A - Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord

For anyone who is committed to follow the way of the Lord, we know this journey is neither straight forward nor easy. It is not so much a walk along a bike path but more like climbing, sometimes scrambling a high hill or mountain. It is the journey of a lifetime – one nourished by the sacraments and by a prayer life to which we remain faithful despite the challenges. In the Gospel reading we read that Jesus, Peter, James and John, journey to the top of a high mountain believed, since the 4th century, to be Mount Tabor. Here Jesus is transformed and revealed in all his glory.

At this theophany we see Jesus talking with Moses and Elijah. We understand that here Moses represents the Law, and Elijah the prophets, and together they represent the revelation of the Old Testament which now is to be fulfilled in the Godman Jesus.

 
Recall how both Moses and Elijah saw God. But not in all His glory, not in all His goodness. In Exodus 33 we read how God placed Moses in a cleft of a rock and covered him with His hand as he passed by. In 1 Kings we read how Elijah hid his face in his cloak for the Lord was not in the wind, nor the earthquake or the fire, but in the mysterious ‘light silent sound’. Though both men were to experience the Glory of God on Mount Sinai, each was to do so indirectly as no man can see God’s face and live. These two theophanies are reminiscent of another encounter with the divine. Recall how Mark writes in Chapter 6 that one time the disciples were caught in a storm and Jesus comes walking on the water, and, as the passage says, “means to pass by.” As with Moses and Elijah the Lord passes by. But now something new is going to happen. Fearful they are seeing a ghost Jesus turns to them and says, “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.” And he gets into the boat with them.

What Moses and Elijah saw partially during their lives, Peter, James, and John, were to witness fully. In Jesus Christ, the Lord no longer passes by but visits with Moses and Elijah, with Peter, James, and John, and with us. He comforts us, gets in the boat with us. In his humanity Jesus, who is undeniably God, is fully and completely present to us, and we can look upon him face to face. In the Luminous Mysteries, Pope Saint John Paul II has gifted us with this tremendous meditation – Jesus fully God and fully man.

Matthew, in sharing this story, is presenting Jesus as the divine Lord, the fulfillment of the Old Testament and to whom dominion, glory and kingship are given. We too will see his kingship, but in the meantime, he approaches us in the ordinary and every day, not passing by, but touching us, allaying our fears, and choosing to travel with us. In our life journey we are given the opportunity to climb the mountain with our Lord and to experience the glow of grace in all things. If the sacraments allow us to encounter the King, then it is in our prayer life that we meet Christ as a friend and travel companion. And it is by means of our prayer life that we come to the simple realization the transfiguration is also meant for us – literally. For it is through Him, and with Him, and in Him, that we too are transfigured. For most of us perhaps not in a quick instant, but in the journey of life, accompanied by the rhythm of regular and deep prayer. A prayer life which prepares us for an ever-closer friendship with our Lord, a prayer life aimed at our own transfiguration. Deeply lived, it heals us of our hurts, reforms us of our sinful and selfish inclinations, frees us of attachments, and the frustrations brought on by the world. In prayer we learn how to cease doing evil and learn how to do good for no other reason than to love the Lord more fully. By means of prayer and meditation we too can ascend mount Tabor and, God willing, even encounter the ‘light silent sound.’ Our time will come to see the Lord in all his glory, to see his light penetrating all things and see the glorious beauty of his creation freed from the darkness of sin. In the meantime, he offers us his companionship with gentleness and a familial concern. So, we journey on and do so praying devoutly, for it is His greatest desire for us to meet him on the mountain and perhaps too along the way.

Deacon Peter, Arlington, Massachusetts
August 6, 2023
Daniel 7:9-10, 13-14, Psalm 97:1-2, 5-6, 9, 2 Peter 1:16-19, Matthew 17:1-9

A - Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ

Soon my words will be over as we conclude the Liturgy of the Word and begin the Liturgy of the Eucharist.  At that time Father will take into his hands both bread and wine and we will witness God revealing himself; humbly, quietly, simply, and fully entrusting us with his very real and immediate presence.  By way of the Holy Spirit, and through the presence of Father acting in persona-Christi, this change or transubstantiation occurs.   It is and always has been the teaching of the Church that the bread and wine are not merely symbols of Christ: they are the body and blood of Christ.  It is by his body and blood that we have the means of salvation. 

