assisi once said, “Start by doing what's necessary; then do what's possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible” - The “impossible” will never happen - Unless you GET OUT OF THE BOAT