Today at Holy Mass in the second reading from St Paul, we are told that its not our works that make us holy, but its the grace of God that does….Our works are a fruit of the Holy Spirit that animates us when we make room for it…When we clear away all the “things” and aspects of our life that “get in the way” of God’s will…..”He saved us and called us to a holy life, not according to our works but according to his own design and the grace bestowed on us in Christ Jesus before time began, but now made manifest through the appearance of our savior Christ Jesus, who destroyed death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel”……I find this statement interesting because the world looks at “good works” and does not understand where they come from - Everything we do as Catholics come from our interior life, that should imply that if we do not develop our interior life, there will be no good works…..
Today the Universal church commemorates the Transfiguration of Jesus…..Peter, James and John witnessed this miracle…And at the time did not understand it at all………”Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. And he was transfigured before them; his face shone like the sun and his clothes became white as light. And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, conversing with him. Then Peter said to Jesus in reply, “Lord, it is good that we are here. If you wish, I will make three tents here, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud cast a shadow over them, then from the cloud came a voice that said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.” When the disciples heard this, they fell prostrate and were very much afraid”……Peter, James and John were the “inner circle” of the original disciples and even they did not understand what they saw when Jesus transfigured before their eyes…This should tell us something today……That as Catholics, even though we possess the fullness of the Truth and have two thousand years of tradition and teaching to read and comprehend…There is still so much more about God that is still a mystery…..Even Our Lady appeared to not fully understand everything as it occurred in real time…For example - Remember, we were told in the pages of Scripture that when Our Lady found Jesus in the Temple, after he was lost, speaking with the high priests - Scripture tells us - ”And Mary kept all these things, reflecting on them in her heart”…….We too must “reflect” on the life and teachings of our Lord daily…..God is a mystery in so many ways and we must fully realize that we as human beings are very limited…Knowing this should help us to embrace humility all the more, which in turn will lead us closer to Our Lord.
“Our soul waits for the LORD, who is our help and our shield. May your kindness, O LORD, be upon us who have put our hope in you”
God is the master builder…..There is an old saying - “Man plans and God laughs”…The minute we “think” we figured out what God is going to do - He throws a “curve ball” at us - Because of this reality, we need to be open and flexible to the workings of the Holy Spirit and discern in prayer how God is not only sanctifying us individually by events we sometimes do not fully understand but is moving his Church in the world today…..We only see so much as human beings and what is to come has not been fully revealed…To have this mindset we must learn to trust like a child - Trusting that God is working!…….A good example of this is when a Pope is chosen…Every time this happens, the media prints story after story about who they “think” will be the next Pope…In my adult lifetime…Every time this happens - The media gets it completely wrong and the man that appears on the balcony at the Vatican to be the next Pope is someone most of the world never heard of…This is how the Holy Spirit works…And we must be open to it - And accept it…None of us - No matter who we are - Knows better then God!….And God’s ways are not our ways…..This is why we must trust beyond what we see and in some cases trust belong what we even “think” - Too much “thinking” can be no good - What is needed is prayer!…The secular world will read this and concluded Catholics who think and believe in this manner are simply “sheep”….I disagree - Catholics who think in this manner trust explicitly….We do not have to understand everything about our faith to believe it - This idea is a “sticking point” for the people today who consider themselves to be too “sophisticated”….When moments of confusion and trial happen in the life of the Church….I personally recall the words of Jesus to Peter, the first Pope…..”And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven”….The Pope, no matter who he is, was given authority by the only one with authority - Jesus Christ…Therefore we must trust and obey - Even if we do not understand fully…..…God will never abandon his Church!…The Catholic Church, while run by men is not simply a human institution - There is a very real element of the divine at work in it always - So when we do not understand something, as Peter, James and John did not understand in real time when Jesus was transfigured before their eyes - Its at those moment that we must trust…Trusting God’s hand - The hand of God is more reliable then anything we may “think” we “understand”….This is hard for some - And in many cases, only the simple and child-like can do this…Maybe this is why Jesus told us……“Amen, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever receives one child such as this in my name receives me”
“Go forth from the land of your kinsfolk and from your father’s house to a land that I will show you.”
Today in St Matthew’s Gospel we heard the story of the Transfiguration…..Peter, James and John were not only afraid when they saw Jesus transfigured before their eyes, but they seemed to not understand what was being communicated to them by the event….”Then Peter said to Jesus in reply, “Lord, it is good that we are here. If you wish, I will make three tents here, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah”…Clearly Jesus did not bring these three men with him for Peter to build a few tents! - Once again, Peter missed the point!…..But notice what happened next - A voice was heard by Peter, James and John and the voice said the following….“This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him” - And ultimately that is exactly what they did - Peter, James and John did not understand fully what they saw in real time - But God the Father told them something very important - “Listen to him” - And that is exactly what they did…..And this is what we too must do today - Listen to him!…We do not always have to understand everything - But we do have to believe everything……….“Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obedience to the LORD’s command? Obedience is better than sacrifice, to listen, better than the fat of rams”………Our Lady shows us the way - So does St Joseph….Be Obedient - Be Humble - And if we are - God will come close to us and we will be his people……….Listen to Him!…………………JMJ
