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Homily for the second Sunday
of Lent - Year A - Mt. 17:1-9
by
Canon Dr. Daniel Meynen
" After six days Jesus took
with him Peter and James and John his brother, and led them up a high
mountain apart. And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone
like the sun, and his garments became white as light. And behold, there
appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him. And Peter said to
Jesus, «Lord, it is well that we are here; if you wish, I will
make three booths here, one for you and one for Moses and one for
Elijah.» He was still speaking, when lo, a bright cloud
overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, «This is my
beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.» When
the disciples heard this, they fell on their faces, and were filled
with awe. But Jesus came and touched them, saying, «Rise, and
have no fear.» And when they lifted up their eyes, they saw no
one but Jesus only. And as they were coming down the mountain, Jesus
commanded them, «Tell no one the vision, until the Son of man is
raised from the dead.» "
Homily:
On the Mystery of the
Transfiguration, the Synoptics - Matthew, Mark, and Luke - differ
little from each other. If one were to comment on them, the texts one
would produce would all be on an identical subject, but slightly
different each time. This is what I have done in the last six years: I
commented twice on the passage of Saint Matthew, and likewise for Saint
Mark and Saint Luke. In addition, there is also a commentary on Saint
Mark, for August 6, 2000, the feast of the Transfiguration, which fell
on a Sunday. In total, you can read seven different texts on the same
subject. These seven texts exist in French and in English; three of
them have also been translated into Spanish. So I invite you to have a
look at all of these homilies, whose locations I will provide at the
end of this message. For now, I would like to add a word, in this year
2005.
When the Angel Gabriel
announces to the Virgin Mary that she will conceive and give birth to a
son, the Son of God, the consent he receives from Mary is a consent
that is expressed in the name of all humanity (cf. Saint Thomas
Aquinas, Summa Theologica, IIIa, q. 30, a. 1, corp.). This fact gives
to the Incarnation and to the Conception of Christ a universal
dimension, one that concerns every man and woman on earth, from Adam
and Eve to the last humans. Christ, conceived in this manner, thus
bears, through the consent of Mary, a certain trust that comes from all
humanity. In other words, through the consent of Mary on the day of the
Incarnation of the Word, every man and woman has placed in Christ a
seed of faith and hope in the Savior of the world!
It is this seed of trust,
it is this seed of faith and hope that pours from the Heart of Christ
on the day of his Transfiguration! Already, on this day, the Church
appears as she will on the day of her Resurrection, at the end of time!
For the Church is all those who believe in Christ and who hope in Him!
Already, on this day, appears the Church, who is signified by the white
clothing of Christ, clothing of a whiteness that no fuller on earth
could produce (cf. Mk. 9:3)! Already, on this day, the Church appears,
borne by Christ, sustained by Him, by his grace, by his Holy Spirit, by
the Love of the Father! Already, on this day, the Church hopes in her
Salvation, in Christ, through Mary! Amen!
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