At Mass you and I are made present to and participate in the very moment of the last supper when Christ gives himself to us.   We can say that in faith we participate in and look upon this singular moment.  But is it faith that allows us to participate and to see?  The answer may be surprising since it would be no.  It is not through faith that we receive Christ since, after all, even a person with no faith who consumes the Holy Eucharist has indeed consumed Christ.  Whether or not he believes it, whether or not he understands it, whether he is well disposed to receive Him or not.    This is why non-Catholics should not receive Holy Communion, and this is why you and I, disfigured by mortal sin, likewise should not receive.   It is not by means of faith that we are called to the Lord’s table, rather it is by way of baptism and the other sacraments that we are invited and prepared.   In receiving communion, the inward union of our soul to Christ is outwardly expressed through a visible act of church unity.   To express outwardly the truth of this inward union is profound and not to be treated lightly.  And so, St. Paul warns us in the letter to the Corinthians that, “Each one must examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without recognizing the body eats and drinks judgment on himself.”   

Listening to St. Paul, we examine ourselves to be sure we are well disposed to receive the Holy Eucharist.  And so, we perform an examination of conscience as the church has taught us.  It is mortal sin that extinguishes our relationship with God and so to receive communion bearing mortal sin is itself sinful since we are declaring a unity and forcing a relationship that no longer exists. It is a lie.   For sure God continues to call each of us but we must be healed of mortal sin by means of confession before receiving communion.  Mortal sin is serious sin, considered before committing, and yet still willfully committed.  By remaining in mortal sin, the mind and heart of the sinner is darkened and the capacity to respond to the conscience continues to diminish with time.   This is why we should not go but run to confession, as the prodigal son, upon realizing his stupidity, would run home to his father.  Confession is our ICU.  

In reflecting upon mortal sin and the resulting spiritual disruption and darkening conscience, it is good to recall and meditate on the truth that, first, we were loved.  In fact, we were born by means of God wanting us to be.  It is a good, you and I are a good, that God wants.   Just as God spoke of his own son at his baptism before Jesus had accomplished anything, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”  So, at our baptism God would speak of us as a loving, dotting Father saying, “you are mine.”  Our sinful actions hurt that relationship for sure, but first, before all else, we are loved, and our identity is to be found there and not in our sins despite what we may say to ourselves or what others may say to us.   

Knowing that truth, we confess our mortal sins but also strive to shed ourselves of lesser venial sins.  This is the task of the spiritual and devout life, to identify and root out our entanglements, our dependencies, our addictions, and all our vices, and to replace them with virtues.   So, each time we consume the Holy Eucharist we can be just that little bit closer to our Lord, a little more alive, a little bit better prepared for eternity.

But why am I preaching about sin when today is the Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ?  It is because we are not approaching Jesus in the Eucharist empty handed.  Just as Jesus would give everything to the Father, so also, we give all we are into God’s hands.  And just as God the Father gives everything back to the son, so the Son of God, gives all that he is to us in the Eucharist – fully, completely, entirely, and lovingly.   How could you and I approach the sanctuary and give anything other than the very best versions of ourselves.

As we prepare now to receive Jesus let us do so with a commitment to cast far away any inclinations to sin, and to take up daily the challenges of the virtuous life.  May the outward sign of unity that we express truly reflect our inward spiritual communion from which all good things must come.  For as our Lord tell us, “The one who feeds on me will have life because of me.”  And in these words, we can find solace, rest, and peace.   

Deacon Peter, St., Agnes Parish, Arlington, Massachusetts
June 10, 2023

Deuteronomy 8:2-3, 14b-16a; Psalm 147:12-15, 19-20; 1 Corinthians 10:16-17; John 6:51-58

A - Seventh Sunday of Easter

We read in the New Testament about the many times that Jesus would slip away to pray and spend time alone and with His Father. At the start of his ministry and after his Baptism he went off to the wilderness for forty days for a time of extended prayer and fasting. And later we read in Luke how great crowds came to hear Jesus preach and to be healed, yet he would frequently withdraw to the wilderness to pray. And, as the end of his life approached, we read that while in the garden of Gethsemane, he withdrew from his disciples to pray by himself at this dark hour. For some it may be curious that Jesus would ever need to pray, for after all he was God - so some thoughtful souls may think his praying is somehow cyclical. But Jesus was not praying to himself, He was praying to his Father whom he loved, and to a Father who loved first. These times of prayer were deeply personal and profoundly relational. But what is it that Jesus would pray for?

