Tuesday August 6
TRANSFIGURATION OF THE LORD
Greeting
Today God our Father tells us:
This is my beloved Son.
Listen to him.
May the Word of our Lord Jesus Christ
resound in your hearts and in your lives.
May the Lord be with you always. R/ And also with you.
Introduction
Sometimes in life it happens that we begin to see in a completely new light someone we have known for a long time, with qualities and potentials we never thought of. This was the experience of the apostles at the transfiguration of Jesus. He was surprisingly different and greater than they had imagined. Now they understood him better, they enjoyed his presence more deeply and they were more eager to listen to him. The change they saw in Jesus made it easier for them, too, to change and to become more like Jesus. May this become our experience also as we celebrate this eucharist.
Penitential Act
"Listen to him," says the Father about Jesus
Often we have not listened to him;
we now ask him for forgiveness and life.
(PAUSE)
Lord Jesus, God's beloved Son,
you walk by our side on the dusty road of life.
Brighten our path:
Lord, have mercy. R/ Lord, have mercy.
Jesus Christ, God's beloved Son,
you reflect God's glory.
Transform us with you:
Christ, have mercy. R/ Christ, have mercy.
Lord Jesus, God's beloved Son,
the way of the cross led you to glory.
Make us bear our crosses with you:
Lord, have mercy. R/ Lord, have mercy.
Have mercy on us, Lord,
and let the light of your glory
drive away from us the evil of sin.
Lead us to everlasting life. R/ Amen.
Opening Prayer
Let us pray to God
who has made us his sons and daughters
in Jesus, his beloved Son
(PAUSE)
Lord our God,
at the transfiguration of Jesus
you gave eyes of faith to the apostles
to see beyond appearances
and to recognize Jesus as your beloved Son.
Strengthen our faith too
in the person and message of your Son.
Help us to recognize something of his face
in our brothers and sisters
and to encounter him in one another,
that we may journey with him
and share in his glory for ever. R/ Amen.
First Reading Introduction: The Son of Man
At a time of persecution, the prophet sees a vision of a transfigured world. The son of man - symbolizing God's people, perhaps the Messiah - will no longer suffer but be honored and will share in God's glory.
First Reading: Dan 7:9-10, 13-14
As I watched: Thrones were set up and the Ancient One took his throne. His clothing was bright as snow, and the hair on his head as white as wool; his throne was flames of fire, with wheels of burning fire. A surging stream of fire flowed out from where he sat; thousands upon thousands were ministering to him, and myriads upon myriads attended him. The court was convened and the books were opened.
As the visions during the night continued, I saw: One like a Son of man coming, on the clouds of heaven; When he reached the Ancient One and was presented before him, The one like a Son of man received dominion, glory, and kingship; all peoples, nations, and languages serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that shall not be taken away, his kingship shall not be destroyed.
Responsorial Psalm: Ps 97:1-2, 5-6, 9
R (1a and 9a) The Lord is king, the Most High over all the earth.
The LORD is king; let the earth rejoice;
let the many islands be glad.
Clouds and darkness are round about him,
justice and judgment are the foundation of his throne.
R The Lord is king, the Most High over all the earth.
The mountains melt like wax before the LORD,
before the LORD of all the earth.
The heavens proclaim his justice,
and all peoples see his glory.
R The Lord is king, the Most High over all the earth.
Because you, O LORD, are the Most High over all the earth,
exalted far above all gods.
R The Lord is king, the Most High over all the earth.
Second Reading Introduction: Like a Lamp Lighting the Way
The apostles present at the transfiguration did not fully realize what was going on. Later they understood and testified that Jesus is not a myth but the foundation of faith and life.
Second Reading: 2 Pt 1:16-19
Beloved: We did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you
the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we had been eyewitnesses of his majesty. For he received honor and glory from God the Father when that unique declaration came to him from the majestic glory, "This is my Son, my beloved, with whom I am well pleased."
We ourselves heard this voice come from heaven while we were with him on the holy mountain. Moreover, we possess the prophetic message that is altogether reliable.
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.
Gospel: The True Face of Jesus
After Jesus had spoken to his apostles about his coming suffering, Jesus and the apostles—and we—are given a vision of the glory and resurrection that will come.
Gospel Reading: Lk 9:28-36
Jesus took Peter, John and James and led them up a high mountain. There his appearance was changed before their eyes. Even his clothes shone, becoming as white as no bleach of this world could make them. Elijah and Moses appeared to them; the two were talking with Jesus.
Then Peter spoke and 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." For he did not know what to say; they were overcome with awe. But a cloud formed, covering them in a shadow, and from the cloud came this word, "This is my Son, the Beloved; listen to him." And suddenly, as they looked around, they no longer saw anyone except Jesus with them.