In our Gospel reading today we can listen in as Jesus prays in preparation for the hour of his own crucifixion and death. This prayer is sometimes called Jesus's High Priestly Prayer since it is a prayer for petition, intercession and of mediation – prayers that are offered up to God by priests. If you read this chapter carefully you will see in it, reflections of both the Our Father prayer and the Eucharistic prayers we hear at Mass. Today we hear the first part of the High Priestly Prayer as Jesus prays for the Glorification of God and of his Son. In these words, both intimacy and love are made readily apparent. What we hear in Jesus’s prayer is played out in time as God the Father is glorified by Jesus and by his obedience and willingness to die for the sake of all humanity. Through this same sacrificial act Jesus himself is glorified by His Father. To be glorified means to make clearly apparent the fullness of God’s presence. This request for mutual glorification is a request that the eternal exchange of love and life between Father and Son be made manifest - let our love be revealed so all might see and know. The cross demonstrates both the love of the Father, who gives his one and only son for the salvation of all, and the Son who for the love of his Father obeys him in this perfect act of sacrifice and devotion. And so, the Glory of the Godhead is revealed and only further revealed, as Christ takes up his life again, demonstrating that neither sin nor death have power, but love and sacrifice do. God has already given authority over all people to the Son. By means of his glorious resurrection you and I now share in eternal life.

In praying for his disciples Jesus makes clear he does not pray for the world. Here the term 'world' means things to which the world inclines itself, towards selfishness, individual power, personal success at the price of another person, sin, evil, and darkness. Jesus's prayer is one of protection and unity in community and purpose, that we continue to remain in relationship with God and each other and in so doing to be seen by the world as giving glory to God. This is a prayer of petition since the way of the world is powerful and can certainly break the unity, community, and the family bonds that are fostered in love. In receiving the Word of God and the gift of relationship we inevitably find ourselves at odds with a world that may hate us, as it first hated Jesus. In the world, Jesus tells us, we will have trouble, but despite this we remain committed and united in Christ since this is the visible manifestation of our sharing in the divine communion. 

Our second reading from Peter reminds us that if we have trouble or suffer for our faith we do so in divine communion, since we are partaking in and are united to Christ’s suffering – joined to him, and not somehow suffering as one separated or alone. Though difficult or even terrible it is a participation in Christ’s cross and through this we are blessed since by this we believe we shall see the good things of the Lord in the land of the living. Our refuge is the Lord, and we desire to dwell in His house.

We know a little of Christ’s suffering and our part when we had, what can only be described as a significant and harrowing moment, as the largest satanic gathering every held took place at the Marriott hotel in Boston. Prudently the Archdiocese determined the appropriate response was one of prayer, at monasteries, convents, shrines, and churches. Here in Arlington, we gathered at St. Camillus for Eucharistic Adoration, prayer, and reflection. This was our upper room where we devoted ourselves with one accord to prayer and worship. It was a truly beautiful time of prayer in our community after which so many spoke positively of the experience and with smiles on their faces. Who would have thought that such a moment of trepidation and concern would have produced such blessing and peace. With Jesus with us, and the Holy Spirit guiding us, we would know God’s powerful and quiet presence and would experience something of his glory.

As community and as individuals we are to grow as people of prayer. Jesus continues to pray for the Church and for his disciples, and we are to do likewise. The world needs us, to continue to reflect God’s glory – the fullness of His presence. The world needs us, to be able to see that there is a radical way to live that is rich in purpose, strong in resilience, united in family, one in community, driven by love and selflessness. They need to learn what fear of the Lord means when we speak of it, and yet how deeply personal and profoundly relational our prayer life can be. By our example those broken by the world are given hope and a way forward. As Pope Francis has told us, we are a field hospital of aching and broken souls. I fear there will be only more souls broken, yet you and I have been placed in the here and now to be God’s field medics. We are to pray for and support our church and be ready to respond to the needs of those around us. We pray as community in the upper room, and individually and quietly on our own, as Jesus has taught us. This week, and as we prepare to welcome the Holy Spirit as at Pentecost, let us remain in prayer, glorifying God, offering any suffering and sacrifices, and asking for guidance on how to accomplish the work God has given each of us to do in this time and in this place.

Deacon Peter, St., Agnes Parish, Arlington, Massachusetts
May 27, 2023

Acts 1:12-14; Psalm 27:1-2, 4, 7, 8b; 1 Peter 4:13-16; John 17:1-11a