As they came down the mountain, he ordered them to tell no one what they had seen, until the Son of Man be risen from the dead. So they kept this to themselves, although they discussed with one another what 'to rise from the dead' could mean.
Intercessions
Let us pray to God in all confidence, for he has accepted us as his sons and daughters in his beloved Son Jesus Christ. Let us say to him: R/ Lord, let us live in the light of Christ.
– That the face of the Church may always reflect the light of the glorious Christ; that her glory may be not wealth or power but the quiet glow of the living gospel, let us pray: R/ Lord, let us live in the light of Christ.
– That the spirituality of the Orthodox Churches, which is marked by the transfiguration, may also inspire the Catholic Church more and bring us closer to unity, let us pray: R/ Lord, let us live in the light of Christ.
– That artists may keep revealing to us the splendors of God's creation; that scientists may discover the secrets of the universe and use them to develop people and their world, let us pray: R/ Lord, let us live in the light of Christ.
– That we may brighten the faces of those who suffer with words of encouragement and hope; that we may learn from Christ to encounter one another without masks or screens and seek together the light of truth and love, let us pray: R/ Lord, let us live in the light of Christ.
– That we may be men and women liberated in Christ, committed to transfigure this world with justice and freedom for all, and learning to love one another the way God loves us in Christ, let us pray: R/ Lord, let us live in the light of Christ.
God, your glory brightened the face of Jesus, your Son. Let his light dawn on us like a new sunrise full of promise. Create us and the world anew in Jesus Christ our Lord. R/ Amen.
Prayer over the Gifts
Lord our God,
all we see before us
is a piece of bread
and a cup with wine.
Yet we believe that soon these will be
your Son living among us.
Let him come alive in us
and guide us by his Holy Spirit,
that with him we may hear your call
and go through the hardships and joys of life
with faces brightened by hope
and by the certainty
that you have prepared for us
glory and happiness
that will last for ever. R/ Amen.
Introduction to the Eucharistic Prayer
With Jesus our Lord, God's own beloved Son, we give now thanks and praise to the Father, sure that the Father will accept our offering.
Invitation to the Lord's Prayer
Let us pray to our Father in heaven
who told us to listen to his beloved Son.
We have listened, and with Jesus
we pray the prayer of the children of God: R/ Our Father...
Deliver Us
Deliver us, Lord, from every evil
and grant us peace in our day.
Keep us from indifference and anxiety
and help us see beyond the events of life
the deeper reality of things and persons,
your guiding hand, your love and your call,
as we wait in joyful hope
for the coming in glory
of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. R/ For the kingdom...
Invitation to Communion
This is the body of Jesus Christ,
the beloved Son of the Father in heaven.
His glory is hidden to us,
yet he is light in our darkness
and the transfiguration of our lives.
Happy are we who have not seen his glory,
yet believe that he is our Lord. R/ Lord, I am not worthy...
Prayer after Communion
Lord our God,
by the power of Jesus, our transfigured Lord,
you call us to transform this world
in the image of Jesus, your Son.
Rip off our masks,
that we may meet and accept one another
as we are and together try to be
what you have called us to be.
Commit us to justice and love,
that we may change this harsh and cold world
into a sign and token
that you are with us
through Jesus Christ our Lord. R/ Amen.
Blessing
In his transfiguration
Jesus revealed his deepest self.
May we believe in him
as the source of all transfiguration
of ourselves, of our mentality,
of this earth.
And may Christ be our strength
to work toward this transfiguration,
with the blessing of almighty God,
the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. R/ Amen.
Go in peace
and let your face be bright
with the radiance of Christ's light. R/ Thanks be to God.
Commentary
Jesus took Peter, James and John up the mountain to pray, and while he prayed they fell asleep! Most translations charitably say they hadn’t quite dropped off, “Peter and his companions were weighed down with sleep; but since they had stayed awake, they saw his glory” (NRSV). The JB has them “heavy with sleep, but they stayed awake.” The NIV says, “they were very sleepy, but when they became fully awake….” The CCB alone puts them soundly to sleep! Honest sleep is better than pretending to be awake! When Jesus said so often to people (perhaps even shouted), “Stay awake!” he didn’t mean half-awake and half-asleep. I take it that those three were as good as asleep. So don’t feel so bad if you feel drowsy or fall asleep at prayer! Peter, James and John did! St. Thérèse of Lisieux famously slept at prayer and felt no guilt about it in a guilt-ridden period of Catholic spirituality, even though she was by nature very scrupulous.
It says, “They awoke and saw his glory.” Had they been in a zen monastery the monitor would have kept them awake with the kyosaku, the “awakening stick”! Someone asked a zen master once, “Could I become enlightened during sleep?” And he replied, “If it doesn’t happen to you during sleep it will never happen, because what you call your waking life is only another form of sleep!”